Registering for classes as first year student

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid met on Zoom with his adviser in July where they chose courses for the fall. He has done that every semester since then.

Hit submit too soon. Then he is given a date and time to register online. He has to have a list of backup classes to take if the ones he needs are full (fairly often his first two years). A few times he had emailed professors to ask them to override their closed course and a few have done so. I do remember going to a few classes I wanted it needed in the first week in the hope someone dropped it and the profound let me in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At my kid’s school they decide for you based on your stated major, graduation requirements, a few questions about language interests and your learning community. You get your class schedule during orientation. If you want to change after that you have to go through add/drop. Freshman get last pick.

Similar for my kid except they emailed it to her in May or June. And it coordinates with her sports practice schedule so everything fits.

My son is at Montgomery College and it’s pretty painless there as well. Some classes are waitlisted so we’ve made a note to be sure we register as soon as it opens for spring semester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious - Did any of your parents have a clue about your class registration process - or even what classes you were taking - back in the 90s? Mine sure didn’t.

I was going to say the same thing. This is pretty nuts. Starting a thread about class registrations and the difficulties involved is basically like saying “does anyone else’s kid have trouble going to the bathroom in the dorm?”

Handwringing over course registration, by parents, is the regular theme on FB parent pages at both my kid at the ivy and the one at WM. Then the veteran parents reply to calm down there are placement exams and/or AP scores to wait for, advisors need to sign off in some cases, and in the end they all end up getting required classes. Both schools have course waitlists but more sections/spots are opened if needed at the start of the semester so no one gets shut out of required courses. Larlo may not get his first choice seminar or his first choice calc section but he will get into the courses. Parents even know what professors are "harsh" this summer. When the curve in each section yields 80% Bs and As no one is a "harsh" grader. If Larla gets the "bad" chem prof it won't push her out of premed if she has the smarts to be an MD in the first place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UMich is difficult. My kid needed a lot of support figuring out a good track for a double major. A big public can be challenging with overcrowding and waitlists.

My friend's with freshman kids at Michigan got not none of their course requests for this fall. One wants to be biology major and is in 3 history classes. The one who wants data science is in nothing related at all. It's not for lack of trying.

My own child is going to UVA and they do course registration during summer orientation while the parents are there. It's hard not to get involved or at glossary care as a parent cause you see your kid 5 minutes later. And most kids are not getting their preferred classes either. Mg kid wants to take biology (wants to be a major) and all sections were full. Considering being pre-med but all sections of chemistry and calculus were full as well. There will be spots that open at the add/drop time but it's a stressful way to start freshman year.

[Anonymous]

Freshmen don't get what they want. You know this if you went to colleges.

If they are smart enough to get into college, they are smart enough to navigate this process without our micromanagement. We listen, we empathize, we encourage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious - Did any of your parents have a clue about your class registration process - or even what classes you were taking - back in the 90s? Mine sure didn’t.

Seriously. I have one kid at a large state university, and another at a small LAC, and they have both handled this 100% independently, without any intervention from me. Both did it in conjunction with their advisors, and reported no problems.

[Anonymous]

I never told my mommy about the trouble I had registering for classes, my kids never told their mommy, and none of us ever shared it with any other mommies either.

You all reeaallly need to step back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just curious - Did any of your parents have a clue about your class registration process - or even what classes you were taking - back in the 90s? Mine sure didn’t.

No because it was done in person waiting in line after parents dropped us off

How old ARE you? Ours was done on the computer, no parent input at all though.

52

Yup^^
I'm 48.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia Tech assigns advisors to freshman students over the summer. My DC was able to discuss options via Zoom with her advisor and had no issue getting the classes she needed.

Same.
I figured this was pretty standard, but reading this thread i guess it's not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMich is difficult. My kid needed a lot of support figuring out a good track for a double major. A big public can be challenging with overcrowding and waitlists.

My friend's with freshman kids at Michigan got not none of their course requests for this fall. One wants to be biology major and is in 3 history classes. The one who wants data science is in nothing related at all. It's not for lack of trying.

My own child is going to UVA and they do course registration during summer orientation while the parents are there. It's hard not to get involved or at glossary care as a parent cause you see your kid 5 minutes later. And most kids are not getting their preferred classes either. Mg kid wants to take biology (wants to be a major) and all sections were full. Considering being pre-med but all sections of chemistry and calculus were full as well. There will be spots that open at the add/drop time but it's a stressful way to start freshman year.

If Michigan is like other state schools, over the summer as other kids decide to not attend, switch classes, etc. all of the class-level wait lists change and kids who got NONE of their first picks are the first ones to move up on the wait lists. Even at the largest universities the registrars have usually systems for making sure every student gets at least something that they want/need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At Amherst, freshmen don't register until they arrive on campus. Strange system, guess we'll see how it goes!

This is why people go to SLACs. They may not have as many course offerings as other schools, but they generally don't have all these issues with students not being able to get classes they want or need...there isn't too much variation from term to term in how many kids will register for a class so the colleges know how many sections of a class they need to offer, and the campuses are flexible enough that they don't have to book every classroom space and lab every minute of the day so you don't end up with a schedule at all hours of the day to be able to fit everything in.

[Anonymous]

It's clearly making some of you feel
superior to feel like you have such independent kids but some state schools have summer orientation FOR KIDS AND PARENTS together and the kids register for classes at the end of this. I literally picked up my kid from the class registration line and we pulled out of the parking lot to drive home. My kid shared the good/bad because he literally registered 5 minutes earlier and you know, we talk to each other.

I have a sophomore whose college didn't do this and that kid did everything on his own with his advisor once he got to school. I found out what classes he registered for when we talked later a week later.

Now when I was a college student my parents didn't attend a 2 day parent orientation because it didn't exist so it was more like my older kid's experience except I waited in line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Amherst, freshmen don't register until they arrive on campus. Strange system, guess we'll see how it goes!

This is why people go to SLACs. They may not have as many course offerings as other schools, but they generally don't have all these issues with students not being able to get classes they want or need...there isn't too much variation from term to term in how many kids will register for a class so the colleges know how many sections of a class they need to offer, and the campuses are flexible enough that they don't have to book every classroom space and lab every minute of the day so you don't end up with a schedule at all hours of the day to be able to fit everything in.

Several posters with kids at state universities have said their kids had a seamless experience meeting with their advisors and choosing classes. And others - with kids at SLACS - have said it was a nightmare to choose classes. Might not want to generalize...
DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UMich is difficult. My kid needed a lot of support figuring out a good track for a double major. A big public can be challenging with overcrowding and waitlists.

My friend's with freshman kids at Michigan got not none of their course requests for this fall. One wants to be biology major and is in 3 history classes. The one who wants data science is in nothing related at all. It's not for lack of trying.

My own child is going to UVA and they do course registration during summer orientation while the parents are there. It's hard not to get involved or at glossary care as a parent cause you see your kid 5 minutes later. And most kids are not getting their preferred classes either. Mg kid wants to take biology (wants to be a major) and all sections were full. Considering being pre-med but all sections of chemistry and calculus were full as well. There will be spots that open at the add/drop time but it's a stressful way to start freshman year.

If Michigan is like other state schools, over the summer as other kids decide to not attend, switch classes, etc. all of the class-level wait lists change and kids who got NONE of their first picks are the first ones to move up on the wait lists. Even at the largest universities the registrars have usually systems for making sure every student gets at least something that they want/need.

Not discounting your experiences but my UM DC did not have this experience, and coining from 2 SLAC parents, we were pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. But they did do early July registration. And for the 2nd semester, they were waitlisted for a class, got off the waitlist but somehow did not followup with finishing the registration (🙄) , so they would up with their 2nd back up which meant a Friday class at 4-5. They hated the time slot and think their A- minus was in part bc of missing it 3+ times; but they said it made good use of otherwise wasted Friday afternoons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At Amherst, freshmen don't register until they arrive on campus. Strange system, guess we'll see how it goes!

This is why people go to SLACs. They may not have as many course offerings as other schools, but they generally don't have all these issues with students not being able to get classes they want or need...there isn't too much variation from term to term in how many kids will register for a class so the colleges know how many sections of a class they need to offer, and the campuses are flexible enough that they don't have to book every classroom space and lab every minute of the day so you don't end up with a schedule at all hours of the day to be able to fit everything in.

Several posters with kids at state universities have said their kids had a seamless experience meeting with their advisors and choosing classes. And others - with kids at SLACS - have said it was a nightmare to choose classes. Might not want to generalize...
DP

A lot of people here just have an agenda. School size doesn’t have much to do with meeting for your advisor- it’s the advising service that matters. Many lacs are better at this because they have fewer students and faculty can take up the mantle to advise a few students each. Choosing classes is pretty difficult at all colleges if you have a popular major- universities for engineering and cs are especially difficult and colleges for CS and economics typically. People here need to get real.