How to make sure you are in the right class... 6 tips

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For next semester or when you go back to school:

Here are some pointers to make sure you are in the right class - - for nontraditional students AND others.

I know it is just October, but pretty soon some of my readers will be signing up for classes that start AFTER the holidays. Here are some hints for you to go over as you think about what you will take.

#1. Go over your pre-requisites and classes you must have before you can take the other classes you want. If you must make an appointment with someone at the school (like an advisor), make an appointment now. If you wait until very close to the time people are registering, it may be too late.
You may already be signed up, and have all the classes in the perfect order already. That's great if you have done that. You can skip down the list now. :)

#2. Make sure that you sign up for classes BEFORE your school's deadline. This may sound like a gimme, but if you are involved with tests and finals, it can be hard to keep up with these at the same time. Consult a school calendar or ask an advisor or the School Office about this. Write an entry in your calendar (a must-have) and also remind yourself with an online reminder service. There is one at Yahoo Calendar for free. You may also have one available through your email service.

#3.  Before you OK your classes online or in person, make sure that you will be able to walk or take the school's bus to each location in plenty of time to make it to all classes on time. It can bug some teachers to have you late for class each time. If you need to juggle class times, NOW is the time to do it, while spaces are still left, if any.

#4. Make sure all your paperwork has already been done for your school loans or payments. Again, waiting for this can really be a pain. Now is the time to head up any mistakes that may have been made in the office. (I have heard about this happening in the Nontrad Yahoo group... so the earlier you can check and make sure everything is done right, the better.) Sometimes you have to check on these kinds of things at least once a week if there is a problem.

#5.  Before starting next semester, make a schedule you can put in or on your main notebook OR on all of your class notebooks. This will help a lot, because you won't have to always look for your schedule - it will be with you all the time, and handy to see. Your schedule should have the time of the class, the room # of your class, your professor or instructor's name, and the class name there too.  You will thank me.

#6. Review what you will need for the rest of your time at school. What classes do you still need to take? You should have this written up in another location so you can always check it just in case. And you MAY want to start looking into classes for next Fall. Do you need to fill out another FAFSA form? Who is the best teacher for the class you need?

Now's the time to ask around and/or consult an online help page, like Rate My Professors or ProfEval (for college classes) or Rate My Teachers for other schools (high schools or other schools) to make sure you get an instructor that you will like. Or just ask somebody who may have taken your next class (for other schools).

Have another tip to add? Just add it at the end of this posting. Thanks!

-Betsyanne

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