As easy as BC makes it, I eventually find myself at a stopping point because I struggle with determining which classes I want to take next quarter, which times are the most convenient and compatible with my sleeping life, and which professors to take. Here are some tips to wisely making a schedule that will work for you.
First off, you need to know what direction you are going in. Go to bellevuecollege.edu/worksheets/transfer if you are interested in receiving your Associates and want to transfer. This link will take you to a page with the different transfer degrees that BC offers and will share the required categories and number of credits.
After deciding the classes you need to take, you get to the part where you need to pick a time and teacher. The teacher quality and time slot are both extremely important to me, but the time slot is weighted slightly heavier. Honestly, I’d rather take a 10:30 a.m. class with a mediocre teacher than a 5:30 p.m. class with an outstanding instructor.
What works the best for me is to write down all of the classes that I need for the upcoming quarter as well as the time slot and teacher. I will then use the process of elimination to get rid of the super early or super late classes.
When it comes to picking the time slot, consider how long you want to actually be on campus. If you want to get in and out of school as quickly as possible for work, perhaps plan to have your classes one after another. If studying on campus is the most productive place to get your work done, then plan for your classes to be spaced out.
Keep in mind the BC traffic if you drive to school. Planning a class in the late morning may seem perfect because you get to sleep in, but don’t forget about the BC traffic and amount of time it takes to actually find a parking place for your car.
Carpooling buddies from last quarter may not necessarily work out this quarter if you do not have compatible schedules. If you plan on keeping the same two or more carpool buddies, consult with them and make sure you’re starting and ending times are similar to maintain a good carpool group. If you need a new carpool group, register with your BC e-mail on rideshareonline.com to find people who share similar commutes.
Once I narrow down the classes to the ones that are compatible time wise for me, I use the trusty dusty website: ratemyprofessors.com. Sarcasm, of course, is used to describe this site, because you never know what sort of reviews you may find. “I HATE THIS TEACHER, NEVER TAKE THEM,” could just be the reaction of a student who sat back and did simply nothing in the class, thus receiving a poor grade. I generally block out the extremes. The reviews that are the most useful are the ones that explain how the professor will teach, grade, and present the content. I also take into account the amount of reviews. Some teachers I have taken had a 4.5/5 review and ended up being a horrible instructor. The reason? They only had one review. When a professor has 45 reviews with every single one of them giving negative feedback, I generally try to avoid taking one of their classes.
Putting together a schedule is not something that all people are good at, and that is okay because at BC, we have academic advising! Go to the second floor of the B Building and set up a time to meet with one of the advisors. One of the biggest things the advisors will do is that they will help you figure out if you are on track, and if not, how to get there.
Winter quarter registration will begin on November 21. Visit bellevuecollege.edu/services/appointment.asp to find out your specific date and time that you can start registering. Good luck, and have fun planning for next quarter!