Hi, I know some people began to schedule their classes, but I feel the need to talk with an adviser before scheduling my classes. I know some gen. ed. classes can be schedule before they run out of spots, but I think I should talk with an adviser about my placement test score before registering for other courses like math and chemistry. I guess I just want to feel safe before I schedule my classes because I don’t want to drop a class unless I have to. So, is it better to schedule now or to wait?
You are supposed to schedule at NSO. That is when you see an adviser and are told how to use the system.
Just my opinion…I am not sure there is a “correct” answer to your question. If you think you need to wait…then wait. It is not an all or nothing situation; you can register for some electives and not the math and chemistry if you choose. If you register for one math class ahead of time and after a conversation with an advisor you decide to take a different one…that change could take two minutes to make at NSO.
Different majors may be different, but I was surprised at the level of advisor involvement my son described after registering at NSO. Based on what I had read, I was anticipating a one-on-one discussion with the advisor, but that was not the case. Perhaps because he didn’t ask for one or particularly need it, but not sure. In addition; at least for his major, he said (if you hadn’t already signed up for classes) someone else had already pre-populated the core classes in the schedule. I think I would rather sit down ahead of time and lay out a schedule that worked for me…based on my personal preference of late or early classes. Once again; changes can be made there, but if these are going to be pre-populated for you…why not decide for yourself ahead of time?
Maybe some majors frown upon signing up before NSO, but I think it is an opportunity to take charge of your making your own decisions…something you are going to have to get use to doing anyway.
Best of luck.
Dropping a class is no big deal, unless you are trying to do it in September after the drop/add date. Right now, there’s no downside to loading your cart with what seems sensible, and then running it past an advisor to double check. If you have the wrong level of math, you can drop it and try and add the right one. My son registers earlier than his cohort (yay summer classes!) and has often registered for a class a friend wants to hold the spot until the friend’s registration day. They will sit side by side, laptops open. He drops, an instant later the friend gets an email that a spot has opened (you can watchlist a class for precisely this reason) and the friend picks it up.
Advising is not some heart-to-heart conversation about your goals. That is not what a school of 40K students is offering you. It’s more of a fact-check, column A/column B choice moment, especially for freshmen. Your choices are so limited both in availability and pre-reqs, that there’s not a lot to discuss.
I agree fully with @greenbutton that if you have the capability to register for Fall classes now even before the NSO, you should take advantage of it. If you go to the “Schedule of Courses” you’ll see that a lot of classes are filling up. especially during the “popular” late morning and afternoon periods. Even as a freshman, there’s probably one elective-type class you want to take, whether it be a not-too-popular foreign language course or what. So you want to reserve your slot for those right away as choices may be limited.
Also, I’d like to point out that the “Schedule Planner” feature in eLion is really good! Basically, you put in the courses sections you want, the break times you want, and it’ll find all the possible schedules for you. And when you’re done you can print out the schedule as a Weekly Calendar. Pretty cool!!!
At my dd’s NSO, she had a one-on-one meeting with an adviser. She came to the meeting with a class plan and lots of questions. The adviser did actually advise her about her schedule, plans and wishes and convinced her to take a class that she was going to wait and take the second semester. She thought it was a thorough meeting and very helpful.
@gatormom01 what is your daughter’s major?
Computer Science.
@greenbutton I am an international student, but I have seen some international students have already started scheduling their classes through eLion, because the classes might fill up. Should I do the same or wait till ISO comes up?