Strategic Course Planning for a Timely Graduation
Did you know that only 45% of students graduate in 4 years? Yup. It is true. One of the reasons why students do not graduate within four years is due to poor course planning. (And increased time to graduation results in delayed post-bachelor’s degree earnings and potentially additional semesters of tuition owed). To make sure that you are on track to graduate within four years, you should create an accurate and optimal four-year course plan.
All four-year college degrees require a minimum of 120 credits to graduate, but determining what courses to take during which semester can be a challenge for anyone. In this post, I will explain my tips to create a strong plan for your courses.
To help with your course planning, feel free to download my helpful worksheet that will help you outline all the courses you need to take to complete your major.
1. Confirm Your AP Credit, IB Exams, Dual Enrollment, Policies, and Amount Earned
Every university will have different rules when it comes to allowing credits from high school AP courses, IB Exams, and dual enrollment programs. Your university’s registrar’s office or academic advising should have this exact information. You must confirm these rules before making your four-year plan. For instance, your school may accept your AP Calculus credit but due to your selected major, you may need to take the calculus course offered by your institution. Or, this same exact class could cover the requirement if you select a different major.
Pro tip: Also check out your university’s student handbook for the rules regarding transfer credits for these types of courses.
2. Confirm Prerequisite Courses for Your Major (and Minor)
Some of the courses you will need for your major will have prerequisite requirements - that is, courses you need to take and earn a passing grade before you can take the course you want to enroll in. Fortunately, most courses clearly state which previous courses are required for students to pass before a student can enroll. So, make sure you go look at every single course requirement for your major. Then, write a comprehensive list of all the prerequisite requirements. (You can use my worksheet to help you with this task.) Then, make sure your plan has these courses in the order in which they need to be taken. Sequencing your courses in the right order can be a very difficult task, if you are having any trouble make sure you set up an appointment with your academic advisor.
Pro tip: When you make your list, your school may list classes as a co-requisite or prerequisite, meaning you could complete the two courses simultaneously. Make sure to note that.
Pro tip: Your prerequisite course could also have a prerequisite! Make sure you check all the courses that are required to complete your major.
Pro tip: The same course might be a prerequisite for two classes for your major. That’s why you want to make a list of all the prerequisites for your classes as one course may be counted as a required course for more than one of the courses you want to take.
3. Check all Fall and Spring Semester Course Offerings
Some academic departments may only offer certain classes in the fall or spring semester due to faculty availability, course sequencing, or lack of student interest. Make sure that these courses are listed in the appropriate semester. Some universities, through their registrar’s office, course department website, or class registration website, allow students to review a course’s historical availability. Reviewing a course's historical availability can help you know beforehand when a course is likely to be offered for enrollment, thus making your academic planning that much more accurate. For example, Psychology 1 may be offered in the fall and spring semester, but Psychology 2 is only offered in the spring. If you need both of these courses, it makes the most sense to take Psychology 1 in the fall and then Psychology 2 in the spring of the same academic year.
4. Be Mindful of Courses That Expand on Content in Other Courses
Many majors will have courses that are meant to build on top of the content from one class to the next. This could be obvious, like Introduction to Biology and Intermediate Biology, or less obvious like Physics 2 and Electrical & Computer Engineering Principles.
It is best to take courses that are offered in the same academic year as the information is fresher in your mind. Also, if this is a common course sequence required by many students, the faculty of these two courses may intentionally plan for the content to continue. So Spanish 1 might cover chapters 1-4 and Spanish 2 then covers chapters 5-9 in the same book. This may not be the case if you take them non-sequentially or in the spring of one academic year and the fall of the following academic year.
Pro tip: If you are taking a level 1 course in the fall and then a level 2 course of the same topic in the immediate spring semester after, the same faculty member might teach both levels. If you can register with the same faculty member and had a positive experience, do it! You will already know the professor’s preferences, how they grade, and the way they test students- this can help you do better in the course.
5. Balance Your Schedule Between Courses in Your Major and Others
For this tip, my advice is simple - spread out your general education courses and never take a full semester of courses in your major.
Although finishing all your general education courses in your first two years may seem ideal, I want to highly recommend that you keep a few of those general education courses to complete both your junior and senior years.
When you are solely completing courses in your major, despite your interest in the field, it can be difficult for several reasons. First, the content may overlap, and you may get confused about exactly what was taught in each class, which can cause you problems when you go to take your exams. (I am speaking from first-hand experience with this.)
Second, you will want to make sure to devote sufficient time to the courses within your major. This is in part because employers may look to your knowledge in them to determine whether you should be hired. Also, these are the faculty who will probably know you best and serve as a letter of recommendation as course sizes tend to decrease in size and increase in difficulty. This is why it is advantageous to balance courses for your major with some general education courses that are a lot less demanding on your time.
Third, you may get burnt out from focusing on the same subject in all your courses. Variety in your academics will help you not get bored and help to keep you interested in all subject matters, especially the one you want to obtain expertise in.
6. Balance Grading Type It’s When Possible
If your school requires multiple writing courses, spread them out. Do you know that two required classes in your major both have massive semester-long projects due the week before finals? Try not to take them in the same semester. Are you aware that two courses in your major have incredibly challenging cumulative final exams? Let’s spread them between two different semesters.
Most students have a preference for a certain grading type, either exam-focused or project-based. So, balancing your courses within these categories each semester will make it so you can spend additional time on whichever grading type is not your preference. (Usually, our grading preference aligns with the grading style where we are more successful.)
Because this type of balancing may not be possible, try to determine the frequency of exams in your exam-based classes. Likely, courses with the same number of exams throughout the semester will fall within a week of one another. Therefore, if you need to take all exam-based courses, select courses that vary in exam amount. (Speaking from personal experience, I once had a student with three classes that met on Mondays and Wednesdays that all had four exams throughout the semester. All the exams fell on the same Wednesdays throughout the semester. It was incredibly difficult to manage. I don’t want you making that same mistake.)
If you are in a major that is writing-heavy and grading balance is not a possibility, try to select courses that balance between a fewer number of assignments with a high percentage toward your final course grade and courses with many assignments each with less weight towards your final course grade.
Pro Tip: Read the course syllabus (if available prior to registration) and the online course reviews to try and understand the grading type for your courses. (I wrote a previous post about how to read a syllabus which can be read here.)
7. Keep Senior Year Lighter
There are two major reasons to keep your senior year less hectic. The first, and most important, is that you will need time to prepare for your post-graduation plans. Trust me, the amount of time you may need to allocate could be more than the weekly hours you use to study for a single class.
If you are applying to jobs post-graduation, you will need time to search for positions, cater your resume to that job, write cover letters, interview, follow up, travel for in-person interviews, and send thank you notes.
If you are applying for a post-bachelor’s degree education you will need time to select institutions and programs, write a personal statement, study for a standardized test, complete any standardized testing, interview, travel, and send thank you notes.
No matter the route you decide, you will need to consider time to look for housing, a task that takes more time than expected (and may require you to travel to view your options in person).
The second reason, which is more relevant for the spring semester, is that you deserve to finish your college career with a semester that is not as hectic as the rest. This may be one of the last times that your friends are all geographically close to you so take advantage of it! By ensuring you have a light course load during the spring semester of your senior year, you will have the time to spend with the people that matter.
8. Consider Winter/Summer Courses and/or Transfer Credits
When thinking about the academic year, most students only consider completing courses in the fall or spring. Courses are offered at many institutions in the winter as well as the summer so use this to your advantage.
You could consider completing courses at your home institution in these non-traditional semesters, but you could also consider completing them via transfer credits. Many schools accept credits from other institutions as long as they are reviewed prior to completion to determine their equivalency with a course at your institution.
Pro tip: Completing transfer courses through a local community college is a great way to earn credits at a less expensive price per credit.
Pro tip: Some universities have websites dedicated to listing the courses at other institutions that have already been pre-approved for transfer credits. Make sure you check with your university’s registrar’s office or with your academic advisor to see if this exists.
Note that most universities have policies that only allow for the transfer of the credits for the class, not the grade. So, your grade in a class from another institution will likely not count toward your GPA at your university.
To transfer courses, make sure to check the policy at your home institution. There could be a limit on the number of courses, credits, and types of classes, or you may not be allowed to transfer in any credits. You are better off knowing how a course will transfer prior to enrolling as you do not want to waste your money or time if your home institution does not accept it (or accepts it to cover a requirement you have already completed). This information might be listed in your student handbook, advising website, department website for your major, or the registrar’s website.
9. Check your plan with your Academic Advisor
Despite following my suggestions and doing your research, you should have someone else check the plan you create to ensure it is completely accurate. Your academic advisor will almost certainly be aware of other course options that you can take, can suggest potential double majors or minors, and can answer any questions you have regarding academic policies and optimal course sequencing.
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