Back-To-School “Shopping”

If there’s one thing I LOVE to do, it’s shop! One of my favorite ways to relax is by wandering around a mall or through the city, stopping in store after store to look around. Unfortunately, I don’t often purchase anything since I’m a broke graduate student, but I still love the process of browsing and imagining myself buying things!

Shopping is a little less fun in the academic sense. Many students at GSE use the first two weeks of the semester to try out different classes, ask their friends and classmates for recommendations, and really figure out what courses they want to take for the next sixteen weeks. The deadline to add or drop classes is the beginning of the third week of the semester, so that gives us a little bit of time to figure things out. Many people call these two weeks the “shopping” time, when the student consumers are testing different classes, meeting professors, analyzing syllabi, and gauging their interest in the different subject matter.

Last semester I didn't really shop much – I registered for four classes, after the first week I realized I wasn't interested in one so I dropped it and picked up another class that sounded interesting. I don’t regret the courses that I took, but I wish I had taken advantage of those first two weeks and tried out a few classes, especially after hearing some of my classmates talking about courses they really loved! This semester I’m shopping around a bit more. I have several classes I registered for that I’m not sure about – I wanted to attend the first few weeks before deciding what to continue with for the semester. Unfortunately, with the big snowstorm we had this week, three of my classes were cancelled, so I’ll only have one week to determine if I want to continue or not!

Right now I’m officially registered for five classes (although I only need to take four to complete my degree requirements). The classes are:

- Professional Development in Higher Education

- Enrollment Management

- Organization and Administration of Intercollegiate Athletics

- Economics of Higher Education

- Access & Choice in American Higher Education

In the past I've taken Contemporary Issues in Higher Education, Administration of Student Life, Faculty and Academic Governance, University-Community Partnerships, Globalization and the University, and Developmental Theory and Application with Young Adults.

If you want to see a complete listing and descriptions of all of the courses offered at GSE in all divisions, check it out here. (Note: not all classes are guaranteed to run each semester or year)

If you’re curious about any courses, feel free to email me or send a message through the blog!

One thing to keep in mind about course shopping is that classes at GSE can fill up pretty quickly. By the add/drop deadline some of the classes you want might be closed, so it’s best to register for classes you know you’re interested in as soon as possible! Some courses also offer the option to Audit the class, so you can attend the class sessions but you don’t receive actual university credit for the class. Permission is required from a professor to audit a class.

Looking forward into the semester, the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid will be hosting LOTS of events (online and in-person) throughout the next few months! More details and information will be coming soon, so be on the lookout. Hope to see you there!