Student stress: Course registration causes headaches

By KAYLEE TYE

One of the most stressful things for any college student is choosing which courses to take. This process can be stressful for students who do not know their major yet and students who know their major but face already-full classes. I remember my freshman year when I would look up classes and write down the ones I wanted. Then when my time to register came up, the classes were mostly full. Then I would just panic and try to decide what I could take instead.  Now that I am a sophomore at UMW, it has been easier to get into classes. However, some of them still always fill up.

What could the university do to help this problem? Or at least help alleviate students’ stress. I don’t think we can ever change the process of picking classes. I agree that the students with the most credits should pick first because they are closer to graduation. They need specific classes to graduate on time. The school also provides students an academic advisor. An academic advisor is one of the best tools a student can use to help register for classes. If all the classes a student wants fill up they should seek their advisor’s advice on what to do or take.

One thing that would be helpful to students would be to create a waitlist. UMW does have a waitlist for some classes such as geology, however, having the option to waitlist more classes would make students feel better. Depending on the professor, a student can email and ask to be put on a waitlist. That way, when it’s a student’s turn to register, they can sign up on a waitlist.

One important thing the school should do is inform students that the upper level classes will full up and that they should have a backup plan. When students register for classes, I always recommend that they should have backup classes ready. Students could refrain from completing all their general education requirements in the first year or two to save some room for when they are upperclassmen.