Academic Advisors and Registration

It is so important to meet with your academic advisor right away! No matter what degree you are working towards, your advisor can help you with planning your college semesters and deciding what classes to choose. If you have any questions, they have the answers for you.

In your first meeting, your advisor will give you a sheet that has all of the requirements for you degree. It has all of the required general education classes that everyone has to take and it has all of the classes that you are required to take specific to your major. Most importantly, they have sheets that give you all of you options for each credit.

If you are coming to UVU straight out of high school, your recent ACT or SAT test scores will help to place you in classes. The only one that I really noticed this was math: my ACT test scores were high enough that I did not need to take a remedial math class and was able to go straight to MATH 1050 (which just happened to be my only math requirement for my degree). If you haven't taken the ACT or SAT, don't panic. You can take a placement test in the testing center. Your advisor can give you information on this.

An advisor can also help you with deciding what classes would be good for you and what teachers you might benefit from (even though I think every teacher offers something different for students).

An advisor will help you figure out what classes you want to take each semester. If you take a little time, you can map this out yourself.

At UVU, we have two major semesters: 

FALL- End of August to mid December 

SPRING- Beginning of January to end of April 

(17 weeks each semester, about 4 months). 

Summer is broken into two parts: 

SUMMER A-Beginning of May to end of June 

SUMMER B-Beginning of July to mid August

(7 1/2 weeks each semester, almost 2 months)

*For the record: If you take 12 hours over the summer (maybe 6 in block A and 6 in block B?) you are considered full time over the summer. Taking 6 credits each block is like taking 12 credits in the Fall or Spring semesters*

To be considered a "full time" student, you must take 12 credit hours each semester. But my recommendation is you take 15 credit hours a semester. If you take 15 credit hours a semester, you won't have to take any classes over the summer.

But be warned: 15 credit hours can be a lot. Most classes are 3 credit hours, so that would mean taking 5 classes each semester (Of course, there are exceptions to that: my German 1010 class was 5 credit hours; my Health and Wellness class was 2; Math 1050 is 4 credit hours).

**NOTE: A credit hour is how many hours you sit in class in one week. So 3 credits means you are in class for 3 hours a week---the normal 3 hour class is Monday/Wednesday/Friday (MWF) for an hour each---well, at UVU, 50 minutes with 10 minutes before the next class. When you register, it tells you what days the classes are and what time it is at.**

Anyway, like I was saying, 15 credit hours is a lot. I started off my freshman year with 15 credit hours, plus I was coaching a high school dance team. If you are working or you know that you can't handle that much work, you should consider taking 12 credit hours and then take classes over the summer.

Remember: it is common knowledge in college that for every hour you are in class, that means 2 hours of homework. Which means 15 credit hours would be 30 hours of studying during the week. It seems like a lot, I know. But you will get through it!

Follow all guidelines from UVU for registering. Usually, you should be able to register for all of your classes as soon as you meet with an advisor. For every semester after that, you will have specific deadlines when you can begin registering. Registration days are based on credit hours. If you are a freshman (Under 30 credit hours), you will be the last to register. Seniors (80+ credit hours) get first priority because they are closer to graduation so every credit is important for them. Don't complain about this as a freshman. You will be thankful when you need exactly 15 credit hours to graduate and you get your pick of classes.

Registration can be crazy. Every semester, I would sit up at midnight waiting for registration to open so I could get all the classes I wanted/needed.

Here is my philosophy (or philosophies) on choosing classes:

• Get your general education requirements out of the way early. My first two years were ONLY general requirements. 
• The class that you hate the most, you should do first. If you are HORRIBLE at math, imagine what it would be like trying to take the class your senior year after 3 years of not having math. It is hard. Thankfully, I thought of this and took math my first semester in college.
• Spread out the classes that you know will be difficult for you. If you know that English and history are your worst subjects, take English one semester and history the next semester.
• Always have at least one class that you actually like. You don't want to be doing a full semester of horrible classes. You want at least one "easy" class.
• This is your chance to choose your schedule. If you want to sit in class all day Tuesday & Thursday so you don't have to go to school on MWF, then do it. (Tuesday/Thursday classes are 1 hour and 15 minutes long)
• If you know that you can't get up in time for an 8am class, don't register for one. Choose a class a little later in the day. Or, if you would rather have the rest of the day free, make sure all of your classes end before noon. You choose your schedule. Think wisely.
• Notice when your breaks are. I have had all different ranges of my classes---3 back to back. 3 with hour breaks in between each. 2 classes, hour break, 1 class. You name it. Sometimes, it is good to have a harder class after an hour long break so you can have an extra hour to study.

UVLink makes it pretty clear how to register. You choose your own classes at whatever time & day you want. If there is a class conflict, you can't register for one. The only stress about registering is trying to get the classes you want in the right time slots.

Just be conscious of the effects of the classes that you sign up for. Don't let your workload be too much. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed with classes on one day. Having 3 classes on MWF and 2 classes on TH seemed to be great for me. 

If you want to graduate in 4 years, the average length to get a Bachelor's Degree, you have several options:

-Take 15 credit hours each semester (Fall & Spring) for 8 semesters

-Take 12 credit hours each semester (Fall & Spring) for 8 semesters + 12 credit hours for 2 summers (Summer A & Summer B) 

-Or a mix of different credit hours (Which is what I chose: Fall 15, Spring 11, Summer off, Fall 12, Spring 12, Summer A off, Summer B 6, Fall 12, Spring 9, Summer A 6, Summer B 6, Fall 15, Spring 16= Total of 120 credits, the requirement for a Bachelor's Degree)

I know, this post was information overload. I'm an English major. I like words. Sorry!

Click here to read my post giving details on how to register!

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