Optimize your Class Schedule: An Intro to Class Scheduling in College.
At most colleges, your schedule will be different on different days of the week, usually certain classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and others on Tuesday and Thursday. The Monday-Wednesday-Friday (a.k.a. M-W-F) classes are usually shorter, lasting around 50 minutes while Tuesday-Thursday (a.k.a. T-TR or T-TH, T-TR will be used here) classes will last a bit longer, around an hour and a half, so that the actual amount of time spent per week is the same (2 1/2 hours for each class per week) regardless of which days you have class. Many students prefer the Tuesday-Thursday schedule, since it allows them to have every Friday off (which is why many schools' Greek organizations tend to have their weekly parties on Thursdays instead of Friday's). This is not true of all schools however; at some schools the length of each class period is the same no matter which days you have classes on, and instead of having to choose between a schedule with 3 class days a week or 2, they simply alternate Fridays. This means that one week the Monday-Wednesday classes will also have a Friday class, then the next week the Tuesday-Thursday classes will have a Friday class, and it alternates in this way throughout the semester.
I' m sure basically all prospective students young and old reading this are thinking the same thing, "I'm totally going for the Tuesday-Thursday classes!", and why wouldn't you? It's a whole extra day off every week! Well, don't get overly excited yet, because in all honesty it rarely works out so that you can have all your classes scheduled on M-W-F or T-TR. In most cases, to get the classes you want (and need) you will have to have classes every day, some being M-W-F and others T-TR. Now this is a great time for a little friendly advice: If you ever have a choice (and at some point you will) between getting to take all the classes you really need that semester or missing out on one or two and taking courses you don't truly need just so you can have all your classes on T-TR, for your own sake take the classes you really need!
After the most basic courses in any discipline, more advanced courses have prerequisites that must be met for you to be allowed to enroll in them. As an example, you can take Intro to Biology without any other courses under your belt; but to take Botany or Zoology (which are likely required for a major in biology), you will have to have passed the Intro to Biology course. As classes become more advanced, there will be even more complex prerequisites, for example, to take Genetics, you may have to have passed Intro to Biology plus either Botany or Zoology. This may not be exactly how it works at your particular school, but it will have some sort of similar requirements; I'm just giving you an example to help you understand how it works. So say you decide not to take Botany or Zoology your second semester because it will force you into a 5 days-a-week schedule instead of the 2 days-a-week schedule you were hoping for; when you go to sign up for classes next semester, you may only be able to take either Botany or Zoology, not both together. Genetics is still available, but you don't meet the prerequisites because you didn't take Botany or Zoology last semester like your other classmates did, so you are stuck and can't take any more classes that count towards your major until next semester! Now you are behind schedule to graduate, while also being forced into taking (and paying for) classes that will not count toward your major, and therefore don't count toward you graduating on time. This is a trap that many, many students fall into early on in college, and it ends up taking 5 years to graduate instead of 4, which can ultimately cost you thousands to tens of thousands of dollars depending on your school. You will always have a few friends that seem to magically work out their schedules so that they only have to attend classes two days a week, but try to remember when you're sitting in class resenting the fact that they are still asleep in their bed, that they will be the one sitting in the classroom later while you have already graduated and are making a great living.
Advice on Advising your Advisor (try saying that 3 times fast).
It cannot be overstated how important it is to have all the knowledge you can gather about the most efficient path towards completing your major or area of concentration. Your advisor can help a great deal in creating an efficient 4 year plan to graduate on time, but don't take their word as law. Most advisors are extremely helpful and will do their very best to help you succeed in the most effective way possible, but some can be just going through the motions and may not have reviewed your completed classes and looked at all the possible ways you can move forward. Advisors typically see many students, and sometimes they can go into "autopilot", basically recommending the same exact classes for everyone that comes in. Make sure to be as prepared as possible for any meeting you have scheduled with an advisor, so you can ask good questions (this tends to snap them out of "autopilot"), and so you won't be afraid to question their recommendations if the need arises. If your advisor is unresponsive to your questions and concerns, you may have to try to see another professor (perhaps one you have already built a good relationship with) and see if they have any suggestions on how you should move forward. Professors typically won't contradict another professor, but if you can show them good evidence for why you should deviate from your advisor's plan, a good professor will ensure that you are able to do so.
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