The spring semester is coming to its end soon, and although we have three relaxed months in the summer, I think we still need to know what the best classes will be for us in the coming fall semester. As other students, I am worried about my classes because if I choose the classes that don’t make me feel interested, it will be very hard for me to focus, gain knowledge and get good grades. However, here are some strategies that I used to “research” classes, which can help you to figure out what you should do to choose the right ones.
Firstly, you should make sure that you review the course listings. At Hamline, besides your major courses, you still need to fulfill Hamline’s plan to get enough requirements for graduating. Therefore, you can make two plans, which are fulfilling Hamline’s plan first and then your major courses or the opposite way, which are finishing your major’s requirements and then Hamline’s plan courses. By making this type of plan, you can filter which areas that you should focus on. You need to finish all the courses of your major, which is mandatory, but with Hamline’s plan courses, you can firstly pick the classes that spark your interests. With this one, you need to make sure that you read the descriptions of the courses carefully. A tip for you is that don’t feel shy to ask other students who already took these classes. They will let you know the information about those classes as well as their experience, which can help you to see if you will fit in or not.
The next thing you should do to choose the right classes for the coming semester is create a studying schedule that works not only for your learning experience but also your personal life. Aim to sign up to four courses a semester. Try to spread them out over the week so you have time for studying and other activities each day, and note when classes meet so you don’t double book yourself. If you find your schedule isn’t a good fit once school starts, you can change it during the first few weeks of classes. You have your own life, work besides studying, so creating a schedule will help you maintain the balance between studying and relaxing. College should be about gaining knowledge without being exhausted because of overwhelming classes.
The last thing that I want you to know before choosing classes is that you should go from easy classes to the hard ones. I know a lot of you may want to jump into difficult classes as a freshman or sophomore, but remember that college courses require more time and effort than high school classes. Therefore, starting slowly and working up to harder classes after you take the easier ones. This way will also work well if you want to take a class that is not your major but makes you interested in, as the easier classes will help you to adapt well in a different field of knowledge without being freaked out. Another thing you should do is to choose classes that require different types of work so you don’t end up writing five papers or solving five problem sets in one week.
These three things are what I considered before I chose my classes for the next semester. I hope these tips will be good recommendations for you before the registration takes place.