It’s that time of year again, and I’m not talking about Chapel Fest. No, what is rapidly approaching for those of us fortunate enough to be attending UD for another semester is the ever dreaded COURSE SELECTION.  Bane of students the campus over, this horrendous, frantic period of furious flipping/scrolling through the seemingly endless class options is often cause for bursts of enraged cursing and, in some dire cases, a mild headache. And as the barbed wire icing on the frustration cake, this year the University has seen fit to bestow upon its charges a brand spanking new method of assembling a schedule they will regret come midterm time.

Luckily for you, however, here are some tips and tricks to beating the system (senseless).

1) Make a list of all the classes you want to take next semester, as well as those you need to take and some you wouldn’t mind sitting through. Now, unless you are a senior, cross them all out; you will not be able to add any of them. Why?  Because, unlike the old system, this one functions on the “first come first serve” principle (which we will call FCFS), meaning that all the classes fill up as people sign up. As a corollary, be certain that your list of desired courses is prepared fully ahead of time.  Those days of casually picking one class and then deciding on a different one are history.

2) Alter your sleeping schedule so that you are awake between the hours of midnight and six a.m. every night the week before sign ups.  Due to the FCFS factor, the very first day will result in a lot of server overloads and sluggish connections.  However, if you spring on the opportunity just as SIS comes back online at 5 or 6, you just might be able to snag one of your alternates.

3) Change your major to urban affairs and public planning; those classes don’t get full.

4) Another handy new feature is the concept of a “registration appointment.”  Apparently, segregating who can sign up when based on graduation year and credit amount is not enough; we need to be weeded out in alphabetical order as well.  Try taking on a second job in order to afford sending the registrar’s office an unceasing stream of flowers, candy, and gifts in the hopes that they might move your appointment further up in the queue. If that fails, legally change your name to Aaron/Amy Aardvark.

5) Keep said registrar’s office number on speed dial.  Since the system works like a technological termite mound, running into bugs that set outdated or just plain wrong restrictions on certain classes are inevitable. Be sure that while giving the person on the phone a piece of your mind, you let them know that you could easily take your Aardvark family fortune elsewhere.   continue >>