How to secure an amazing class schedule
By Miranda Mowrey, Columnist
As midterm season finally comes to a close, some of you go-getters are probably starting to think about the classes you will take in the spring. To be honest, I find building my class schedule so satisfying, that I already have my class shopping cart locked, loaded, and ready for enrollment in November.
Even though the best part is over, I still find pleasure in admiring the way my week looks: only Tuesday and Thursday classes that begin at 11 a.m. and don’t go a hair past 4 pm. It’s just so beautiful!
Anyways, for a scheduling pro like myself, I decided to do something really nice and give free, expert advice on how to build the schedule of your dreams.
Find out the days and times that you can enroll.
I’ve encountered some students that put off signing up for classes until the last possible minute because they were too stressed to deal with the inevitable (No Chad, you will not graduate on time if you keep dropping Geology 101).
Don’t be a Chad. Check your Towson Peoplesoft account for the date and time you will need to enroll. The longer you wait to enroll, the less selection you will have. Registration begins in early November, so get cracking on your search for classes.
Use RateMyProffesors.com, but take everything with a grain of salt.
While you shouldn’t entirely rely on this website, I have found it to be an extremely useful tool over the course of my five semesters at Towson. Not only does RateMyProfessors.com offer personal student reviews of many professors, but it also provides information about whether attendance is mandatory or if the “required” textbook is even used. Obviously, some salty students are biased in their reviews and can skew results, but overall, this website is a good resource during scheduling season.
Understand your strengths and weaknesses as a student.
Are you some sort of wizard who can snooze the piercing cry of your alarm clock until quarter-to-eight and still arrive to class at 8 a.m. sharp? If you have this magical power, enrolling in morning classes is a great choice because then you will have the rest of the day to press “continue watching” on Netflix as you mindlessly scroll through all platforms of social media. If you have not yet mastered the art of getting up before noon, don’t kid yourself and just enroll in evening classes.
Online classes are great if you think you have the self-control and responsibility to teach information to yourself and meet deadlines. If your bank account or recent texts to your ex show your lack of self-control, it may be best to stick to on-campus classes. You can decide whether you would rather get a class over with all in one three-hour chunk, or if you would rather attend shorter classes multiple times a week. Each student has varying preferences and learns differently, so take time to think about what personally works for you.
Find a balance between the challenging and simple classes.
It might sound great to stack all 100-level classes into one semester and spend your time doing more enjoyable things besides warming up the seats in Cook Library. However, you’re going to be very mad at yourself later in your college career when you’re forced to cram all of your major requirements into one semester. Create the Goldilocks of class schedules by balancing the harder, more demanding classes with the easier, less rigorous classes.
If you have any questions about your schedule or whether or not you’re on track for graduation (I’m looking at you, Chad), reach out to your academic advisor sooner rather than later to straighten things out. Happy scheduling!
