Building a schedule seems like a complicated business the first time through. After a while it will be a clear cut and straight forward process.

Here are some tips for students as they build a schedule:

Look at your long term goals   

• Do you want a degree from NWC? If you do, use the appropriate degree worksheet to keep track of general education requirements for your degree.
• Are you planning to transfer? If you are, keep your transfer institution in mind when you choose your classes. Pick your courses so that they meet your transfer institutions requirements. (See the section on Transferring for more information.)
• Check the Catalog for suggested courses for your major. (If you have not decided on a program of study, follow the recommendations for an Associate of Arts in General Studies.)

Consider your learning style   

• How many credits can you carry and achieve the grades you want? Be honest with yourself. When do you learn best? Morning? Afternoon? Evening? Again, be honest with yourself. Don't sign up for an 8:00 class if you can't make yourself get up to attend it.  
• Which types of courses are the most difficult for you? Which are enjoyable and interesting? Don't sign up for all hard classes on the theory that you want to get them out of the way as soon as possible. Don't sign up for all fun courses because you don't like the tough ones. Take a mixture of the two.

Outline a schedule

• Check the class schedule on Web Advisor for times and availability. Select the classes you wish to take. Read the Catalog for descriptions of course content.
• Use the class schedule grid to arrange the courses you've chosen. Block out times when you know you already have job or other responsibilities. It's important to use the grid. It helps you find scheduling conflicts. It is surprisingly easy to miss a lab that overlaps another class or to miss a conflict that's created by a course which is slightly out of the normal pattern.
• Start by filling in the classes which are most important to you. Next, fill in the classes with the fewest sections. End with the classes which offer the most sections. In other words, start with the classes you really want or need and build your schedule around them. If all things are equal, start with the classes which have the fewest sections. You may only have one option for a chemistry class which you need, but you may have 20 options for an English class. Fill in the chemistry class first because you'll still have plenty of time slots for scheduling an English class.
• If a class you wanted to take to fulfill a general education requirement is full, find another class that fulfills a different general education class that you'll need. During your first several registrations you really have a lot of options here.
• Prepare some alternate schedules and choices in case some classes are filled when you register.

Take your schedule to your adviser for review.