One of my favorite strategic games to play at college is class scheduling. To play the game correctly, you have to start looking at classes the first day they are unlocked for the next semester. However, the first step is the pre-game. You must figure out what classes you need to take for your major and minor if you have one. Also, a key question to ask your advisor at the beginning of your college career is how many electives you have to take to meet your graduation credit number. I didn’t know that right away and learned late sophomore year. I was able to get my elective courses in, but I was lucky.
Once you have all that information, I aim to pick five classes per semester. That way, by the last semester of your senior year, you only have to take four classes, making things slightly more manageable. If you are a freshman, pick three to four required courses for your general education, and then major/minor requirements. I would also like to point out that you should look for double-dip classes meaning one class could satisfy general education, major and minor requirements in one shot. Trust me; you want to kill two birds with one stone when it comes to classes early on. Then for a free elective early on, take a language course to get it done with. Later in your college experience, you can focus on more fun and exploratory elective classes. Afterward, get a pad and pencil or open your notes app to begin the actual game.
Once you enter your college’s portal for following semester classes, it’s time to look at days and teachers. First, look at teachers. Ask your friends if they have heard any positives or negatives about them. Also, read over a few reviews on Rate My Professor just to get an overview. Remember, these are people’s opinions. So even though one professor has received a lot of negative comments, it doesn’t mean they are bad, and perhaps by chance, they click with you regarding teaching style. This has happened to me. Next, you need to look at days. First, look at your calendar and see the days you may have work, future appointments and planned vacations. Then, figure out what days you may want to sleep in and do work at your own pace. After gathering all the dates, preferred teachers and ideal classes, it’s time to start writing and plotting things out. Also, if you don’t have a special pass to get classes first or earlier, have at least three options for each class slot you want and write down the CRNs (course record number) to get courses quicker.
Now I will talk about my ideal schedule and my worst plan. I prefer to start my day with the earliest class at 8:15 a.m. and then another class immediately after. I then would like an hour-and-15-minute break or two hours, which brings me around the start of the afternoon for lunch, working on homework or hanging out with friends. Depending on my schedule, I plan to end my day with two to three classes. I mostly end my day at 3:30 p.m. When I had five classes, I would at least have one of those classes once a week, so I would range at least attending four out of the three classes I was on campus or Zoom during the pandemic. For off days I like to have two: Friday and Wednesday. On Wednesday, it’s the halfway point, so I knew what work had to be done by the end of the week into next, so that’s when I would try to get most of it done. On Friday, I liked it because of the long weekend and sleeping in.
Now my least favorite schedule I created is when I decided to be on campus twice a week, have back-to-back classes with zero breaks in between and have all my classes scattered around campus. I created this schedule coming back from the pandemic, which shocked my system. It was long hours, running to and from class, barely seeing my friends and short 15 to 10-minute lunch breaks. My day started again at 8:15 and ran till 3:30, and I carpooled and arrived on campus at six a.m. It was not fun, and rough. But it will be an experience I will never forget. Out of this schedule, I created three off days, which allowed more time to sleep in and focus on school work rather than being on campus and running around to classes.
Now my least favorite schedule may be ideal for you due to how your life is structured. The way we each plan schedules is so different and individualized. Whatever you create, your schedule will work for you and you can always switch it up the following semester. I hope those who read this article take away some of my tips and tricks to improve their college experience instead of being dreadful.