<p>How hard is it to register for classes at California state universities given the budget cuts and removal of some courses? Why do some students say they've difficulty registering for classes? If you register early, you should not encounter any problems, would you? Thanks! I'm a prospective student at CSULB and CSUF.</p>
<p>I’ve always had some difficulty registering for popular courses at CSU, but always gotten the classes I needed. You just have to be disciplined and patient. Granted, I went to CSU quite a while ago for partial undergrad and more recently for graduate courses. Friends and family members who are current CSU students have said course sections have been cut with less course options available (mostly evening course offerings)…so perhaps the situation has gotten a bit worse. </p>
<p>However, I think CSU still represents a fantastic value and provides a great education.</p>
<p>Thanks! If I log in to my portal and register for classes once registration is open, I shouldn’t have a problem, right?</p>
<p>^ It depends on the courses you want to enroll and your registration time.</p>
<p>If it works at CSULB and CSUF as it did when I was at CSUN, first semester freshman get the earliest registration appointment times…then you move to the back of the line for second semester and move up in priority as you get more units/seniority.</p>
<p>So, yes, being aware of your appointment time and registering as soon as your window opens will help. If you don’t get the classes you want, you’ll be placed on a wait list and have to attend the first couple classes to see if you can get in. Having a strategy for which classes to take, being flexible with your schedule and disciplined and persistent will help you tremendously.</p>
<p>UCB, budget cuts have made it significantly harder to register for courses at CSUN in the past term. You can’t extrapolate back to your experience a few years ago–it’s an entirely different ballgame now. Waitlists are full, and the only excuse that gets students into popular courses is that they are graduating seniors and they need the class to graduate. This may depend on major, but the overall impression (at least for CSUN) isn’t pretty.</p>
<p>space115, you’ll need to talk to people who are currently attending CSULB and CSUF to find out what registration is like nowadays. If those campuses have student newspapers, try searching the archives to find articles on student registration.</p>
<p>Expect to take minimum 5 years to graduate and to have to take some classes at a CC. That’s just the reality for all CSUs today.</p>
<p>Space,
As you can gather from prior posts, not everyone registers at the same time. By the time freshman get to SOAR at CSULB, many sections of classes have been filled by upper-classmen, since, at CSULB, those with the highest earned credit hours get to register first. Also, you should be aware that CSULB had capped initial registration to 13 credit hours. In August, you may be able to add another class during the Add/Drop period.</p>
<p>My son is currently a sophomore CSULB student. He is majoring in engineering, which is not an impacted program, which is important to note. He has had no problem with getting classes, but he doesn’t care what GE he takes and he doesn’t care what time the classes are offered. He try to get a recommended professor, but that doesn’t stop him from taking another section if that class is full. Last semester he had 5 classes in one day, first at 8am and last at 9:45pm. He does not commute, so multiple trips to campus per day aren’t an issue. Bottomline…learn the system and stay flexible.</p>
<p>otc</p>