The Don'ts of Course Scheduling

By Aaliyah Freeman

A friend once described the first day of course registration as a “bloodbath.” Coincidentally, this is also the day that Honors students register for classes.

My friend’s description, he later explained, was a metaphor for the stress and competition surrounding course registration. At least once in one’s college career, it is likely they will encounter a course that seemingly everyone is trying to get into.

Or, they’ll find themselves surfing RateMyProfessor trying to figure out what others claim is the best section of a course.

Is all the stress worth it? In my mind…yes. But that’s the short answer.

The longer I’m in college, the more I realize how impactful a schedule can be on your entire life as a student. Your course schedule can affect your mental health, eating habits, grades, job, social life, and so much more.

However, there’s a lot of universal “don'ts” I think everyone should keep in mind when setting up their course schedules in order to ensure they have a balanced and healthy semester.

The longer I’m in college, the more I realize how impactful a schedule can be on your entire life as a student. Your course schedule can affect your mental health, eating habits, grades, job, social life, and so much more.

a student writing

Don’t eat class for lunch.

Especially if you prefer to get your courses out of the way before the evening, it’s important to be careful of scheduling classes back-to-back during the middle of the day. Eating lunch is crucial, and you risk burnout without it.

Don’t get too wrapped up in professors’ ratings.

There’s many websites people use to get intel on professors’ teaching styles and what other students think about them. However, take those reviews with a grain of salt. Every student has different learning styles and needs, so the bane of one student’s existence may just be your best professor yet. A more objective way to learn about if a course or professor is right for you is to email them directly. You can ask questions about the expected time commitment for the class or request the syllabus ahead of time to get a read on things.

Don’t overestimate or underestimate yourself.

Not a morning person? Choosing to take an 8 a.m. as opposed to a 5 p.m. class might not change that, so don’t overestimate the ability to change habits. Sometimes it’s best to register for courses that you know you’ll be most likely to attend, even on days that you’re more tired. Even still, don’t underestimate yourself either.
If you’re torn between taking 12 and 15 credits, sign up for that extra three credits. It’s easy to drop a course if your schedule feels too full, but it can be really hard to register for an additional one for it once the semester starts.

Don’t plan for awkward breaks.

“Awkward breaks,” give you just enough time to relax but not enough time to do much else comfortably. For example, 30 minutes between a class is a pretty narrow timeframe to walk 10 minutes to your dorm or apartment, decompress, and then walk 10 minutes back to campus. Half an hour isn’t much time to stand in line and eat, go to an appointment and back, attend an event, etc.
When deciding whether an awkward break is worth it, ask yourself, “How much time out of this break will I use to travel to my next destination and back to class? What can I comfortably do in the remaining time frame? How early do I like to be in class?”
The alternative to awkward breaks is much more attractive in my opinion, which is to have large, multiple hour gaps in your schedule, as opposed to small ones. This allows you to better segment your day into meaningful blocks that give you a proper amount of time to go home, decompress, go off-campus for an appointment, work a shift, or maybe take a nap.

Don’t forget to enjoy yourself.

Not everyone has the space in their schedule to take a few fun classes in the mix of their regular courses. However, sometimes making your schedule enjoyable means having a healthy mix of classes you know you’ll enjoy and ones that you might be less ideal. The key to a good schedule, which oftentimes can’t be ideal, is balance.

Photo courtesy of Karolina Grabowska via Pexels