With the last few weeks of the fall semester coming and spring registration right around the corner, students scramble to meet with advisors and plan for their next semester of classes. Students start to scour Winona State University eservices for available classes and get together plans of what they need to take to fulfill their required classes. Some lucky students have their semesters already planned for them by their advisors where they can easily pick out classes they need for their upcoming semester while others are left to scramble.
Fourth-year student Jaydon Hendershott details how the previous years have been extremely stressful for her during registration season. When trying to understand what classes she needed to take and meeting with her last advisor, she was given little help in laying out a detailed path for her classes. With her new advisor, she is given a detailed plan of when to take classes broken down to each semester where she can easily plan and even switch around classes to best fit her schedule.
“It’s really unfortunate because a lot of Gen ED classes fill up quickly especially if it’s a class that you’re really interested in.” Hendershott said. “But with major classes, it’s not hard because they don’t fill up but if they do, I can get green carded in.”
By balancing out your schedule between gen ed and major classes, your schedule can be easier to manage when worrying about being able to get into the classes you need. Another way of making registering for classes easier is to plan ahead for some classes to fill up and find substitute classes that can be switched for classes that are filled which will still give you the credit you need.
Second-year student Rachel Fredrick details how having early class registration helps alleviate her stress about classes. As a student with accommodations, Fredrick is able to get the earliest possible registration access time to make the next semester less stressful for her. With this early access, she can also easily plan ahead for her classes as she can ensure that she gets the classes she needs without worrying about classes filling up and finding substitutes.
“This helps alleviate a lot of anxiety for me because I can envision and become comfortable with a four-year plan.” Fredrick said. “I have more time to prepare mentally for what I will need to take.”
Much of the stress of registering for classes can be relieved by a solidified plan made by and provided by helpful advisors. Other times, students are left to their own devices to piece together their requirements, either for their gen eds or for their majors and minors which can lead to many hours spent staring at their computer screens to find the right class for them in the next semester.
A lot of the stress for registering for classes comes from the unknown of what classes you need to take and which will be available. By having a helpful advisor with whom you can meet and plan your semesters, the turbulent times of registration can go more smoothly with a set plan to follow.
