After being spoon-fed subjects against your will in high school, choosing your own classes in college allows you to become the kid in the candy store. You get to study topics in which you’re truly interested at any time you like – depending on their availability, of course. But many students find the process isn’t quite as easy or fun as they had expected. There are literally thousands of classes to choose from. Figuring out which you’re allowed take and which you’re required to take can be a laboring task.
The two most essential things you must have before composing your schedule are a course catalog and a degree plan. The course catalog is a comprehensive listing of all the courses offered by a university. It contains the section numbers, which indicate the classification of the class – like if it’s a lecture or lab, or for juniors or seniors – and brief descriptions of what they entail. You’ll probably need to know the section numbers of the classes when you register. Your degree plan outlines the requirements for graduation, including which specific classes you’ll need and when you should take them. During your freshman and sophomore years, you’ll have more freedom to choose which ones you want because you’ll be fulfilling general education requirements. For example, if you’re a psychology major, you still may be required to take some fine arts classes. By the time you’re a junior and senior, you’ll have to take more specific upper level classes that are smaller in size and lower in quantity. But upperclassmen usually get to choose first, so it shouldn’t be difficult to fit them into your schedule.
Most students find that it’s impossible to follow a degree plan exactly as it’s laid out. Although you’ll most likely get off the beaten path, it’s important that you schedule with a strategy. Early on, get your core requirements and prerequisites out of the way. Liberal Arts majors are often required to take a sequence of classes in a foreign language, which may prove to be difficult. If they complete them in their first two years, they won’t have to learn a new language later on while struggling to do well in their advanced classes. Also, be sure to establish some balance. Mix your harder classes with some easy classes and vary the subjects. You don’t want to burn out as you attempt to knock out those requirements.