Facing class registration for the first time? The Dos and Don’ts

Adjunct professor Philip Muehlenbeck teaches a U.S. diplomatic history class. Hatchet File Photo

Freshmen, the ultimate test of how fast you can enter five-number sequences has arrived: class registration starts Thursday.

Your first time registering for college courses is exciting, but possibly anxiety-inducing as well. You’re going to want to avoid morning classes and you definitely don’t want class on Fridays. You have to start checking the boxes of your four-year plan with a few requirements, but you also want to go a bit outside of your comfort zone with a philosophy elective.

And what’s more, you’re wondering if you should register for the class your Colonial Inauguration leader highly recommended after you saw the professor’s abysmal score on RateMyProfessor.

First, relax and think ahead. Carve out some time to look over the new bulletin GW released this summer. The requirements for every major and minor are now in one place online, so you can start planning now.

Still worried? Don’t be. Here are some dos and don’ts for tackling the first step of your college career.

Do…

1. Have backups

You may have a dream schedule with only political science and history courses for your first semester, but so do hundreds of your classmates. You could have your heart set on one class, but make sure that you have other options ready in case it fills up quickly.

2. Take at least one class you’re dreading

Introductory classes for your science or math requirement will have plenty of open spots. As much as you don’t want to take them this year, you definitely don’t want to be the only senior in a lecture hall filled with freshmen because you pushed off the inevitable.

3. Look for classes on the Vern

You have to take University Writing there anyway this year, and the Mount Vernon campus offers smaller classes that are only available in large lecture halls on Foggy Bottom. With a day on the Vern, you can take advantage of some of the its perks like the quiet green spaces or the lunch offerings at Zebi in Ames Hall.

Don’t…

1. Hold yourself to a rigid schedule

Stay flexible in choosing courses for the morning, afternoon or evening, and switch it up from day to day. Even if you’re a morning person, you’ll regret running out before 9:30 a.m. after late nights studying or hanging out with your floormates in Thurston Hall.

2. Completely rely on RateMyProfessor

The website is definitely a valuable tool to gauge how much work you’ll have to put into the class and whether the professor cares more about essays or testing. But the reviews don’t always provide the full picture and can come only from students who either loved or absolutely hated the professor – or the course material.

3. Think this is your last chance to make your schedule

In the weeks leading up to the fall semester, students will tweak their schedules to accommodate jobs and internships, or just because they’ve changed their minds. If you’re unhappy after registering, keep checking to see if any spots in a class have opened throughout the summer.