As a second-semester freshman who just registered for first-semester sophomore classes, I am uniquely and perfectly qualified to tell you the exact steps you need to take in order to get all the classes you want. I might have only done it twice, but I have cracked the code on the registration system. So, without further ado, here are the exact steps you need to take to win at registration.   

Step One: Start the Process Very Late.  

When is the best time to start thinking about classes? Way later than you would think. I think the ideal best time to start looking into classes is after every single person you know has already come up with their own schedules. This gives you an advantage because you were wiser than when they started. You are now winning at registration.  

Step Two: Do Not Make a Backup Plan.  

I think the best backup plan you can make is no backup plan. Go on Nova Schedule Builder, select your classes, and then do not think about it any further. If you do feel the need to come up with a second plan, I suggest keeping all of the same classes pretty much exactly but switching maybe one of the sections. This will give the illusion of multiple plans, but you really only have one plan. This high-risk, high-reward, low-effort strategy puts you in the lead.  

Step Three: Start Stressing the Night Before. 

Now that it is about 24 hours before your registration time, it is time to panic. Look at all the classes you want (from the one plan you have) and realize that they are filling up fast. At this point, you can do one of two things:

Step 4a: Cry. 

Once you see that all your classes are filling up and you are most certainly not going to get the schedule you wanted, one thing you can do is cry. I think this is a great option. Crying is a wonderful solution to this very big problem.  

Step 4b: Re-evaluate Your Life.  

This is the ideal time to make a backup plan in my opinion. This is the time when you look into multiple different options, switching multiple class sections. At this point, maybe it’s time to look at switching out a class or two. Maybe you’re going to have to take Calculus instead of Statistics. Maybe you’re going to have to take that professor with a 3.5 rating. This is when you start to lose at registration. 

Step 5: Register. 

This will be a bloodbath, and like all battles, you are going to need to choose who will survive. This is a triage situation. That genetics class with one spot left? You are going to need to copy and paste that CRN so fast that the Flash himself would be impressed. That might mean that the psychology class you wanted fills up in the meantime. You need to pick your battles here. At this point, you are officially losing, but as long as you make it out alive, then you can recover. 

Step 6: Switch Majors the Next Day. 

This is actually a tried-and-true method. I know this because I did it last semester, and my friend did it this semester. I personally think this method allowed for both of us to come back to the winning team. It doesn’t matter what you decide to switch your major to, as long as you switch it. This will allow for you to drop that class that you didn’t actually want to take in the first place and replace it with a slightly more ideal class in the long run. This is a pretty big and life-altering decision that will change your entire education, but it also changes your schedule for at least one semester. Let’s be honest, you weren’t going to be happy with that horrible schedule anyway, so you might as well just switch majors. All of your little work and lots of stress has finally paid off. You have now won at registration.  

Congratulations. I sincerely hope you use these steps next semester when registration rolls around again. Some might argue that this is not at all the correct way to properly register, but I think they are wrong. At the end of the day, do you want to have a calm and organized strategy that might get you what you want but might fail miserably, or do you want to have no strategy at all, and that way when you end up not getting what you want, you can’t actually be upset about it? That’s what I thought.