Jene Thomas – General Assignment Reporter
All across campus, the ringing of the alarm will be heard. Even louder than the alarm will be the groans of students struggling to wake up at the crack of dawn, earlier than usually, until they realize the reasoning for the alarm. Their eyes will shoot open as they reach for their laptops and log on to MySCSU.
It’s Registration Day.
In early November, registration for students of Southern Connecticut State University will open up. Graduate matriculated students are able to begin registration on Nov. 3, followed by seniors on Nov. 4. On Nov. 10 and 12, juniors and sophomores, respectively, will be able to begin registration. Freshman won’t be able to register until Nov. 17.
Students here take registration very seriously. Alarms are really set at 6 a.m., when registration opens, to begin right away. We don’t play around when it comes to choosing our own classes. It’s liberating and gives us a sense of control. This can be a really exciting time. Students have one goal and one goal only.
We want to make the perfect schedule.
For some, that may mean no Friday classes. Maybe some want classes only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Perhaps some want classes after 11 a.m. Whatever the case may be, students work hard to get that ideal class schedule.
Spring 2015 classes are now up on the MySCSU website. It may be helpful to start thinking about courses to take next semester. Did you fulfill all of your LEP requirements? Do you still need a W course? How many more electives do you need to take? These are all questions you should be asking yourself.
Helpful hint- Look at your degree evaluation, under the “Student Records.” Click “Generate New Evaluation,” then on your major, and “detail requirements.” There you will see what you have taken, what was transferred over and what you still need to take.
After you put together a decent list of classes, it may be time to see your advisor.
By the way, that part isn’t a suggestion. You actually need to see your advisor. Good luck registering without them. In your advising appointment, you will receive a pin number and only then can you actually register for classes.
Last semester was my first semester here at Southern and I entered after classes had begun so I didn’t really know all of the rules. In March, I chose my advisor and spoke to him briefly about classes I wanted to take, but I had no idea about the pin number. When low and behold, when I set my alarm on the day I could register, MYSCSU would not let me continue without a pin. I was beyond angry.
This brings me to why this is also the worst time of the semester.
After writing down class ideas and speaking to your advisor, you may finally have the class list that is just right for you. Time to register. However, because people have different registration dates due to class level, some classes may be filled before you get a chance to register.
There is often a lot of disappointment, especially for the younger students. You had the perfect schedule and now you’ll need to find other classes.
Upperclassmen have struggles too. Like I said previously, students here take registration very seriously. There will be many students on each opening day ready to register. Sometimes, the servers can’t handle the traffic, so even though you woke up early, you may not even be able to get online right away.
There is a certain amount of stress that follows registration so I offer two pieces of advice.
Have class options. Don’t just be set on five specific classes with specific times.
Also, relax. Maybe a class you need is closed. Throughout the year, people drop courses. Keep checking the site and maybe something will open up.