Shop 'til you drop: a guide to choosing classes

After spending the last four years of high school working hard to get into a university like Yale, choosing college classes is probably one of the last things you want to think about right now. But given Yale's course selection process, it's definitely a good idea to begin pondering and prioritizing your academic interests before school begins.

There are almost 2,000 courses for undergrads at Yale. These are listed in the Yale College Programs of Study, better known as the Blue Book. Students living in the United States should get Blue Books at the beginning of August. If you don't have a U.S. mailing address or your book doesn't arrive in the mail for some other reason, you can still pick one up at the Undergraduate Admissions Office, browse the online version at www.yale.edu/ycpo/ycps, or check out the Herald's searchable interface at yaleherald.com.

At Yale, students select their courses in a process called shopping. You don't register for courses until two weeks after classes start—instead you spend that time attending any class you want, narrowing down your schedule to the four or five classes for which you will eventually register.

A few simple steps will make this seemingly overwhelming process much easier. First of all, you should come to Yale with at least some idea of your interests. "You can't go into shopping period blind," Anne Blackfield, TC '03, advises. "You should have some idea of what you're taking." Within your fields of interest, there are probably introductory freshman classes that are prerequisites for the more advanced classes in that subject area. One or more of these introductory classes is probably in the horizon of most incoming freshman. Subjects with such classes include most natural sciences, psychology, and economics.

As in the rest of your Yale career, the best results may come from just talking to other people. Make use of the many students around you, freshmen or otherwise; they can often give you very valuable advice on what to choose. It is also a good idea to speak to freshman counselors—chances are that either they or someone they know will have taken the class you're considering.

Before the first day of shopping period, come up with a list of classes you would like to shop. Try to visit as many classes as possible, and be prepared to be pleasantly surprised or unexpectedly disappointed—the course with the most interesting name could turn out to be terrible, and vice-versa. Of course, shopping period is also a time to pick and choose between different professors' lecture styles.

Many extracurricular organizations also organize Blue Book parties during the first week of classes, where upperclassmen will be on hand to dispense advice. These parties are good opportunities to meet people and to get to know people who might be taking the same classes as you. Knowing people in the class you're taking can make a big difference in how you experience that class.

And always remember that college is a time to expand your horizons. Shopping period is designed for just that: the more classes you look at, the more you'll know about what's available at Yale. In every class that you shop the professor will hand out a syllabus on which you can see a list of the readings and material covered by the course. Many incoming freshmen come to Yale with a definite plan for the rest of their lives; freshman year is a good time for re-evaluating that plan. Be sure to shop not only the classes you think you ought to or need to take, but also the ones that really pique your interest. These bright college years are too valuable to waste on taking courses that don't appeal to you. And even if you are interested in a class outside your major, but are worried that it may affect your GPA, consider the Credit/D/Fail option.

Be forewarned: some professors do assign homework during shopping period. Nevertheless, most are aware that students are shopping and will make suitable allowances. Even if you join a class near the end of shopping period, catching up with the first two weeks of the material is usually doable.

Above all, just relax. The prospect of college may seem daunting, but is much less frightening when it actually happens. Take the initiative and visit all the classes that interest you. And for all the syllabi of the courses you shopped but didn't register for, there's always space under your extra-long college-sized beds to store them.

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