Congratulations! You just completed the first semester of college and packed things to go home for winter break. Then, you get an email from your advisor. "Have you registered for classes yet?" You are used to having advisors make schedules for you—whether for your first semester of college or high school. So, how exactly do you register for courses? This article helps you build your college schedule for your second semester and get you ready for beyond your second semester.

Blocking Out Availability

The first step to creating a schedule is to block out times you will not be available. There might be multiple reasons not to take classes at a particular time. If you have a job, whether on or off campus, you must consider what hours you work. You might work better at night, which could be a reason to omit early morning classes. Either way, establish times that do not work for you. If you are not so sure about a time, keep it open. It is often difficult to get the exact time for classes you want because you are the last group of students to register. Keeping all times you are free available is important at this stage in the process.

Meet With Your Advisor (Schedule in Advance!)

After you have blocked out the time needed, your next step is to check what classes you need to graduate with your desired degree. Here, you should seek guidance from your advisor. You will likely meet with this person (and should) earlier in the semester to determine what classes you need to take and in what order to take them. You may create a plan for your entire college career while you meet with them to stay on track. Come prepared for these meetings. If you're thinking about changing your major, bring this up. Similarly, it's helpful to have these conversations earlier rather than later if you're thinking about doubling majoring.

You'll decide how many credit hours you plan to take in your advisor meeting. If you're on scholarships that require a certain number of hours, make sure to bring this up. Consider what kind of pace you'd like to take throughout your degree. Maybe you take fewer courses if you have a challenging semester and then sign up for summer courses. However, ensure the courses you need in the summer will be offered. Your advisor can help you with this.

Course Catalogue

After determining what classes to take, visit your university's schedule of courses page. You might find this platform on your school's main website. Use this to look up a class's department and find what times it is offered. You might run into courses that meet simultaneously, and you can't be in two places at once. Establishing a backup schedule can eliminate some of this stress. Not only might you have classes that overlap, but you might also have classes that fill up quickly before you even get the chance to register. Always assume you cannot get into your first-choice courses and plan for backup with your advisor.

Registration

This is the culmination of everything. You need to pick classes that work timewise, fit how many hours you plan on taking, and have a backup schedule if necessary. Once you get a schedule together, you'll wait for your registration time—likely sometime after midnight or early in the morning, like 6 AM. Plan to log onto the registration site at least five minutes before your registration time opens. You never know if it might open early. My suggestion is to keep refreshing the page until it opens.

This is the most stressful part of the registration process. Take a deep breath and remember it is not the end of the world if you do not end up in your first-choice classes. If you need a required course that fills up, immediately send your advisor an email and determine the next steps. Do not pick something random and hope it will satisfy the requirement.

After you have submitted your schedule, your next semester's courses will appear as registered courses. If any issues arise during this process, or you do not see a course you registered for, contact your academic advisor or your school's IT department, depending on the issue. Hopefully, at this point, you are excited about the classes you are taking! After all, if you are not excited about the courses you will be taking, maybe it really is time to change your major.