College is full of lots of surprises. You have a lot more freedom, which sometimes can feel overwhelming. This is especially true when it’s your first time registering for classes. So I’m here to help you figure out what classes to take. I’ll be using To Columbia College Chicago’s system as an example, but these generally apply to most colleges:
1. Start With Your Degree Audit
When it comes to course planning, you should first look at your degree audit. A degree audit will show you all the classes you need to take to be on track to graduate. This will help if you have declared your major. If you haven’t, it will still show you classes that you need.
For your first semester of college, your academic advisor may pick out the classes you take. However, it’s good to know how to pick out your own courses for the rest of your time at college. At Columbia, you have to do this during your second semester. You can always meet with your advisor, but it’s still better to make sure what you plan to take matches with your audit.
2. Know When Registration Opens
Colleges will release a course catalog full of the classes they offer for the following semester. Let’s say you’re registering for your spring semester. Some time during your fall semester, you will get an email that a spring catalog has dropped. You have at least a week before your registration date to pick out your classes.
At Columbia, they release the course schedule for next semester during the 10th week of the semester. For example, for the upcoming fall semester of 2026, the course catalog came out on April 6th, and registration started April 13th. Unfortunately, when it’s registration time and you’re a freshman, you get the scraps, as upperclassmen get priority for registration over you.
3. Plan Out Your Credits
For most colleges, you need to take at least 12-15 credit hours to be considered a full time student. Depending on the school, you can also take up to 18 credits but that’s only if you know you can handle it.
I recommend getting your general education (gen ed) out of the way within two semesters. Gen eds include courses like maths, science, social studies, and English. I would also recommend throwing in some classes geared towards your major.
4. Take Some Fun Classes
Some colleges have a lot of cool artsy classes for you to take. Here are just a few fun electives that colleges offer:
- Photography
- ActingÂ
- Television writing
- Playwriting
- Forensic science
- Animation
- Illustration
- Ceramics
- Yoga
- Jazz dancing
- Tap dancing
- Stage combat
- Chicago-focused classes (such as music artists that originated from Chicago)
- Greek mythology
Depending on your college, you can find similar, fun electives to take alongside your required gen ed courses. I would also recommend taking elective classes that go out of your comfort zone or offer hobbies that you have.
Hopefully, you’ll find this helpful. Follow the tips above to ensure you have a smooth registration process.
Have you registered for classes yet, or are you still figuring out your schedule? Let us know in the comments below!
Photo by Billy Albert on Unsplash
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