With advising coming to a close, now is the perfect time to start planning how you want your schedule to be. There are many factors that come into play when it comes to making a schedule. Factors such as your major, your year in school and how many transfer credits you have are things to take into consideration.
Depending on what majors and minors you take on, will determine how long you’re in school and what classes you take when. If you’re a person who wants to have multiple majors and minors, be prepared to take more than 15 credits each semester. Be sure to strategically plan out your schedule as well. In my opinion, it is better to take classes that are alike each semester because they sometimes come hand in hand. It might be easier to retain information because either you’re going to hear it twice, or it’s going to be an extension of what you have previously learned.
If you are someone who has one major and plans on sticking with that one major, you could be out of school fairly quickly depending on the major. For example, I came into PSUC with one major in mind: newspaper journalism. However, if I were to stick with that one major, I most likely would have graduated this semester. I decided to pick up a similar major and a minor. If you play your cards right, it is possible to graduate without serving the full four years.
Your year in school can also play a factor in how you plan out your schedule. If you are a senior, you probably have to take final exams for your major. Think about taking the most important senior classes the semester before you graduate. Just in case you don’t pass or get the grade you want, you have another chance next semester.
Some of us had the opportunity to enroll in college classes for credit while we were in high school. If you have younger siblings, encourage them to do this. It can shorten your time in college. You can have many of your gen ed credits finished by the time you get to a university. This way you can really focus on your major and retaining as much information as possible.
Often, the classes we desperately need to be in to remain on track to graduate fill up quickly. Sometimes we’re so unlucky that the class is only offered every other semester or every other year.
Desperate time calls for desperate measures. Talk to the professor and let him or her know what’s going on. Hopefully they will understand and allow you to enroll in the class. If not, talk to your adviser and see what he or she can do. Don’t wait until the last minute, however. It will lower your chances of getting into the class.
Seniors have a lot to think about when it comes to planning a schedule. They dream about having a short schedule their last semester. However, some don’t think about how financial aid comes into play when you don’t have enough credits to be considered a full-time student. Carefully plan out your schedule, so your last semester gets you to graduation and gets you financial aid.
Adults dream of being able to make their own work schedule. Why not somewhat fulfill those dreams in college? You’ll be able to think of more than just are you going to be able to wake up in time for that 9 a.m. class? You can think about the future and strategically plan out your time in college.
Email Tamiyha Carter at cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
