How to Build a Great Fall 2024 Class Schedule

The time to enroll in yet another semester of college classes is almost here. As students return from spring break, only a few short days remain until the first group begins to choose classes for the fall semester of 2024. Although knowing exactly how to register for these courses is important – detailed instructions can be found here -- it is just as crucial that one knows how to build a schedule that will provide adequate amounts of both intellectual challenge and downtime.  

The first step toward building a great Fall 2024 class schedule is to look at your four-year plan. If you haven’t created a four-year plan yet, now is the time to do so! This helps to balance out your credits and plan ahead with an on-time graduation date in mind. Excel and Google Spreadsheets can both serve as helpful tools for accomplishing this purpose. Once you’ve looked at – or created – your four-year plan, it will be easier to decide which classes you’d like to take during the upcoming fall semester.  

The key to building a “great” schedule is finding a balance between classes, free time, extracurriculars, and time spent with friends. If you are in a fall sport, for example, you may need to consider taking fewer credits during the fall semester so that you can find time to do homework and attend practice. It may even be helpful to create a list of all the commitments you have during a certain semester, and then make decisions about how many credit hours to take, the activities to which you can devote the most time, and how to navigate scheduling around the more “non-negotiable” classes. If you have a job, try to balance your work hours with the rest of your schedule as well.  

When considering your class schedule (especially courses that have more than one section available), think about the time of day when your attention and focus are at their best. If you are awake and alert in the mornings but get tired in the afternoons, try choosing classes that meet earlier. Likewise, if you don’t feel quite awake until after chapel, enroll in classes that meet in the afternoon! Also consider whether you want your classes spread out throughout the day or if you prefer to get classes out of the way in one block by scheduling them back-to-back.  

Some students even prefer having certain classes at certain times of day. For example, a lecture-style night class may not appeal to most; however, one that is more hands-on may be an easy addition to a schedule that’s full during the day. 8 a.m. classes are not for everyone, but neither are 2:40 p.m. classes. As much as you can, choose classes in a style that you know will keep you alert and engaged at different times of day. Of course, this tends to be easier when choosing general education courses, as these usually offer several different class sections with their own meeting times.  

Although focusing on scheduling classes, extracurriculars, and other commitments can be a lot to think about, it’s important that you don’t forget to schedule free time! That’s right – setting aside blocks of time in which you can work on homework as well as engaging in hobbies, hanging out with friends, or otherwise “unwinding” is just as necessary as finding blocks of time in which you can take classes! 

Finally, ask yourself if you feel that you’re overcommitted. If this is the case, it may be necessary to cut a certain class from your schedule, make decisions about which extracurriculars are the most important to you, or how you can balance responsibilities with the activities you want to do. Reflect on the classes you’ve chosen and reflect on how a certain number of credits has “felt” in the past. If taking seventeen credits per semester feels easy, go for it! But don’t feel bad if a fourteen-credit schedule is full enough for you. Being too busy can soon lead to stress, burnout and strain in one’s academic life.  

During this round of course registration, I encourage you to focus on balance. Creating your own daily schedule for a semester that’s still nearly six months in the future is hard and can seem daunting. However, knowing how many credits you can handle, what extracurriculars matter to you, and the amount of free time that you would like to have can give you a head start on knowing how you want your schedule to look. The beginning of a new school year will come before you know it – but with a balanced Fall 2024 schedule, you’ll be prepared.  

Interested in studying at Concordia University, Nebraska? Learn more here.