Surviving UNC class registration: How to save your spring semester schedule

This week has taught me just how much I lucked out my first semester.

My registration for fall semester went so smoothly — too smoothly, in fact. And, in an embarrassingly first-year manner, I foolishly believed that registration for spring semester classes would go equally as well.

How very, very wrong I was.

I had a hold on my account up until the morning of my registration, I had my academic advising appointment an hour before my registration time, and then, to my dismay, the majority of the classes that I wanted were already filled up by the time I was set to enroll. A brief few days passed when I was registered for only two classes.

I’m still in the process of fixing my broken schedule, but I’ve learned a lot from my older, wiser, more experienced peers. Here’s what I’ve now know about how to save a terrible spring semester schedule.

Step one: Just cry a lil’ bit

Class registration is haaarrrddd. If you’re one of the lucky few who got all their desired classes: congratulations! The rest of us hate you now. If you’re an upperclassmen, the process becomes slightly less difficult, but getting into major-required courses is stressful. If you’re a freshman, you were probably screwed from the very beginning.

And if you’re me, 3/4 of your shopping cart was closed five minutes before you had to click “Enroll”.

Just know that we’re all in this together. Watch some TV. Eat a snack. Breathe. Carry on.

Step two: Follow your class

People drop and swap their schedules every day, leaving spots open for other students. The key is getting to those spots faster than everybody else. This semester, Class Checker has become a particularly popular resource in trying to secure seats quickly. The website allows you to track the status of your desired classes and will send you a notification through either email or text as your class changes from Open, Closed or Wait List.

A word of advice: keep ConnectCarolina pulled up on your computer. I cannot emphasize this enough. I’ve had moments when I’ve received the “Class has opened” text, pulled out my computer in the middle of the sidewalk to scramble to the internet, and received the follow-up “Class has closed” text before I could even wake up my laptop screen.

You have to move fast to get a spot, but if you can be quick enough, you may have a chance at getting into the classes you originally wanted.

Step three: Find some decent alternatives

Take this step. In my hunt for good, gen-ed-filling alternatives, I’ve found that using UNC Class Finder has been particularly helpful. You can search based on your needed gen-eds, days of the week and your beauty sleep schedule (“no 8 a.m.s” is an absolute priority).

Otherwise, ask those with similar majors/interests as you about what lesser known classes they’ve taken and enjoyed in the past. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, take the opportunity to try something new, because studying disasters, catastrophes and human behavior in the context of the coming zombie apocalypse will probably help you along at some point in your life.

Step four: Email the professor

Emailing the professor and begging for mercy may be one of your best bets. Emphasize how much you want to take the class and always be professional, respectful and sincere, and make sure to end the email with a “thank you for your time”.

Going out of your way to shoot out a quick email will get your name into the professor’s head and emphasize that you are truly interested in taking the course, giving you a better chance of getting enrolled.

Step five: Just show up

Going on the first day of class and talking to the professor about getting a spot in the class is super efficient when it comes to getting a seat. Considering that often it’s difficult to get students to show up to classes they’re actually enrolled in, this method will show the professor that you are truly interested in being in the course. Put on your puppy dog eyes and your winning smile, little Tar Heel, and charm your way off the wait list and right into that front row seat.