Today’s #Honorsproblems post is written by Kate Kozak, a junior majoring in psychology!
As a junior who did FOFAC (Focus on Fall Abroad Community) last semester, I’m definitely getting a little anxious about my first time not having privileged registration. Getting to register before nearly everyone else on campus had two main advantages: first, getting into courses that tend to fill up really quickly, or that are near-impossible to get into as a freshman or even as a sophomore; and second, getting into the Honors Department classes I wanted before the juniors and seniors had a chance to register (excepting, of course, those upperclassmen who have privileged registration for other reasons).
While I was coming up with my potential schedules for next fall, I realized that not having priority registration really isn’t that big of a deal. Here’s what I’ve figured out that makes losing privileged registration less of an #HonorsProblem and more of an #HonorsInconvenience.
Registering on the “normal” day isn’t a problem for other students, it’s just how things work. I talked to several friends across majors and departments who said that they have literally never had a problem registering for classes. One friend even missed her initial registration day, getting into all her courses when open registration began weeks later.
Past Me was smarter than I thought, and I planned ahead pretty well. Perhaps by mistake, I set myself up pretty well for my last few semesters of undergrad at GW. The requirements I have left include a few GPAC courses and a few upper-level major credits—in other words, I’ll be competing mostly with freshmen. And let’s face it, I’m still registering days before them, so it isn’t even a competition. To any freshmen or sophomores, I don’t recommend loading up on tough classes just because you can. Nevertheless, I do think it’s a good idea to get in those UHP requirements while you have the upper-hand in registration.
Things generally work out in the end, even if you have to watch Banweb for an open spot in a class. There’s a whole army of help in the UHP between Catherine, Mark, and the SPA, so there’s always someone to bounce ideas off of or to help weigh the pros and cons of rearranging your schedule in a particular way. And my biggest pro-tip would be to wait before giving up on a high-demand class, because someone is bound to drop their spot eventually. I’ve gotten into classes that were previously full simply by checking periodically and pouncing as soon as an opening came up.
Scheduling can be scary when we have requirements to fulfill, or when we’re generally anxious about having to make compromises because of what classes we can get into. Not having an opportunity to register early certainly makes it feel like we’ve lost a little bit of control. But we all know that things work out in the end, despite these nerve-wracking few weeks of hoping beyond hope that Registration Day is as easy as punching in the courses we’ve painstakingly chosen and going back to bed.
