by Susan Klatz Beal

Created on: July 25, 2009   Last Updated: February 19, 2011

College is an exciting time in the life of young people. It is the beginning of a journey of growth and learning, and it is one in which a college student will prepare themself for their future life, for life as an adult and for a life of independence. Regardless of whether or not you are a first semester freshman, a returning upper classman, or a senior who is entering the final semester of college, the decision about what classes to take is an important one. Knowing how to pick your college classes will help you prepare yourself for everything that lies ahead for you.

*Pay attention to all requirements -

This means that you will need to be mindful of both the requirements for your major and general educational requirements or core classes that the college or university requires of all students. Make sure that if courses you are interested in have prerequisites, that you understand what they are. Having the proper prerequisites for your college classes will ensure that you are capable of doing the work for that class.

Don't ignore basic educational requirements that are typically taken the first semester of freshman year. Getting these things out of the way is important, and you may discover that as boring as you thought a class might be, it actually proves to help you in other classes you take all throughout your college career.

*Make sure you have an academic plan -

An academic plan will help you schedule  your courses in the proper sequence and help you see what you need to take for your chosen major. Without this, you may find it tempting to veer off course and take courses just because you think they will be fun. Your academic advisor is the person with whom to confer about this. They are trained to do this so that students have don't go through four years of college without any goals or direction.

*Balance your course load -

It is very easy to get so anxious about getting things out of the way, that you overload yourself with demanding classes. No student should have an academic load that consists of nothing but difficult courses. Every schedule should have a balance  between difficult classes, electives, and some classes that may be required, but aren't that difficult.

*Find out about the professor -

In large universities, there may be several professors that teach the same course. Find out about all of the professors who teach the course. You want to register for a class with a professor who has a great reputation among other students, and

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