Weeks before you set foot in a classroom, you’ll have to pass your first GW test – registering for your first semester courses. From freshman year to your last semester, every student is anxious when class registration rolls around.

Even if you’ve created the perfect schedule, slept with a spoon under your pillow and replaced your internet router, something will inevitably go wrong. Upperclassmen will steal your spots, the website will crash and the 9:35 a.m. section of a class will fill up, forcing you to take an 8 a.m. class.

Here are some do’s and don’ts to help you through the draining process of class registration:

Do: Remember your CRNs
The CRNs, or course reference numbers, are the five-digit codes assigned to each course. This is what you use to sign up for a class. It’s important to type them in perfectly, or you could find yourself inadvertently registered for intro to massage therapy, rather than macroeconomics.

Do: Practice typing the CRNs
Practice typing the CRNs into a blank word document. If muscle memory isn’t your style, a post-it note with your course numbers stuck to your laptop screen should do the trick.

Do: Make sure you wake up in time
Set a few alarms to wake you up twenty minutes before registration opens. This will give you plenty of time to start your computer, have a cup of coffee and warm up your phalanges. If all goes well, you’ll be back to bed in no time.

Don’t: Stay up all night
Throwing it back to your elementary school sleepovers and staying up all night might seem tempting. Renting a couple of PG-13 movies, ordering a pizza and stocking up on gummy worms could sound like a good idea, but a 6 a.m. crash is inevitable, and a Red Bull is not always the answer.

Don’t: Switch classes through Facebook
Don’t try to claim the classes you want before registration by posting in the Class of 2020 Facebook group. This is the digital equivalent of licking the cookie your sister is about to grab, and it is just as annoying to your future classmates.

Do: Check course openings throughout the summer
Keep checking throughout the summer for spots to open and times of courses to change. And if something still doesn’t work out? There will always be a chance to take Japanese sword fighting next semester.