This is a contributed post by Karen Dentler, author of “Go to Class: How to Succeed at College.”
Don’t judge a course by its title: Read the course description before registering for a college class and other registration tips from a former dean
As an assistant dean at a large state university, my colleagues and I helped countless incoming first-year and transfer students select their fall classes. Throughout the late spring and summer, students arrived on campus for their various advising days feeling nervous.
The days were long and full of speeches, icebreakers, and information sessions. By the time we got the students in our room for academic advising, they were often overwhelmed and tired. Plus, it didn’t help that registering for their courses was the last task they had to complete before heading home.
So, we cracked a few jokes, led them through a few group deep breaths, and helped them register. When they finished, we tried to get them psyched to return in the fall and sent them on their way. We repeated this process over and over, well into August.
Each College Handles Course Selection Differently
My daughter’s experience at a small liberal arts college was different from the process at the large state school where I worked. Yet registering for classes for the first time anywhere can be nerve-wracking. Even if your student is in a highly specialized major that dictates some (or even most) courses on your student’s fall schedule, most first-year and transfer students will likely need to make a few decisions over the next few months.
3 Tips To Help Your Teen Through The College Course Selection Process
1) Encourage your student to get informed!
Registration is not the time to wing it. If the college offers in-person or online information sessions or advising, urge your kid to attend and pay attention. (If your student can get a good night’s sleep and eat a hearty breakfast, even better!) Most colleges provide access to ample materials to read in advance.
These materials explain major and college requirements, registration procedures, how to transfer AP or credits from another school, course pre-requisites, placement testing, important deadlines, and much more. Advise your child to read the materials carefully.
2) Keep the task simple and focused.
Choosing classes is not the time to plan out graduating in three years or transferring to a different school. It is also not the day to finalize career or graduate school plans. Remember that students just need to select a few initial courses. If the college provides a list of new classes or courses that the school recommends for first-semester students, your student should strongly consider those courses. Plus, these classes are likely to still have seats!
It is also helpful for students to remember that most schools have a drop/add period when students can switch their courses at the start of the semester. While it isn’t wise to plan to change a schedule completely during the drop add at the beginning of the semester, tweaking a schedule is common, and dropping and adding classes is typically a quick and easy online process. Remember that a student’s initial registration is important, but it isn’t EVERYTHING.
3) Make sure your kid reads the course descriptions.
Students should NEVER select a course using only the course title. As someone who has advised hundreds, probably thousands, of college students during my 20-plus years in higher education, I can state unequivocally that your child MUST read the full course description before registering for a class. Many great courses have boring titles, and many schools offer multiple classes with very similar names.
Occasionally, departments use flashy titles to help fill unpopular courses because they know so few students take the time to read course descriptions. In addition to describing the content of the class, course descriptions can provide information about pre-requisites, co-requisites, course format, etc. Some pre-requisites can be unexpected. For example, at the school where I worked, General Biology requires placement into Expository Writing 101 or higher.
Knowing this type of information in advance can save time and reduce confusion. Kids can, of course, go further by finding a syllabus online, and syllabi can provide even more in-depth information. Yet reading the basic course description should be non-negotiable.
When registration questions invariably arise, your student should reach out to staff and faculty for help. Learning to ask for help is essential for success at college. So, help your kid start developing this skill now.
You can find more information on this topic as well as many other insider tips from the author Karen Dentler, in her new book “Go to Class: How to Succeed at College.”
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