<p>So..just returned from parent/student orientation at NEU. After being told for two days how careful they are with our kids found out DS had a registration problem with classes and it still hasn't been resolved. I will try to make this brief but please bear with me. He is in the honors program and took a bunch of community college and APs (we are in CA). Entering in as a freshman with a full semester behind him. So..they preblocked freshman for freshman classes and when they removed those and left classes in his major he had two spots out of four to fill. Everything he was interested in was full, as sophmores already registered.<br>
According to him the advisors were very busy (so much for all the one on one they told us about for two days) and handed him a catalog,told him to pick something. He reminded them that because he is in the honors program he needs an honors class to maintain status. They found him a SOC 101 honors section so one left.<br>
He told the advisor the entry computer class all students take was stuff he knew (he is right) and they let him enroll in another computer class. Sounds fine, but here is the kicker.
After we left campus he shows me the stuff and explains it to me, turns out the other class has a lab which creates a credit overage resulting in them charging me more tuition. They did not tell him this or mention it.<br>
So....I call the school, the receptionist in his dept. checks with the academic advisor, comes back to report to me that it will probably create a credit overage but my son wanted the class. Again, they did not mention the money to him. So..she transfers me to financial services and we confirm they are going to charge me more.
DS then emails the academic advisork, telling her I won't pay and that they should put him back in the entry computer.
Additionally, they signed him up for a class in his major that he should take second semester when he can take the honors section. He says all the other classes he should/wanted to take are full.
So....he has to go back first day of school and poach a class as an incoming freshman.<br>
Any good advice out there, other than listening to my rant? Please do not tell me as a parent to call the school. I want advice on coaching my kid (who is totally capable of doing it himself) and maybe just a little reassurance that it will all work out....
Anyone out there dealt with this and have some words of wisdom? Thank you!</p>
<p>DD had similar problems her first year (last year freshman) with schedules due to her practice and meet schedules as a D1 athlete, her athletic advisor and her were constantly disagreeing. I listened. And I listened some more.</p>
<p>I suggested she ask another advisor and maybe she might have a different approach. I also suggested my daughter get a catalog with all the courses and rules and get real familiar with it. And to fully understand her account, charges, credits and her financial aid package. If she gets an overage charge, SHE pays for it. When she wanted to keep her double as a single and there was a difference in price SHE was responsible for the charges.</p>
<p>As far as closed classes she ran into that and she handles it with by first emailing the prof to see if there will be room and if so can she get her name on the list early and second finding out from the bursar's office when they will purge registration to drop those students who have not paid, that always frees up spots. And when a class was indicated as closed and looked like a computer glitch she called THAT department and had them fix the problem and promptly added herself to the class.</p>
<p>As soon as your son understands the ins and outs of registration he will be able to anticipate the problems before they happen. He will need to be assertive and be flexible about his classes. There will always be classes he doesn't want to take, but conversely there will be ones he really wants. </p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>Tell your son not to give up hope on those sophomore classes that are closed. During the first week (and before) of classes, there will be openings due to students dropping or students being bounced from the class due to nonpayment (this happens at the cc I teach). In some colleges, the profs can sign-in students when the cap for the class has been reached. Sometimes, administrators can raise the cap, allowing a student to register for a class that is already full. There might also be a wait-list system for classes at NEU.</p>
<p>Ask your son to look carefully at the classes that are closed and see which ones he really wants to take. He should then contact the school and see if he can get into them by the methods I described above. Also, he might be able to monitor the openings in each class on the college website. Can he register online?</p>
<p>Registration can be a headache - things will work out :-)</p>
<p>I don't have advice on how to deal with oversubscribed classes, but I wonder whether it is wise to take a class whose materials your S has already covered for the sake of not paying extra? To me, it seems like a waste of money to take a course where one learns nothing new.</p>
<p>The one thing all college students need to know BEFORE they go to their first registration is that they will NOT likely find spots open in their classes of choice. Many (if not most) freshmen students take classes (or times of classes) that are not their choice. DS left his first orientation without a mandatory writing course. He simply could not find one that fit between his required music course (no choice on those at all). He came home...went online everyday, several times a day for weeks (no kidding) until he finally found an opening in a class. It was NOT a writing seminar he wanted, but it did fit his schedule. He hit the "add" button mighty quickly. If your son's school registers online, tell him to keep checking. Sections are sometimes added, or as noted above, students change their course selections. Something will open up. And the end of my son's story...he purchased the required reading for the course, and read all the books. A week before classes started, he got an email saying that the professor of that course had taken a different job, and he would now be taking a different writing seminar (different title, different books...but the SAME time). So...he bought the second set of books and moved forward. At the time he was disgusted, but he found out quickly that most of his friends had had similar registration drama. Welcome to college!!!</p>
<p>thanks all. marite: I totally agree, there were some other issues on that one I didn't mention to save the post from being any longer...the class is a computer applications class that is required unless you take a more advanced comp class..he signed up for a computer programming class in the computer science major. I was concerned that the programming class, no matter how great a computer hacker type you are, might be very tough and not a good choice for a first semester freshman....
my advice to DS re: full classes was much the same as other posters, go back the day they purge others for non payment, etc. and trying going to the first class even though you are not on the list, talk to professor, etc...show interest....much like getting into college in today's world...
I guess it's more that I am disappointed that we are dealing with this right off the bat and that the academic advisor didn't mention the overage and didn't even remember that he had to have honors classes....so much for all the personal attention they spent two days telling me about...</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification. S1 at a LAC had problems with registration and closed classes. S2 at H does not have the same problem although I know there are some classes that are lotteried. But it looks like most of the classes he wants to take meet at the same time! Grrr....</p>
<p>In addition to all of the great suggestions you have gotten so far...</p>
<p>If it is online, book mark a copy of the the schedule of classes for the term (at some schools, you can see what schedule of classes are 2 years down the line. My D has already laid out her tentative schedule of classes through june 2008).</p>
<p>If you don't have it in hard copy, book mark a copy of the online college catalogue. You and your son should familiarize your selves with the degree requirements. </p>
<p>Since a good portion of his classes will be distribution, core, liberal arts requirements or classes that are prerequisites for other classes he can put together his muliple versions of tentative classes and schedules. </p>
<p>He should compile a list of back-up classes that he can take in the event that something is closed. </p>
<p>Through out the next few years your son is also going to learn how to chose his battles and excercise some flexibility when it comes to selecting classes. It is not unsual for students to try to schedule days off during the week , not have really early or really late classes, but sometimes he may have to break some of his "rules" in order to get the classes he needs .</p>
<p>Closed sections are tough, but if a class is REQUIRED for his major and is a prerequisite (i.e. he cannot move on in his requirements without that class) then there should be nothing in your way of calling the dean of his college, or an administrator, and getting him added over the limit.</p>
<p>If it's a case of it not fitting in with other requirements, then that's a different issue, but a student is usually never closed out of a class they NEED to take. Freshmen get stuck with the worst of the draw on choice classes, though, and that's just something that you have to learn to cope with. College schedules are very dynamic. People will continue to add and drop right through the last day it's allowed, and often the best time to pick up a class you really wanted is to do it in the first week of classes when someone realizes they're in over their head/wants to major in art/etc. Returning students register months before freshmen do, but it also gives us more time to change our schedules- I registered in April, and my schedule has changed five or six times since. </p>
<p>It's pretty much guaranteed that in any class at least two or three people will drop or get cut for whatever reason, so those slots will open up.</p>
<p>If your son has a particular class in mind, he can always speak to that classes professor and ask to be overloaded into the class. Some professors are willing to do this, even though the classes are full, especially if he were to explain his situation.
I would be wary about taking a second semester class during the first semester of his freshmean year. I am sure your son is more than capable, but, speaking from experience, these classes can put unnecessary pressure on incoming freshmen who are just trying to get their bearings.</p>
<p>"But it looks like most of the classes he wants to take meet at the same time! Grrr...."</p>
<p>That was always my problem. There were several courses I wanted to take that conflicted every year with courses I either had to take or that I wanted to take more.</p>