The time of the year for selecting new courses has arrived. Students start to pick their classes for next semester, creating the perfect schedule. Some might try to have classes later in the day, so they can get up early to do some work or maybe just sleep more. All-in-all, it proves a stressful time.
Course selection for the upcoming spring semester proved more stressful than in the past.
It began the day the classes opened up for the seniors. They had first pick, so everything was open for them, ready for the taking. I received notifications throughout the day, telling me that three of the classes I wanted had closed because they filled completely. I said to myself not to panic, as I still had a chance that students dropped classes and chose other ones.
But this didn’t happen.
The second day for seniors came and went, taking another two courses off of my list. The same thing happened with the junior class, as two more classes filled up.
I stared at my beautiful, neat sheet of paper, filled with all the classes I wanted to take, as well as the back-ups to those classes. I had started with 12 courses. I wanted to prepare ahead because I knew that some of them would fill up because of the upperclassmen. Nevertheless, I didn’t expect to have five classes left, some of which overlapped with others.
I then permitted myself to freak out for a little bit. I quickly started to look up for more classes, making sure that they fulfilled the requirements that I needed for either the core curriculum or for my English major.
Slowly but surely, I got my five classes. My class pass fell on the second day for the sophomore class, so I trembled with anticipation. I repeatedly pulled out my phone throughout the day, hoping to see no changes in the status of the courses I desired.
Then my day came, finally. My pick time occurred around mid-day, so I just went about my day as normal. In class, I kept glancing at the clock. I thought, “This clock is going by too slow; I need to run to my room once I get out of this class.”
I rushed to my room after class when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Another class filled. I just closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I knew that everything would turn out alright in the end, but I really did not believe that any more classes could fill, especially so close to my own pick time.
Opening the door to my room, I placed my backpack next to my desk, took out my laptop and looked up any class that I could enroll in, at least temporarily. Once I found a sociology class that looked simple enough, I opened up the software that took me to the course selection page.
Staring at the clock as it slowly approached 12:00 p.m. at the top corner of my computer, I prepared myself for whatever might come my way. The clock struck 12:00, and I typed away into my laptop.
Slowly, all the courses started to fill up my computer screen. I made sure to save my schedule after I input each class. After five minutes, I completed my schedule for Spring 2019. While I needed to iron out a few wrinkles, the schedule turned out great.but overall, it seemed great.
Selecting courses can prove extremely difficult, especially when students, like myself, need to start focusing more on the classes mandatory for our major. It can prove quite nerve-wracking. Not knowing what courses you’ll have available during your selection time may become a constant, obsessive thought in the back of your mind.
Despite the stress class selections may cause, it will pass. Students will eventually drop the class that you wanted, and you can jump right in and fill that spot. And if it doesn’t work out the way you expected, then perhaps it will prove for the best. Maybe taking that class that you didn’t initially want will change you for the better in the long run.
