Course Selection Season is here: Here’s how to make it less gruelling and more rewarding!

Choosing courses can be one of the most daunting parts of the school year, but it is also one of the most important. Here are some tips to make the process easier and more organized. 

Talk to your Advisor! I know everyone says this, but it is a step I think many students miss out on. It is so easy to make an appointment too; you can drop in or schedule for an online or in-person meeting. You can talk to an advisor in your faculty or it can go as specific as meeting with your major advisor. Either way, they are here to help to take some stress off your shoulders. As a Criminology student, even a 20 minute Zoom meeting with my advisor answered so many of my questions that I thought would be complex or long-winded to answer. I realized that talking to someone, especially when they are certified to help you, can be so relieving and can actually make the course selection process exciting and fun! 

Start early! Again I know this is cliche, but having a plan for your courses before your actual enrolment date is a must. I recommend making multiple schedules that work for you and saving them on MySchedule. I like to start planning what courses I want to take as early as a few months prior to the start of the new semester, and then wait for the course calendar to plan out times and dates. I also like to have a set list of courses I want to take in that academic year and mix and match them to see what workload fits best. When making schedules, think about the days you are free or busy, study times, commute time, workload, and campus location. 

Set reminders and calendar notifications! Now that you have your courses saved and some backups loaded as well, it is time for your appointment. Set multiple reminders and alerts before your course selection appointment to make sure you get the most out of your slot. Make enough time to connect to wifi, have a secure connection, log into MySchedule, look over your classes, and switch classes if needed. I like to set reminders a week away from my appointment and a few days earlier as well so that I know the updates on how full the courses I’m interested in are getting.

These are some basic steps to making the course selection process a bit less stressful and maybe even interesting. At the end of the day, focus on what you are interested in and know that no matter if it is a required course or elective, you are getting an amazing opportunity to learn about something new. Take this time to go slow and dive into new experiences in learning!