It’s almost 7 a.m. the day of class registration, and you have DukeHub open with a list of courses you’re hoping to take next semester. When the clock strikes seven, you nervously click the “enroll” button and …
Some students had their happy ending — securing spots in all of their desired classes. However others were placed on one, two, three or even four waitlists, scrambling to find open classes to enroll in as replacements while course seats filled up.
From Oct. 30 to Nov. 11, students participated in the biannual class registration process — beginning with graduate and professional students and ending with first-years. Following the process, The Chronicle spoke to students about their experience and how their schedules ultimately panned out.
First-year Thomas Van Etten, who plans to major in biology, said he “planned [his] schedule out to … perfection.” However, when he went to enroll in his courses — which ranged from biology and chemistry to Spanish and visual media studies — he said he was initially waitlisted from all four of his choices.
“I gave up,” he said. “… I closed my computer, I said ‘I can’t deal with this right now’ and I just went back to sleep,” emphasizing that he was nervous about not knowing what his schedule is going to look like for next semester.
At the time he spoke with The Chronicle, Van Etten had gotten off the waitlist for one of his courses. Though, he expressed confusion over being waitlisted from Biology 202, Gateway to Biology: Genetics and Evolution, which he said had 57 open spots left during his registration time slot.
For other students — including junior Matthew Chen, who is majoring in physics and math with a minor in English — it was not class registration itself that was difficult, but finding classes to take that they felt were interesting.
“Within the English department, I was a little bit unsatisfied [that] there weren't that many interesting courses,” Chen said. “… [As] a creative writer, I wanted more creative writing courses.”
He specifically noted that some courses he found interesting that were offered in past semesters were not being offered in the upcoming semester, including more “traditional” classes like English 247, Victorian Literature.
Though Owen Dong, a first-year who plans to major in chemistry, shared a different sentiment, noting that there were more courses he wanted to take next semester than he was able to enroll in.
Students on the pre-med track generally expressed having a smooth class registration process, since it was clear exactly which classes they needed to take.
First-year Oliver Huang, who plans to major in public policy on the pre-med track, stated that he was “pretty satisfied with the process,” observing that the courses he needed to take were “set out” in advance.
Sophomore Vishruth Hanumaihgari, who is majoring in neuroscience on the pre-med track, shared a similar experience to Huang, noting that registration “worked out perfectly” for him.
Like both pre-med students, first-year Anika Mohan, who plans on majoring in biomedical engineering, said that she was limited to taking a certain set of classes since the Pratt School of Engineering requires students to follow a specific curriculum.
“There isn't very much room for play in terms of the classes that I'd want to take versus those that are offered,” she said.
Though she noted an exception — the required first-year Writing 101 course — which Mohan said she considered “really awesome.” She particularly highlighted Writing 101, Road Not Taken and Writing 101, Coming of Age & Happiness as examples of appealing classes, but noted that due to required lab time in her other courses, she did not have the flexibility in her schedule to enroll in them.
Caelyn DeSouza, a senior majoring in economics with a minor in Spanish, said her course registration experience went smoother than in previous years. Since she plans to enroll as a part-time student next semester, she said she registered for two Spanish classes to fulfill the minor requirements.
“In previous semesters, it's been way harder to get classes, especially economics electives and also other classes that are in demand for Trinity requirements,” she said, noting that she was often placed on the waitlist for those courses.
DeSouza argued that the University should change the timing of course registration, suggesting times such as 7 p.m. or 10 a.m.
“I don't think it makes sense to disturb people's days that early in the morning,” Hanumaihgari said, echoing the sentiment. “… It’s kind of unfair for [someone] to miss their classes just because their alarm didn’t go off or something.”
Huang noted that he understands the decision to schedule registration at 7 a.m., since there are no classes at that time.
While admitting that the 7 a.m. registration time “thins out the competition,” Dong mentioned that many of his peers did not receive the courses they wanted — especially Writing 101s, where they were either waitlisted or placed in sections with topics they were not interested in.
“I do know some people that didn't make it,” he said. “They had a long day before, and they paid the price for that.”
For students continuing to build their schedules, the add/drop period began Nov. 12 and will extend until Jan. 22 at 11:59 p.m.
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Tanya Wan is a Trinity first-year and a staff reporter for the news department.