Registration frustrates undecided freshman

By Nakita Podhradsky

Mirror Staff Writer
November 30, 2007

There is a sign posted on my floor entitled “Before I Went to College, I Wish I Had Known…” It is composed of facts about college life, such as “No matter how late I schedule my first class, I will sleep right through it,” and “I could change so much and not realize it.”

You know what I wish it said? I wish it told me what classes I should take. I wish it said “Take this class - its fun,” or “Don’t worry about taking that class – you’re just going to change your major.”

Picking out the right classes is always hard. It’s not easy to get where you’re going if you only have a vague idea of where you want to end up.

As a freshman, I especially feel the pressure of trying to guess the right classes to take.

I remember trying to pick out my classes for my first semester. I worked my way through the list of classes to make sure I didn’t miss any opportunities. Then, I thought long and hard about the ones I was interested in and tried to come up with the best combination. And after I finished registering, I changed my mind a few times.

Looking back, I don’t know why I made the process so stressful. Things turned out fine. So this semester, I decided to take a less stressful approach. I picked five that sounded interesting, were still open and were at different times - and I hoped they satisfied some requirement. That method ended up working pretty well, but still I wonder if I am taking the right classes.

I know many others were dealing with the same issues. How do you figure out what classes you need to take to end up with a major in four years? And, probably the most stressful question, what do you do when you finally figure out what classes to take, and you can’t get into them?

Personally, I’ve decided it probably doesn’t matter as much as I think it does. Registration is over. Now I am going to sit back and stop worrying about it. And if I end up with a class I would rather not have, it’s okay. College is about learning and trying new things. There’s room for taking a bad schedule. I haven’t heard anyone say his or her biggest mistake in life was taking a wrong class. Yet.