Next Semester Is Closer Than You Think

If you are like me, you like to plan ahead. Well, that can get complicated in college, especially when trying to sign up for classes for the next semester. So, here are some tips on how to not freak out when it comes time to sign up for next semester;

1. Know the registration dates and give yourself plenty of time to make your schedule.

If you go onto the MC website, you can find the important dates for the school year, including when registration opens. At the beginning of the school year, I like to look at this list and put them into my phone calendar so I get alerts when they are coming up. This also helps to ensure that you have enough time to figure out your schedule. It is important to give yourself plenty of time to work out which classes you can take, and when, to make sure that you do not have any overlaps or issues. It’s always better to have more time than to be rushing and get stuck with a schedule that is less than ideal.

View the Academic Calendar for this school year.

2. Make an appointment with an advisor.

MC has advisors to help you with this kind of situation, so please utilize them! I have been at MC for 3 semesters and each semester I have seen an adviser to go over what classes I still need to take. This is extremely helpful if you get really confused with which classes qualify for which requirements, like I do.  You can make an appointment with an adviser here or through the Starfish tab on MyMC.

3. Write out your schedule.

Making a schedule can be difficult, especially as you move into more specialized classes, as they are offered less. What I like to do is handwrite out all the different classes I could take and see what my schedule would look like. Sometimes things can make much more sense when you can actually see what is going on, thus, my mapped out schedule.

4. Make sure you read all the “fine print.”

Some classes have prerequisites you need to make sure you have so it is extremely important you check and see if you can qualify for the course. If not, you could be scrambling to find a class at the last second which is not fun; trust me I know from experience. Also, some classes, like Chemistry, have to be taken with other classes so be sure to check on that, as well.

Making a schedule for something that is months away while in the middle of taking midterms is stressful. Seeing all of the potential possibilities can be extremely overwhelming and taunting so I hope that these little tips can help make the process of making your next semester schedule easier!