IT'S THAT time of year again. Spring is here, the days are getting longer, tennis and other sports are starting their seasons, and shorts and sundresses are replacing pants and sweaters. Now is the time to pick classes for next semester. That's right, the Course Offering Directory is available, and it's not all fun and games like our recent Spring Break. Students always have problems picking classes, but the mistake they make most often is picking classes based on difficulty rather than content.
There are only two types of people when it comes to picking classes, and each group makes errors. The first group finds too many classes. These students look through the COD and find eight or 10 classes they would like to take. Of course, each student initially only can enroll in 15 credits worth of courses, which usually equates to five classes.
Students in this group start making mistakes because they have too many classes. They need to cross some off their lengthy lists. The problem is deciding which classes to eliminate; most in this group get rid of the higher-level classes. They think that too many hard classes will be a problem. By doing this, many students forego a potentially interesting class in order to take an easier schedule.
Furthermore, most students don't realize the long-term differences between a 200 level class and a 400 level class. Students learn more from 400 level classes, and high quality employers look more favorably on higher quality courses.
College isn't supposed to be easy. It's supposed to be a time to work hard and learn, regardless of whether students pair academics with busy social lives. Students should pick the courses they want, sign up for as many as they can, and hope to sign up for the rest when open registration starts.
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The second group runs into similar problems, which leads them to choose courses based on difficulty instead of interest. Instead of picking too many courses, this group contains students who can't find enough classes to take. After going through the entire COD, they only have two to four classes that they really want to enroll in.
As a result, they are faced with a slightly different problem: They need more classes. In order to be classified as full-time students they need to take 12 credits. Also, every student needs 120 credits to graduate, which averages to 15 credits a semester.
This is where most students in this group make their mistake: They ask their friends for advice and recommendations. The problem isn't that they ask, but what they ask. Instead of asking them to suggest a class based on the quality of the professor or materials, they ask which class would be easy. Basically, they are asking for the easiest "gut" classes.
Gut classes are wastes unless you're genuinely interested in the topic. An out-of-state student pays roughly $8,000 a semester. The average person takes five classes, so that's $1,600 a class. Virginians only pay about $4,000 per semester in tuition. Doing the math, that's $800 a class. To take a gut class just for the low level of difficulty wastes this money. At roughly $13 a pizza at Papa John's, out-of-state students taking a gut are doing the equivalent of buying 123 pizzas and throwing them away without eating them. This money could easily be put toward something one might find challenging instead, like a high-level course. There's no point in taking a class one doesn't want to be in and don't put any effort into. One might as well struggle in a harder class and intellectually profit from the time.
Everyone is going to run into some problems trying to figure out a workable schedule in their time at the University. The important thing is to try to solve these problems correctly. Students shouldn't evaluate courses solely on their difficulty. Those who need to choose between more classes than will fit should prioritize based on interest, not easiness. Those who need more classes should ask friends for recommendations on interesting courses and professors, not guts, and whether the professor is engaging, or if the class is hard but good.
No matter what students end up taking, they should remember that they'll have to work. Students only get out of classes what they put in. Those who don't put in much effort will get little from the class and successfully waste money. College students are notoriously portrayed as broke, so why would they want to waste any more money? Remember, choosing classes that interest, excite and challenge is the key to a fun and enjoyable semester.
(Scott Killian is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
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