First and foremost, who is your advisor?
Whether this is your FYS professor or someone in your major, get ahead of the curve and request a meeting with them. This step is required in order to register for classes! They are also your best resource to make sure you stay on track. That being said, if you have multiple majors/areas of interest, have multiple advisors! Once you are out of your first semester you can change your advisor at any time on My Coe.
Pull up your course catalog and layout your major’s requirements
A quick Google search is the easiest way to find the course catalog for your year, and in it, you will find all listed requirements for your major(s). I suggest creating a document with these for easier future reference! I also personally highlight sections that I have completed so that it is easier to look at and see where my progress is. Just make sure you are accessing the right catalog as requirements change each year!
Create a rough plan for your four years at Coe
Working backward from graduation with your desired degree(s) roughly plan out what your class schedule will look like. Include any potential study abroad plans, courses that must happen during a certain year (ie. senior seminar), and go from there! Keep in mind that some programs, such as Nursing, have a specific required plan already made for you. Don’t forget to include gen eds also found in the course catalog, and remember that this does not need to be the plan you actually follow, it is just stress relieving to have a plan of some kind. This is a great thing to work on with your advisor if you aren’t sure where to start!
During the meeting(s)
Bring your preparations to your meeting and talk through them with your advisor, they may make some suggestions or confirm that you are good to go! (They will also probably be very impressed that you are so prepared, don’t forget that your advisors can help set you up with connections so impressions are important!) If you are unsure about which classes to take this is a great time to ask, and to confirm what your future plans are. Make sure to talk through any study abroad plans and what adjustments you may need to make because of this. If your major allows you to, make sure to preregister for those classes while you are with your advisor! In addition, I recommend talking through two backup classes before you end your meeting so that if things don’t work out come registration time you aren’t scrambling!
Register for classes!!
Now that you are all prepared and have made a plan, get ready to get up early and register for your classes. The night before look through your list and prioritize which class to sign up for first based on which one is already the most full. You will more than likely be registering at 7:30 am so set several alarms and make sure you are up at least 10 minutes prior to get ready. Pull up MyCoe and your list, and prepare for the short window of time that you have to get those classes you want. Most people are going to be done within 5 minutes, so make sure you are prepared! If you are able to, use ethernet or a hotspot to register as many people will be on the wifi at the same time as you and it will be horribly slow. Using this method I have managed to snag the last spot in my preferred classes several times, that extra few seconds of speed is important! If you aren’t able to do either of these, think extra carefully about that priority list so you don’t miss out on your most important classes. And remember that if you don’t get a class you want you can always ask the professor to join the class or wait and see if a spot opens up! Remember to take some deep breaths, you’ve got this!
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