Happy post-Turkey day! As the food digests and the football commences, now begins one of the most exciting times of the year...class registration! As a final senior I have finally managed to reach the holy grail of registration (a first day registration appointment), but as it extends over the next two weeks here are some resources that you might consider in helping to create your schedule. We will divide this up into two components: advice and scheduling resources.
ADVICE:
Advisors. I cannot say enough how important it is to check in with your advisors. I try to do it at least once a semester, but you should do it as often as you feel comfortable. It is also important to distinguish between general advisors and concentration advisors (both are important). You should make sure to check in with your general advisor to make sure you are taking care of all of your distribution requirements and your concentration advisor to make sure you are satisfying all of your concentration requirements. DON'T GET CAUGHT FORGETTING ONE. You do not want to get to second semester senior year and realize you still have several semesters of requirements left to fill!
Information on general advisors can be found at respective schools' websites. LSA's information can be found here, honors advising can be found here, Engineering can be found here, and Ross advising can be found here.
MSA Advice Online. At orientation they may have showed you a site you sort of understood, and kind of liked, but wish you could remember, that site would be MSA Advice Online. According to its website MSA AO is an "online system that provides students with access to course evaluation data". It takes the feedback students give at the end of each semester and gives a numerical rating to each question. Nice resource, but as should all feedback, should be taken with a grain of salt. It is also a tad bit outdated, but the website says they are working on updating. It is also a great way to see things like average workload for a class. You can find the site here, but you must have a UM Login to be able to access it.
Ratemyprofessors[dot]com. DISCLAIMER: This is the site that professors hate and students continuously misuse, BUT if used correctly, it can be very helpful.
Ratemyprofessors.com is a database of student ratings for professors across the country. It gives students a fourm to both rate and describe past professors. The site must be taken with a grain of salt, as these types of sites often get people who are only commenting on the extremes (ex. they absolutely love or are completely frustrated with a professor). It is important to look at the whole picture when using this site. These include things like how many ratings have been posted for a professor, how recent, how consistent are the posts, and what they say. I tend to look mostly at the comments for each professor, taking into account not just the rating, but why. If I find that someone's grievance is not something that concerns me (ex. lots of reading), it may not be worth being as concerned about. Also, precaution about posting on ratemyprofessors, professors can see what you write. It is helpful to provide feedback, but this is NOT an appropriate forum to bash, humiliate or embarrass professors. That is feedback that belongs in your semester course evaluation. The site can be found here.
Friends. One of the best resources you have for classes is people who have actually taken them. At a university such as Michigan you are most likely not the only person who has taken a class. Tap into your large network, ask your friends for class suggestions, engage people in not only what they liked, but why. Then, of course, be sure to check in with your advisor about the feasibility of recommendations.
SCHEDULING:
Ok, now that you know what classes you kind of want, how can you schedule them. The University of Michigan does not provide an "official" schedule generating resource, but several people have created useful alternatives using the Michigan courseguide.
Mschedule. One of the popular sources is Mschedule. According to its website, mschedule is a "FREE service that helps you to share your class schedule and find people in your classes. It also gives you a visual representation of your schedule". It helps you generate possible class possibilities based on classes you select. Pretty cool resource. Mschedule can be found here.
Schedulizer. This is another independent resource that uses the Michigan courseguide to generate possible schedules. It has been created for several schools across the country. I have never used it myself so I cannot comment on how it works, but it is certainly an intriguing option. Schedulizer can be found here.
Microsoft Excel. My personal favorite thing to do is sit down with the courseguide, Wolverine Access and an excel spreadsheet and create several possible schedules by hand. Maybe I am strange in that I find this fun, but it is quite exciting to be able to work out the endless possibilities for next semester.
The bottom line is this: picking classes can be fun, it can be intimidating and it can be frustrating, but there is always help around you. After you check out these resources if you are still having trouble ask for help! Advisors and University support staff are truly the best resources if you need help, but stick with it and you will find the schedule that is best for you. Now good luck, and get registering!!
ADVICE:
Advisors. I cannot say enough how important it is to check in with your advisors. I try to do it at least once a semester, but you should do it as often as you feel comfortable. It is also important to distinguish between general advisors and concentration advisors (both are important). You should make sure to check in with your general advisor to make sure you are taking care of all of your distribution requirements and your concentration advisor to make sure you are satisfying all of your concentration requirements. DON'T GET CAUGHT FORGETTING ONE. You do not want to get to second semester senior year and realize you still have several semesters of requirements left to fill!
Information on general advisors can be found at respective schools' websites. LSA's information can be found here, honors advising can be found here, Engineering can be found here, and Ross advising can be found here.
MSA Advice Online. At orientation they may have showed you a site you sort of understood, and kind of liked, but wish you could remember, that site would be MSA Advice Online. According to its website MSA AO is an "online system that provides students with access to course evaluation data". It takes the feedback students give at the end of each semester and gives a numerical rating to each question. Nice resource, but as should all feedback, should be taken with a grain of salt. It is also a tad bit outdated, but the website says they are working on updating. It is also a great way to see things like average workload for a class. You can find the site here, but you must have a UM Login to be able to access it.
Ratemyprofessors[dot]com. DISCLAIMER: This is the site that professors hate and students continuously misuse, BUT if used correctly, it can be very helpful.
Ratemyprofessors.com is a database of student ratings for professors across the country. It gives students a fourm to both rate and describe past professors. The site must be taken with a grain of salt, as these types of sites often get people who are only commenting on the extremes (ex. they absolutely love or are completely frustrated with a professor). It is important to look at the whole picture when using this site. These include things like how many ratings have been posted for a professor, how recent, how consistent are the posts, and what they say. I tend to look mostly at the comments for each professor, taking into account not just the rating, but why. If I find that someone's grievance is not something that concerns me (ex. lots of reading), it may not be worth being as concerned about. Also, precaution about posting on ratemyprofessors, professors can see what you write. It is helpful to provide feedback, but this is NOT an appropriate forum to bash, humiliate or embarrass professors. That is feedback that belongs in your semester course evaluation. The site can be found here.
Friends. One of the best resources you have for classes is people who have actually taken them. At a university such as Michigan you are most likely not the only person who has taken a class. Tap into your large network, ask your friends for class suggestions, engage people in not only what they liked, but why. Then, of course, be sure to check in with your advisor about the feasibility of recommendations.
SCHEDULING:
Ok, now that you know what classes you kind of want, how can you schedule them. The University of Michigan does not provide an "official" schedule generating resource, but several people have created useful alternatives using the Michigan courseguide.
Mschedule. One of the popular sources is Mschedule. According to its website, mschedule is a "FREE service that helps you to share your class schedule and find people in your classes. It also gives you a visual representation of your schedule". It helps you generate possible class possibilities based on classes you select. Pretty cool resource. Mschedule can be found here.
Schedulizer. This is another independent resource that uses the Michigan courseguide to generate possible schedules. It has been created for several schools across the country. I have never used it myself so I cannot comment on how it works, but it is certainly an intriguing option. Schedulizer can be found here.
Microsoft Excel. My personal favorite thing to do is sit down with the courseguide, Wolverine Access and an excel spreadsheet and create several possible schedules by hand. Maybe I am strange in that I find this fun, but it is quite exciting to be able to work out the endless possibilities for next semester.
The bottom line is this: picking classes can be fun, it can be intimidating and it can be frustrating, but there is always help around you. After you check out these resources if you are still having trouble ask for help! Advisors and University support staff are truly the best resources if you need help, but stick with it and you will find the schedule that is best for you. Now good luck, and get registering!!
