The Key To Hacking Your College Class Schedule

College classes can be rough. How does a 2 credit course compare to a 4 credit course? What’s a prerequisite? What does it mean for a course to be “writing intensive”? Don’t stress! You’re about to learn all about the art of building a perfect college schedule, answer all these questions, and learn my ideal schedule!

Important Schedule Factors

First things first. One of the biggest factors in your schedule is the size of your university. Oftentimes schools with the most flexibility and options are big public schools. As somebody who has attended both a small, private university, as well as a big, public, state school, I have witnessed this first hand.

The second-biggest factor influencing your college schedule is your major (and minor if you have one). I’ve found that science classes (so majors like nursing, biology, chemistry, etc.) tend to run longer, about 3–4 hours, but only meet 1–2 times per week. Comparably, humanities courses (such as education, history, psychology, etc.) classes tend to be 1–2 hours long and meet 3–4 times per week. Please note that as stated before, these may vary based on the size and type of university being attended.

Course Credits

What are course credits? Simply put, course credits are the guide for how intensive a course is. The federal guidelines promote a minimum of 45 hours of work per credit per semester. With most college semesters being between 15 and 17 weeks, that averages to about 2.6-3 hours of work per week per credit. So with a student taking 12–18 credits a semester, that equals to about 31–54 hours per week!

Whew! That’s a lot of numbers. What this means is that some classes require more work to complete, but they also increase your total credits, which, based on your schools’ graduation requirements, can bring you closer to graduation.

The choice here is really to take more classes with fewer credits, such as 6 classes with 2–3 credits each, OR to take fewer classes with more credits, like 4 classes with credits 3-4 each. Of course, there’s always an in between as well. It’s a lot of words to say that it’s really just a numbers game.

What is a prerequisite?

This one is pretty easy! A prerequisite is a course needed to take another course. For example, you need to take Math 101 before taking Math 202. Therefore, Math 101 is a prerequisite. In a prerequisite, there is essential and foundational knowledge needed for the next class.

Got all that? Good, because I’m about to make it a little more complicated.

Multiple courses may require the same prerequisite course, which will save you time. Going with our example above, Math 101 is also a prerequisite for Econ 120. So by taking (and passing) Math 101, you are allowing your future self to take Math 202 AND Econ 120. Make sense? :)

Writing Intensive Courses

Writing intensive courses are courses that require students to produce more writing than other courses. Oftentimes this includes having more essays to write. Many universities require students to take a certain amount of writing intensive credits, so there’s no real way to get out of this one, kids.

How Do I Create A Great Schedule?

Finally, we’re here! Yay!

First, TALK TO YOUR COUNSELOR. They are the people who are going to tell you how many credits you need and in what areas, what prerequisites you need, what writing intensive course will fit best with your major, and all your other questions!

After chatting with your counselor, they should be able to provide you with a sample plan for 2 years, 4 years, etc. The bones of your schedule are going to come straight from this plan. The classes they recommend you take for the next semester are the classes we are going to be choosing. Next, you are going to be choosing what sections of these classes you are going to take. For example, remember Math 101? You could take it with Professor Smith on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays at 8:00 am to 9:15 am. You could also take it with Professor Garcia on Tuesday and Thursdays at 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. OR you could take Professor Garcia’s Monday and Wednesday at 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm section.

If you haven’t picked up what I’m putting down, course sections vary by professor, days they meet, and times they meet. They also vary with location (what classroom and what building) as well as delivery method (in person, online synchronous, or online asynchronous) These are all factors to consider when choosing the right sections for you.

My Preference

As a busy student and worker, I first look at days of the week. I look for classes that do not meet on Friday’s (Personally, I work all day on Friday’s, but it is nice to simply have a week day “off”) from there, I prefer to schedule all my in-person classes either in the mornings or only on Tuesday and Thursdays. Currently, all of my classes are on T/TH and get done by 1:00pm. But next semester I have classes on T/TH as well as M/W, but I am done by 11:00 am every day. The key is to clump your classes by time and preferably by day. If you go back to your apartment/dorm after a morning classes, the chances of you getting up and leaving again at 3:00 pm are a lot lower than just having the classes back to back.

Another thing, and I think this may be unique to me, is that I prefer to schedule my courses in the morning rather than the afternoon, so I have less time to stress about my upcoming class. If I don’t have class until noon, I’m going to spend all morning stressing about my upcoming class and my time management instead of being productive. If I have class in the morning, I have minimal time to stress, and then I have the rest of the day to be productive (mostly) stress-free.

I’ve also found that morning classes help me keep a healthy sleep schedule because I’m not sleeping in until 11am every day!

In-person courses vs. online courses are really just your personal preference. I love to actually be IN the classroom, and so I prefer in-person courses. However, if I can’t fit a class into my chosen schedule, like if it’s only offered Friday Evenings, I’ll opt to take the online, asynchronous option. Luckily, with most students experiencing online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, students usually know which delivery method they prefer.

Did this post help you? Do you have any questions? Visit my “contact” page to connect with me, or leave a comment here!

Always,

-Elle