By MARIELENA MERCADO
Contributing Writer
For most of you, being a freshman means starting a new life, and understanding that this is a time to grow. Freshmen come in every year afraid of the obvious: home-sickness, whether or not they can make friends, and what to do for the first year. One thing freshmen never really think of until it’s time is registration. How does registration work? Will you get all the classes you want? What happens if you don’t? The one that comes up most often: What do you do next? HELP!!! Of course, it will be difficult to learn how to do this on your own, but by going to the Registrar Office on the 4th floor of Saint Joseph’s Hall and asking questions, they may have other options on how to go about registering. It really is not as difficult as it may seem.
So you get an e-mail with the date and time you register. Do not freak out. By that date and time, you should make sure you are about 15 minutes ahead of time with such materials as a notebook with the classes you want. Once it is time to register, make sure you have the Alternate Pin Number and you are on your way. Now you see a class that is full. What is next to do? After the class is full, if you have enough credits, I would say put that class on hold as of now. Over time, students tend to change their mind, a space becomes available, or a whole new class opens up. Over the time and into the semester, students will either not like who is teaching them or what the class is about. There is still time to change your mind in the classes you choose. As of now, they are not really permanent because the new semester does not start until after break. There is always a chance, and that is what should be taken into consideration.
I went through the same thing as all of you. To see that every class you need is full is upsetting and the thing I hear most is, “Why are we last to choose?’ I found out that the reason why we are last is upperclassmen may need a class to graduate that others may not need as of yet. Although many feel it is unfair, think of it as soon you will to be an upperclassman and have the power to register first. If you really need a class, just e-mail or what I like to call, “Become an everlasting butterfly, flying around the Professor until something is done.” In other words, become a nag until you find out if you can enter the class. Sometimes you have to do it, especially if you live on-campus and must have more than 12 credits to remain living on campus.
Changes should be made for those who require certain classes first before continuing with further classes. Also, they should make it so that the underclassmen have their intro classes earlier in their college years rather than later because it takes up spots that freshmen need. What do you think we should do?
