<p>For parents of freshmen - in case you don't already know this - the course booklets are now available on Ontrack. You don't need to log in - they are on the main page. Students will be registering in November for the winter term and the spring semester.</p>
<p>Thank you rockvillemom! Do you know how difficult it is for freshmen to get classes? Our daughter comes from a rural school and didn’t have opportunity for any AP or college credit so she’s in one of the last groups. I’m a little concerned she won’t be able to get what she needs.</p>
<p>I have to say this may be the first thing about Elon that I’m not happy with – giving course selection priority to those who have college credit coming in. Our daughter will always be at the bottom of her class for course options, getting the worst times and worst professors. We’ll probably have her go to summer school at our local university in order to bump up her hours so she can have a little better chance next year. Our son is at Vandy - all students are on an even playing field. They rotate groups – if you are at the bottom one semester, you’ll be at the top the next semester. It’s a lot more fair to all students.</p>
<p>But, given that Elon does it this way, do you know if most freshman are able to get classes that they want and need?</p>
<p>My son only came in with 1 AP class - so he had only 4 credits - and he had no problem getting pretty much what he wanted when registering last fall. Sometimes the best professors teach an 8am class - so you never know how it will play out. Have your daughter make a list of numerous options - so that she will surely get most of what she wants. Make sure she understands how to register using Ontrack. They use the search for sections tab. My son had a list of classes and sections he wanted, with many back up options. While he may not have gotten his first choices 100%, he did get the class he wanted for winter term and all classes he wanted in the spring - he just didn’t get his first choice of sections.</p>
<p>My daughter (currently a senior) came came in with zero AP credits, and with a late-alphabet last name. When she regstered for spring semester freshman year she was initially unable to sign up for a single class in her major (psychology), because there were only 3 psych classes she was eligible to take due to required pre-reqs, and all of them were full. At first her advisor told her to just take courses in other depts that she would need to fulfill her core requirements, but then suggested she see the head of the psych department. D scheduled an appointment and explained that she just wanted to take one of three possible psych classes, since it is her major. The dept head signed a waiver form allowing her to sign up for any one of the 3 classes (D’s choice) even though they were all “full,” so in the end she was able to get a psych class. That was the only time D had a problem getting into a class she really felt she needed. Sometimes her schedule wasn’t what she wanted time-wise, but she was always able to fill her schedule with things she either needed or wanted to take. </p>
<p>rockvillemom is right, suggest that your D make a list with a number of possible courses & combinations. As the registration period goes on and older students complete their registrations, have her re-check to see which of her options still work. She will probably end up reducing her options and maybe changing out some courses but she will still go into her registration period prepared to create a schedule that works.</p>
<p>Supruwoman, using the number of credits accumulated to determine order of course selection is very common at universities. It will eventually work in your D’s favor, as she moves up in years. By junior and senior years she will be near the top of the heap and have her pick of classes - which is really the most important time to be near the head of the pack, as that is when you’re running out of time to fulfill your requirements.</p>
<p>Thank you rockvillemom and Lafalum. That really helps. It’s good to hear that your students were able to get what they needed. I’m not so concerned about time of day – professors are a bigger deal. I did notice that some of the most highly ranked professors teach 8AMs; our daughter has one this fall. She hates getting up that early but loves her professor and said she would do it again in a hearbeat. And (silver lining) she says she actually enjoys being up in the morning on that beautiful campus when it’s quiet and still. </p>
<p>So glad to hear about your daughters experience, Lafalum. I do love that Elon is so personal with students and it’s nice to know that they make an effort to make things work for students.</p>
<p>Great suggestions about preparing for registration. That should make it a lot less stressful for her. Thank you both – you’ve just saved her a bunch of learning curve!</p>
<p>I guess I wasn’t aware of most colleges doing registration that way. I was only familiar with Vandy’s system. I do understand that it gets better as you get older, but there are 1450 in her class and she’ll still be on the bottom of those. Every semester. One of the draws of Elon was great professors and I don’t want her to miss out on that and be stuck with the duds (and there are duds unfortunately-- she has one now). But for now your comments have helped me trust that it will work out. If it doesn’t she has the option to take classes over the summer and add PE credits or something to boost herself up. We’ll get it figured out. :)</p>
<p>Glad you are feeling better, and just to add further clarification - let’s say she is scheduled to register on Wednesday. So, by the previous weekend, she will have met with her advisor and has a list ready of numerous classes and sections that she would like. Monday evening, she looks at Ontrack and sees what is left. Some if the sections may be full. It continuosly updates with how many spots are open. So, she updates her list and eliminates any sections that are now closed. Tuesday night - same thing. Maybe she has to add sections to her list if all of the more desirable times are now closed. Now when it is her time on Wednesday, she is ready to go. If her time is late in the day, she will need to check in between classes and make sure what she wants still has open slots. The actual registration itself takes only a minute. The key is watching what has already been selected and continuously updating your list so that when your time comes, you are not wasting time figuring out what sections are still open.</p>
<p>Thank you so much! I’m going send this link to her. Great info!</p>
<p>Thank you Rockvillemom. I would not have know about this and I’m happy to be able to proactive and help my son. Also, my S had a similar situation about classes being full. He is deciding between two interests in terms of a major. He wanted to “try” a class this fall semester to see if he will pursue one of these majors. All classes were full. Although this was not terrible, he was hoping to be able to further pursue courses in this field, based on his impression this fall. It feels to him like he “wasted” a chance to start. He is taking core requirements, but he had been hoping for this. Oh well.</p>
<p>Based upon my experience it pays to be proactive when choosing your classes at Elon. Speak to the professors, departments etc. and let them know you want a class (even if it looks like it’s full). They will try to accommodate you, but they can’t if they don’t know you want it!</p>
<p>I just wanted to let you know that D’s registration process went really well, despite being one of the later groups. I needn’t have worried – Princeton review was right when they said that Elon runs like butter. :)</p>
<p>Thank you Rockvillemom and Lafalum84 – ACollegeFan too for your great advice! She put it to use – had to rearrange her potential schedule a couple of times as classes filled up, but ended up with classes she wants and needs and professors that get good reviews (and bonus. . . no 8 o’clocks). She’s very excited about next semester.</p>
<p>So, now I’m back to loving everything about Elon!</p>
<p>I am so glad to hear that! As long as they stay flexible on sections, it generally works reasonably well.</p>
<p>My son did not get into any classes he needed for his major, despite entering Elon with 23 credits. I shared this thread with him and he did make use of the many tips suggested. He will instead be taking general studies required classes which is not that big of a deal. However it would’ve been nice to be able to take one class in his major. I will suggest that he follow up with teachers in his major and see if they’ll accept him into a class.</p>
<p>That seems unacceptable. He should take his general studies class since he will likely need that anyway, but he should be able to talk to his adviser or the chairman of the dept for his major and get into one or two classes.</p>
<p>I agree - he should speak with his advisor and also email individual professors of the classes he wanted to see if anyone will allow him in. When you look at the spots available, the typical maximum number is 33, although some are less. As the spots are taken, it will go down to 0, and you will see 0/33 as the final outcome of spots left. But, I have seen a few that say -1/33, which would seem to indicate that a 34th student was allowed into the class. In any case, it can’t hurt to make a few inquiries.</p>
<p>I agree that talking to advisors and professors of classes is the best thing to do (at any university). If that doesn’t work, I have also heard that it’s often possible to pick up the classes/sections that you want druing the add/drop period. You just have to be vigilant keep an eye on the classes that you want and grab them when they come up.</p>
<p>Based on my D’s experience, bkbmom, I suggest he get an appointment with the head of his major dept and explain his dilemma. Although course sizes are capped, if the class does not have a lab they can sometimes be flexible with the cap (labs have limits for safety reasons). If he has several choices of classes in his major he can take, and is willing to take any section of those classes, they may be able to waive the cap and let him in to one of them. At the very least he could probably get onto a wait list. The dept head may have more power than the professors of the individual classes. Good luck to him!</p>
<p>Also agree with Supruwoman to keep an eye on drop/add day. My D dropped a class on drop/add day this fall. She had decided to drop it over the summer, but OnTrack wouldn’t let her do it until drop/add day.</p>
<p>My son will check about getting into a class in his major by talking to the department head or a professor. We’re not upset about it but I shared the information to let people know his luck. He does have one class for his major this semester.</p>
<p>My S, too has had trouble getting classes. All the areas that interest him do not work out for winter session as they were a) all full or b) required prerequisites that he does not have. There was NO 100 or 200 level courses available in the subjects of interest to him so he is taking something random that he is not interested in. When he asked his advisor about this, he was told that this is typical for freshman year. Many of his friends have the same complaint. Frustrating.</p>
<p>I am OK with the course my D has for Spring semester but very aggravated with the winter term. It seems that they offered very few classes for the freshman…</p>
<p>I tend to agree that there are more upper level winter term classes being offered. My perception is that winter term is a time to take a class that interests you, which might not necessarily fulfill a major/minor class requirement. My son wanted to get the general studies literature requirement done - so he managed to get that - although he ended up with his 3rd choice of class. I’m really not sure what he would have selected had that not been available.</p>