Tag: ru screw

No matter what major you are, all of you can relate to this #RUScrew. Registering for classes.. The RUScrew when it comes to creating a schedule is by far the most frustrating. The lengths we have to go to just to set up a timeline so we can all simply graduate on time is insane. It almost starts to feel like you’re fighting the school to graduate on time.

For me, just figuring out my registration was a hassle. As eager as a college freshman can be, I logged on to my rutgers account during summer to see the schedule Rutgers had created for me. It was all 100% Cook/Douglass. In what world did RU think that yes, this student should have all their classes on another campus while the same exact classes are being offered at the very campus that the student lives on.#RUScrew. I was just a number assigned a schedule, a small fish in a big pond – one that a big University wouldn’t go to lengths to ensure comfort for. And the fact that I couldn’t even pick my classes was even worse. Other colleges allowed their freshman to sit down, pick timings, and their professors meanwhile Rutgers just threw its freshman into the Registration Games to fend for themselves.

The battle on WebReg against hundreds of other students as you all vie for the same one opening for a class is no joke. I would know. I stayed on that website, stalking it. I had to refresh every minute whether I was in class, while walking to class sometimes, mid sleep, just woke up, or even in the bathroom. It astounds me, however, that my friend – who is also a freshman – was able to access WebReg at 6:00 am even though I couldn’t even log in until 7:00. #RUScrew, guess they liked her more. But regardless, be the end I had my entire class schedule switched to Livi and Busch. If you are also a freshman or are going to be one soon, you can get on top of this RUScrew by sticking to prime times to add classes which include:

1. The time RIGHT after that specific class ends because a lot of people decide then that that class might not be for them
2. 11:00 at night – I don’t know why but I remember NUMEROUS texts from course sniper and other apps that would text me at that time. Eventually I realized that those texts were a few seconds off and caused me to miss those sections. From then on I stayed directly on webreg at that time.
3. Early morning – I recall waking up to notifications that the one section I really needed had opened up but I missed it because I was sleeping then. Even around 6-7 am is prime time.

Now in the “off-chance” that you’re one of thousands of students who didn’t get the class they wanted, it’s okay because you’ll just get it next semester. Right?

Wrong. Chances are that class isn’t offered next semester. I feel bad for you if that was the last class you needed to graduate. Yikes. You could try to get an SPN (special permission number) to register for a class but guess what, of the time that’s just a myth because no professor actually gives SPNs. Or even if it the class is offered, it’s considered “off-season” so it doesn’t look good for my fellow classmates who might be pre-med like me. It’s all good. No worries. We’ll just bulk up on SAS cores, which RU makes us take (aka pay for), to try and make use of this semester. Good idea, right? Wrong. You’ll have a great time this semester but next semester when you’re taking all those hard classes at once, you’re going to feel like you’re drowning.

Which brings me to my next point. If you fail one of those classes it’s fine right? You can just take it again next semester. Wrong. My friend didn’t do well in Bio 115 so she wanted to retake it in Spring but leave it to Rutgers on making some BS rule that if you don’t do well in bio you can’t take it again until next year. Oh, okay that’s fine she’ll just take some of her other science requirements. Wrong. All those other science courses require bio 115 as a prerequisite. Beautiful. We really out here getting that edumacation.

For those who think upperclassmen are lucky, don’t be fooled. They face their fair share of registration struggles as well. Even if you feel like you’ve learned to work the system, the system will find ways to screw you over. Got your entire schedule layed out on course planner? Just need to register with the click of a button? Go ahead do it… Just to get unregistered from ALL OF YOUR CLASSES due to a financial hold you were unaware of. “Ladies and gentlemen, we got em,” evilly laughs Rutgers University somewhere in the dark.