<p>Hazmat, you may be correct but not in many cases. Back in the day the seats were offered “first come-first served” as it was at Cornell where I attended grad school, and the university where I have taught for oh so many years.</p>
<p>At Rensselaer where my son attends, scheduling is done on line and seats are assigned instantaneously. One thing they do is to stagger registration dates so seniors get first choice, juniors second choice, sophs third and frosh last choice.</p>
<p>Where the college catalogues fall short is in the area of electives. Instead of listing specific courses they mention only free electives, technical electives, GEC electives, etc. It is important for students to begin thinking about specific electives they may want to take early on.</p>