Spring Term Registration

Hi everyone!

It is eighth week, and as we rapidly approach the end of winter term, it’s time to start thinking about spring term. And with spring term comes course registration! Course registration is a very fun time at Carleton; a time full of possibilities and hope for the future.

So without further ado, let’s jump right in.

Course Registration

How do you register?

At the end of each trimester, Carleton students prepare to register for the next term’s courses. In order to do so, we visit the Hub, a website which stores all of our student information and offers a course catalog. Students can browse courses by department, requirement, and period, among other things.

Students make a list of course options and meet with their academic advisor to discuss the upcoming term. Once the advisor has approved the course options, students are ready to register!

Each class has its own registration date, with seniors getting first pick, then juniors, etc. Within each class, there are priority numbers by name, determining the order in which students register. There are three general priority groups: first priority, middle priority, and last priority. Because there are three terms and three priority slots, students will have an early registration term, a middle registration term, and a late registration term each year.

What happens after you register?

After registration, most students are good to go! They can sit tight until the term is over and the next one begins. For students who did not get a course that they wanted, however, the registration process might last a little longer.

If a class fills up before a student’s registration time, she can add her name to a waitlist and, in the meantime, register for an alternative course. Once the next term begins, a few registered students might drop the class, giving that student the opportunity to make it off the waitlist. Many students also reach out to the professor in advance, inquiring about their waitlist status.

My Registration Process

This term, I had an early priority number. As such, I was easily able to get all of the courses I wanted! Woohoo!

Next term, I will be taking two English classes, a Cinema and Media Studies (CAMS) class, and a PE class. I’m really looking forward to these courses! Of my English classes, one will focus on William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The other will focus on studying the Bible from a literary approach. Both sound really interesting, and they will help me make good progress toward completing my major.

I have never taken a CAMS class before, but I think the one I chose sounds really neat. The class will introduce students to American films from the 1970s, a decade of cinema that I know very little about. I’m looking forward to learning more about the subject, as well as taking a course in another department! Each department generally has its own style in terms of content delivery and assessment, so I think it will be fun to try something new.

Finally, I will be taking step aerobics to satisfy my third PE credit (only one more after this!). I do not have much to say about this. I am not an athletic person. Unless you count walking up and down the stairs daily as athletic. I lead a sedentary lifestyle.

Looking Ahead

I am really looking forward to the next term! Although I will be sad when my current courses end, I am excited to start my new courses. Additionally, next term will mark the end of my junior year, which means… I am this close to being a senior. Scary stuff. But alas, time flies by when you’re having fun and studying hard! (And let’s be real—aren’t they the same thing?)

Andriana is a native of Richmond, VA, though her love of snow suggests she might be a northerner at heart. She is in her junior year at Carleton, where she is an English major and a Cross-Cultural Studies minor. When Andriana isn’t busy staying warm in the Minnesotan tundra, you can find her binge-reading, playing music, or watching a favorite movie or show for the umpteenth time. Meet the other bloggers!