How did registration go?

You wake up at the break of dawn, grab your computer, check your shopping cart and wait there counting every minute until your registration time comes. When the time does come, you click that magic button and are then greeted with beautiful big green checks or crushing red Xs. This is the life of the average Hunter College student during the registration period for the next semester. Some leave content, but more often than not most students are dissatisfied with their schedules for next semester.

Aptly named the “Hunter Games,” students compete for every seat available for various majors. You’ll never hear the end of your friends’ complaints about not getting into the classes they need to declare their majors, or worrying about finishing their core requirements. Professors are judged by a jury of students through Rate My Professor. Elaborate schemes of saving classes are hatched. The financial aid office is bombarded by students making sure they can afford next semesters’ rising tuition prices.

Now that the Games have come to an end, we decided to go around the school and ask people how this semester’s registration was and what they think about Hunter’s registration system.

Yaromyr, Freshman, Biochemistry

“Unsuccessful, I didn’t get the classes or professors I wanted… I think it’s unfair. How do you create requirements for a major and not have enough seats.”

“Also, honors students shouldn’t get such high priority, taking away seats from regular students. They should have their own classes.”

Tahmim, Senior, Bioinformatics

“It was pretty good. I got all my classes. The class times suck, but I got them.”

“I wish CUNYfirst was more individualized… The volume of students in the school makes the system inefficient. “

Shadman, Junior, Chemistry

“It was something of a nightmare. CUNYfirst was slow, and everything was lagging, but overall it went well – got four out of five of my classes… CUNYfirst didn’t show me the prereqs for the class — they never do, especially for the higher-up science classes. I’m just trying to graduate, man.”

Fatima, Sophomore, BioChemistry and Itteca, Sophomore, Psychology

Fatima: “It feels like a war at school every time. If you have priority, God bless you. If not, the system hates you. They should make the distribution of seats more even and be more considerate of students currently attending Hunter, rather than transfers.”

Itteca: “Out of the year and a half I have been here, this was the worst. Finding classes is hard in general, but if you have late registration it’s impossible. Fulfilling core and major requirements at the same time is a pain in the ass… The most painful thing is when there is a green circle next to the class but then you find out it only has seats reserved for transfers.”

Sebastian, Junior, Biochemistry

“For the first time, everything almost according to plan, but I still hate the system… I call it CUNYSecond.”

Hadiya, Junior, Biology

“I’m a scholar, so it went pretty smooth. I just had to obtain permission for a few classes… But CUNYfirst is really inefficient — it’s slow, and clunky, and it shuts down when people need it most.”

Pavel, Freshman, Nursing

“It was pretty good. I had a 12.30 appointment and still got the classes I wanted. It was very stressful, but nothing serious really happened.”

“The system is not the best — it needs improvement. It’s clunky and cluttered. Listing teachers would help a lot, or even just a list of teachers who taught last semester so we could get an idea of who might be teaching the class this semester.”

Daniel, Junior, Biochemistry

“It was perfectly fine except the lab class I wanted was for nursing majors only. I’ve been through a lot in this system but I know all the tricks and tiny quirks, so I have an easier time now.”

Claritza, Sophomore, Undecided

“This semester wasn’t as bad as last semester. I got most of my classes. It’s hard though — as soon as you get your date you start to stress. Classes go in a snap of a finger. It was better because I had more priority, but it was still very worrisome.”

“They need to make a new symbol for classes with only reserved seats because it makes people’s lives so much harder. I would cry if I didn’t get my classes… my advice, be a liberal arts major.”

From this, we can conclude that there are many things wrong with the registration system here at Hunter. The system does not encourage students to pursue their majors, but holds them back with its clunkiness and disorganization.

Hunter needs to pay more attention to the needs of different majors and, more importantly, the needs of individual students. Yes, there might not be as much available as in a private college but something as important as a registration system should be high in priority.

Registration is survival of the fittest here at Hunter College, whether the students like it or not. So next semester, cram those classes in your cart and be ready to pounce the moment your appointment starts.

That is, if CUNYfirst decides to work that day.