From what I can tell, most of my students “plan” their course schedule for a semester based solely on two criteria. First, what is being offered that they are willing to take that term, and second, when is it being offered? The second of these criteria often trumps the first because of the “it’s too early in the morning” factor. Now you see why I put the word “plan” in quotes.
I don’t fault them. At a state school, like the one where I teach, education about term planning usually takes the form of a little time management worksheet that breaks down a week into 186 hours and then budgets out time according to what the worksheet has deemed are your priorities. These sheets are always based on a fantasy world and not the real world.
In the real world, everyone multitasks. So these nice little blocks of time are meaningless. In the world of my students, most are working full time, or as close to that as they can get and are also trying to take 12-15 hours of classes a semester. If they have to drop something, that is the cost of doing business.
Private schools, especially liberal arts colleges, often do a much better job of planning a semester. It’s not uncommon at smaller colleges to meet with an academic advisor who is actually familiar with your goals and major and who will help you plan courses for the next semester. Planning the semester in this manner isn’t about budgeting time. It’s about crafting the next phase of your educational development. Remember, just because you don’t go to a school that thinks like this doesn’t mean you can’t.
Planning a Semester without a Day-Timer
Before beginning, I have one little caveat. In creating this little planning scenario, I am not going to worry too much about the differences between quarters and semesters since it works out about the same. To graduate in four years under the quarter system, you are going to take three or four courses each quarter that are worth four or five credits each. To graduate in four years under the semester system, you are going to have to take four or five courses each semester that are worth three or four credits each. There are other combinations available but I am trying to keep it simple.
The first thing you have to decide is how many courses you are going to take. I am assuming that you are going to want to get out in four years (good luck) and so I am planning with that goal in mind.
Follow these directions in your first and second semesters:
Do nothing but knock out exit requirements.
Whether you set it as a formal goal or not, much of your first semester is acclimating to college level work and adjusting to the culture of your college. Like a lot of things in life nothing can really prepare you for college until you are there. Lots of people don’t make it through the first semester. Just look at the parking lots at the beginning of the second semester.
Do not take any electives.
Don’t take anything but general education exit requirements. Odds are you won’t be able to get into anything else anyway. So just accept it. Don’t take any electives yet because you want to do well in all your electives.
Take three classes that you have traditionally done well in.
You are taking mainly classes that are your strengths because they are, or at least should be, more challenging than your high school, but also classes in which you are most assured to succeed. Also, core classes like composition, speech and math are going to be used in everything else. So, if you do well in these first, you stand a better chance in doing well in other classes later
Take one class in your worst subject
Take your worst subject now to get it out of the way. Generally, people avoid things they don’t like and we don’t like not doing well. So when people enter college, too often they avoid their weak subjects. Avoiding your worst subject is like delaying needed maintenance on your car. Both are more expensive in the long run. If you are willing to take summer school classes, another useful strategy is to take your worst subject in the summer. That way you can immerse yourself in the subject and it only lasts a short period of time. The “short period of time” sometimes scares people, but if you can deal with that, it’s a useful and proven method of getting past this obstacle.
Try to Create Synergy in the Term
Pick classes that work well together. If possible, try to work out a schedule that offers some type of synergy. Too often, freshman schedules read like this: Spanish Literature 252, Composition 101, Earth Science 101 and College Algebra 101. My objection to this course schedule is that these classes are four isolated subjects. It turns college into an education factory where on Tues-Thurs from 2-4 you turn the wrench, and Mon-Wed you use the rivet gun. How the wrench turning and rivet gunning contribute to your education is never revealed. “It makes you well rounded” is not an acceptable answer!
So, if possible, don’t do this to yourself. Pick some classes that work together. Until you hit your major it is probably too much to ask to get all four courses to synergize but it’s reasonably simple to get a 2+2 schedule. For example: Composition and Speech plus Meteorology and Physical Science. Another example would be Chemistry and Biology plus Speech and College Algebra. In the second example it’s more 3 + 1 with speech being the odd class out but you still get a good deal of synergy. 2 + 2 is “better” in that it evenly distributes courses more closely geared towards your interests while satisfying the “well rounded” classes that are built into your degree track.
Repurposing and Harvesting Work. When you have classes that are closely linked, you can more easily “repurpose” or “harvest” your work. By repurposing, I mean planning ahead for a piece of work to be used in more than one class. Your term paper in composition becomes a topic in speech. “Harvesting” happens after the fact where, for example, you write a paper in one class and then recycle it in another because you realize you can.
Keep repurposing and harvesting on the down low because some professors are seriously against this idea. See what the school’s policy is and look for anything on a professor’s syllabus. If you are still nervous about repurposing or harvesting something, ask. Some professors don’t care, some do. Let me tell you a little something about professors. When they are working on a paper, they take it to conferences so it can be critiqued and improved. Eventually they publish it. This publication, if possible, is worked into a book. That’s one idea worked into three tenurable items. Talk about repurposing and harvesting!
Try to create synergy from term to term. If you are taking courses that are in a sequence, always take the next course in the sequence in the next term. If you take Composition I (or whatever it’s called at your school) in the fall, take Composition II in the spring. Often people get burnt-out on a subject after they have finished the first part of a sequence—especially if it is something they don’t like. This reaction is understandable, but it is not commendable. You are more apt to do better on the second section if the knowledge you gained in the first is still fresh, even if you feel that you are not solidly grounded in the first part of the sequence. You aren’t going to magically become better at the subject by ignoring it.
This same approach also works for classes that are prerequisites and their corresponding classes. If you can take these classes immediately after one another, do so. The first class not only prepares you for the second but the second reinforces the first. The more we use new language and ideas the more they sink down into the marrow of our bones until they become as familiar to us as our first words.
Courses are Still Taught By People
Remember when I talked about making a better deal with your professor? Hint: it would be in the chapter with the same title as this paragraph. Making a deal is a great way to create and keep synergy in a semester. This is your education, your skill set, your knowledge, your future we are talking about. Do not go gently into the generic matrix a professor has planned for the masses. Request special attention. Students rarely do this and professors will usually oblige. Remember, you are not asking for less work. You are asking for better focused work that meets your specific needs.
Stay With Your Strengths
As I have already explained, I consider education and suffering to be different things. While I have and will continue to preach to you about diversifying your talents and knowledge, I also live in the same real world as you do. There are things each of us will never be competent at. For the sake of your GPA—and your sanity—avoid them. That’s why I stayed with writing as much as possible.
Get It All Done Early
One of my first suggestions in this section was to take your worst subject in the first semester to get it out of the way as soon as possible. I want to end this section by giving you that piece of advice about everything. I hate deadlines. I am afraid I am going to miss them so I always finish early. That way, if something goes wrong I have time to fix it. So, I tried to finish every semester (I always attended schools on the semester system) about a month early. Sometimes there were finals but if all you have to do is study for a final, the final is not that hard.
I am not trying to turn you into a little overachiever like myself. I am trying to save your GPA. If something is due on Tuesday, get it done the Friday before. Do not wait until Monday night. Your printer will fail, the lab will close, or there will be an emergency. Not every time, but sometimes, and one of those sometimes may coincide with your deadline.
