<p>I'm angry. I was annoyed that my school wouldn't assign schedules until the first few days of class despite requiring students to send in their course preference sheet a few months ago. I disliked the late bills and invisible fees, and hating learning that "full-need" was a very elastic term. But this latest development has me frustrated. It turns out that students are allowed to register based on the credit hours the accumulated. In theory, that's fair. It allows the upperclassmen to register before their greener brethren. It also allows students freshmen with more AP credits to register before other non-AP freshmen. That's not fair. Why? Not all freshmen had access to an AP curriculum. I certainly didn't and now I feel like I'm being shafted for being shafted.</p>
<p>Scheduling is already hard at this school. Overrides are rare. Good classes fill up fast. Popular classes fill up faster. I feel like I'll be stuck with a classes that are either really early in the morning, have a terrible instructor, or both. </p>
<p>That's bullocks. Especially for me, since the far majority of students come in with a vast amount of AP credits.</p>
<p>You don't have to take an AP course to take the test. I self-studied for two tests on my own.</p>
<p>I attend a school where course scheduling is done based on the number of years at the school, not class standing. This makes getting the upper-level courses extremely difficult for those of us with tons of AP credit like myself.</p>
<p>Not that your points aren't legitimate, but have you stopped to think that students with AP credit sometimes waive out of the introductory courses you need to take, thus their advanced registration is warranted? That the intro classes you'll probably end up taking are ginormous in size and will probably fit enough students? (Unless you attend an LAC, but I guess even then it'll be proportionally big.)</p>
<p>For most full classes (and at most colleges), you can go to the class on its first day and ask the professor to add you to the course. Usually, they'll oblige, especially if it's a core req. or major req. </p>
<p>I feel sympathy. All those small, hidden things add up. Makes for a lot of stress and a lot of frustration. My advice, wait it out and try to get classes that people drop. If you don't get in, you don't get in. You could try explaining your situation to a professor for some pity points if you think it could work.</p>
<p>The situation is similar at my school (a relatively large public university). Fortunately, we have an honors program, and honors kids get first priority registration.</p>
<p>start a push at your school to register based on social class.</p>
<p>my school just changed to this a couple years ago. Their information showed that hardly anyone graduated early, even those that came in with enough credits to do so, so there was no point giving them priority registration.</p>
<p>It's not necessarily about graduating early.</p>
<p>If you go a year without taking the next course in the sequence (after testing out of the intro course), you'll have forgotten a lot of the material, which screws you over.</p>
<p>Also, by getting through the sequence earlier you'll have more time for independent study/research in the topic of your choice. You could also take grad school-level courses in that topic. There's also greater opportunity for study abroad, taking courses in other interesting areas, etc.</p>
<p>Bottom line is that not taking the courses when you're supposed to really screws with your schedule. All the ochem lab sections were full, so I have to retake gen chem this year and take ochem next year. This also sets me back in the biology sequence as well. And unless I want to be taking cellular biology, ochem, & physics all in the same semester, I won't be able to take the MCAT in the summer after sophomore year like I'd originally planned. Is that fair?</p>
<p>Scheduling by number of years at the school is just idiotic, and only benefits those who either didn't work hard or didn't have initiative in high school.</p>
<p>if it's going to set you back a full year, there are people you can talk to who will find room for you to take the classes you need.</p>
<p>Scheduling by social class is not idiotic. Why should someone who didn't have access to AP classes be placed at a disadvantage? Most freshmen don't get every class they want, that's the way it works. Suck it up. If you need a class to keep you on a certain cycle, you will be able to make it happen. But you make it happen by talking to people at your school who have power, not complaining on the internet.</p>
<p>my school appoints enrollment times to freshmen randomly. and after the first quarter or a little later they start to appoint register times based on your credits, which includes AP. Personally i think this is the most fair way for everyone...</p>