How to conquer fall registration like a boss

The most hectic week of the semester is finally here, class registration week. This week, friends become enemies and everybody acts like they’re shooting for the next hunger games — which is kinda necessary. When there are over 30,000 people trying to claim the same classes and escape the label of super senior, tension is inescapable. It’s just part of life as a Rutgers student. If you don’t know how to be one of the conquerors, here are a few tips so you can register like a champ.

Use your resources

For God’s sake, use Course Schedule Planner. If you don’t already know what that is, you’ve been fighting an uphill battle. This website allows you to look through classes that will be available for the next semester and even plan out possible schedules. It’s available weeks before scheduling, so you have plenty of time to decide what courses are most sensible for you. Once you’re done, you only need press the register button on your assigned day and the schedule you’ve built will automatically be applied. Put together with the help of degree navigator, you’ll be ahead of the game.
If you don’t know what degree navigator is, good luck.

Use your connections

If you know a senior or junior with a lot of credits, make them your best friend for the week. They are your ticket to every class you didn’t have the faintest hope in getting. Since students with more credits can register earlier and get first pick of classes, it’s a smart move to ask one of these people to hold a class for you. Coordinate a time for them to drop it and you to pick it up before somebody swipes it. My advice, only use this for popular classes you know have limited sections or your most important class. Take your elders out for ice cream or whatever means necessary — just get the classes.

Be somewhere with good Wifi

If you must, go home. We all know RUWireless is one of the flakiest networks to exist, ever. The last thing you need is to lose all the classes you’ve selected just because the wireless cut out. Most importantly, make sure you’re on RU wireless secure. We all know you have to sign back into regular RU Wireless all the time. Go to any of the libraries or student centers and avoid places like Barnes and Noble or dorms that don’t have great connection. Processing takes long enough as it is — working with bad wifi is just not a good idea. As an extra tip, don’t freak out and refresh the page when you see the loading symbol and the “this may take a while” message. I don’t care how comfortable it looks like that screen is getting on your computer. It’s not worth.

Know what day you can first register and do it ASAP

Too often, I’ve seen people slip up and mistake the day they can register, sleep through the opening night or just forget about it altogether. First of all, you should know how many credits you have so you know your date. One credit could mean a day’s difference and a day’s difference could mean an added semester. Getting it done as soon as it opens puts you ahead of the lazies who think it doesn’t matter. Every minute could mean grabbing or losing a class. If you can’t stay up for some reason or don’t trust yourself to remember, set an alarm for a few minutes before 10 pm.

Notice how nowhere in here did I say sabotage other people’s plans by telling them a section is closed or disconnecting their wifi. We may be competitive, but shouldn’t be savage.