On my first day of college, I thought I knew everything that there was to know about college, time management, and about myself. Oh, how wrong I was. I knew nothing when I was a freshman, but thankfully over time I’ve learned a few things here and there during my 6-year college journey. One thing that I’ve learned is how to create the perfect class schedule. Your class schedule in college is so important! It’ll literally control your entire life from top to bottom. That being said to create the perfect class schedule, you’ll need to know a few things about yourself, which we’ll dive more into in this post.
Tip #1: Sign up for classes as early as possible
When it comes to scheduling and signing up for classes, make sure you do them as soon as you are able to. Most colleges allow students to sign up for classes in order of their class rank. So for an example, seniors will be allowed first to sign up and freshmen will be last. That being said, you can still get great time slots and your preferred classes regardless of the date/time of sign up. You just need to be quick to sign up when your class rank is allowed to do so.
The best way to be prepared for registration today is to plan ahead of time of how you want your schedule to look based on what’s available. I’ve been in college for 6 years now and only once have I not gotten a class that I wanted. I wanted an organic chemistry class with a specific teacher my sophomore year, and I ended up having to take a class that started at 7:30 pm that lasted two hours. *no bueno*
Tip #2: Avoid early morning classes/ night classes
College is nothing like high school, and I promise you that you’ll regret signing up for a much of 8 am in classes once you’re in college. I’ve learned from experience that I am not a morning person and morning classes were actual torture for me. I’d much rather sleep in instead of waking up at 7 am to sit in a cold classroom to learn. Instead, I’d always try to get classes around 9 or 10 am so that way I could start my day on a good note.
The same rule applies for night classes. I mentioned above about my 1 night class that I took that would end at 9:30 pm. It used to be so hard to sit in the class for two hours at night because I was always antsy to leave and go home for the day. When you’ve had a long day of classes, the last thing that you want is another class around dinner time or during your relaxing time.
Tip #3: Plan for meal times
Always make sure to leave some extra time in your schedule for a quick bit to eat somewhere. Most colleges have loads of food options around campus, but the lines can get pretty long quickly. I used to block out around 1-2 hours around lunch time so that way I could enjoy my food before my classes would start. Same goes for breakfast. I don’t normally eat breakfast in the morning (it’s a terrible habit!), but if you do, make sure to set some time before class to grab your favorite Starbucks drink or a bagel. You can’t expect to focus on the course material if your stomach is rumbling in the background!
Tip #4: Use Rate My Professors
When you’re planning out your potential class schedule, take a second to review the different professors on RateMyProfessors.com. This website was such a lifesaver during my undergraduate years! On the website, you are able to read the different reviews and ratings from other students that have taken the professor before. Sometimes you’ll find some great information that is consistent throughout multiple reviews, such as how to study the material and what textbooks the professor uses. However, read each review with a grain of salt because not every review is going to be truthful and honest. Some people’s experiences could’ve only happened because of what they did in the class.
These reviews are amazing to get a fill for the professors before you sign up for their classes. I always try to get professors that had great reviews and that seemed to fit my learning style the best. From there, I used to pick the classes according to the professor’s classroom availability and built the rest of my schedule in the same manner. I’d would much rather have great teachers that care that I actually learn then to have my dream schedule with crapping teachers that don’t care about me.
Tip #5: Figure out the locations of the classes
College campuses are usually pretty big so it’s easy to have one class on the west side and another on the exact opposite of campus. When you’re planning out your schedule for the semester, make sure to double check the buildings that the classes will be held. It’s easy to forget that small piece of information and sign up for classes that are far away from each other. During my sophomore year in college, I ended up having two classes back to back with only 20 minutes between them. I used to have to literally sprint/fast walk to make it on time for the next class. Let’s just say I would arrive to class out of breath and slightly sweaty every day.
Tip #6: Create an outline of the credits required for graduation
Before you begin creating your schedule for each semester, make sure you have a complete or outline of your major’s graduation requirements. Your advisor will normally also help keep you on track, but I wouldn’t rely solely on them to know everything that you need to take. The academic advisor advises hundreds of students with the same major, so they might forget something or not remember your academic story during your meeting. A lot of majors will have all of the class requirements online so it’s super easy to print it out and keep somewhere safe. I like to create my own schedule based on what classes I wanted to take and needed during the year.
Tip #7: Balance the level of difficulty between classes
The biggest advice that I can give you about balance is that you have to understand and learn your limitations on what you can handle during a semester. When building your college schedule, you want to balance the difficulty levels of all of the classes that you want to take. I wouldn’t suggest taking more than 1 or 2 hard classes in a semester or multiple classes in a similar field that you struggle with. During my sophomore year in college, my advisor wanted me to take three science courses (physics, anatomy, and organic chemistry) in 1 semester. I think he was trying to kill me! I have to study a lot for science-related courses, so I knew for myself that I was only going to be able to take 2 at a time if I wanted to make sure I passed everything. Plus you won’t want to overload yourself with a bunch of hard classes and make yourself more stressed out than you need to be.
Tip #8: Take fun/ unique classes whenever you can
College is supposed to be fun, and it’s okay to take a class or two that you actually find interesting during your time in college. Sometimes you can find unique courses that can actually count towards your graduation requirements, which is always a plus. But even if it doesn’t count for the requirements, take a class on a topic that you know you enjoy or try something completely new. You never know, you might find out that you actually like one class over another and change your major accordingly. You just never know so you might as well take a chance every once in a while.
One semester I ended up taking a Mythology class that counted for two of my core classes, and it was actually pretty interesting. I actually really like Greek mythology, so the class ended up being a perfect fit for me. I’ve also taken a horseback riding class in college, which was really fun to learn a new skill. Plus I got a killer work out twice a week without me hitting the gym!
Tip #9: Consider your current or future work schedule
A lot of students, including myself, work through college, whether it be part time, full time, on campus, or off campus. Anytime that you are planning out your coursework, always keep into account your current or future work schedule. I used to always work in the evenings, so I tried to always have my classes end around noon or 1 pm so I could have enough time to go to work. But you could easily have a completely different schedule. Regardless of your work situation or schedule, always try to plan for your hours in your class schedule.
Tip #10: Always have a back-up plan and be flexible
Always plan for the unexpected when it comes to planning out your life and especially your school schedule. That class that you wanted with Dr. So-and So on Tuesdays and Thursday might be booked up by the time you register for classes. When I was in undergrad, I always made a back-up schedule just in case something went wrong in my original plan. The best way to do this is when you’re signing up for classes, sign up for everything that was on your “want” list and then make the necessary changes afterwards. This way you can at least most of the classes that you wanted before the classes get filled up.
Scheduling for your college classes can be pretty stressful, but honestly as long as you have a plan, it’s not that bad. Do your research, plan ahead of time, and check in with your advisor any time that you’re having a crisis. I promise you’ll be fine!
You might also like: 1o Things Nobody Told You About College, 15 Apps and Websites All Students Should Sign Up For, and A College Student’s Guide to Staying Safe on Campus
