Wonders of Course Registrations

This semester, I am taking 4 classes to reach Drexel’s 12 credit minimum. This is my first semester taking anything less than 19 credits, so it feels like I have some free time for a change. So, I thought I would tell you about the wonders of SNU course registrations. 

Course registration at SNU is divided into 4 different parts: pre-registration, course cart, course reforestation, and course change/drop. So pre-registration is essentially designed for exchange students. During this time the website is open and students can figure out how to work all the filters and how to add and drop classes. If you want to take classes in English, it’s important to select the “English lecture” option in the filter section, or else you’re going to get all Korean classes (unless you feel confident in your Korean language skills).

Then there’s the course cart stage. During this period you can add any class to your schedule over the time frame of a day and a half. This day is very important, if you get lucky and get all of your classes confirmed during this period then you don’t have to risk not getting a spot in a course you registered for. At first I didn’t think the English lectures would be so popular, but it seems like many of the SNU students like to take English lectures. Students usually get confirmation of which classes they are registered for the next day. I got so so lucky because 3 out of the 4 classes I chose were confirmed during the course cart period.

Up next is the course registration period. It’s a whole battle, because classes go away within a matter of seconds. It is therefore important to save all of the classes you are interested in saved under the “class of interest” category because looking for new classes may be stressful. Course registration is open for three days, but trust me all of the interesting classes seem to be gone within the first 30 minutes. The course add and drop week is very crucial, and it’s very important to attend every class the first week to get a feel for how the course will shape up. For example, I was enrolled in one political science class that was a 3-hour class on Thursdays. On the first day of classes after the professor went over the syllabus in-depth, I knew it wasn’t a good fit , so I dropped the class while I was still in the class right away.

A mistake I made was not reading the syllabus closely for a Korean culture class before registering. By the time I had the chance to do so and understand the course content better, it was past the “course drop” period. So it was not until then that I realized that it was a graduate student course or for students who had at least taken a few anthropology classes. I realized that this class was way above my level. I asked the professor if I can do well in the class and she also let me know that it would be very challenging for someone with little background in the subject. She offered me a spot in her introductory class, because if I was to drop that class then I would be under 12 credit minimum and because the add-drop period closed I wouldn’t be able to add anything to my schedule by myself. By this time I already found a Feminist art theory class that I was more interested in. After explaining my situation, I was luckily able to add that class to my schedule and drop the Korean culture class. 

A good lesson is to always READ THE SYLLABUS PROPERLY and keep the and drop period in mind when registering for courses! 

A Message from the Office of Global Engagement:

The safety and security of Drexel students is a priority for the University. As part of the efforts to support Drexel students that are studying abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Office of Global Engagement has conducted a rigorous review of programming and provided additional support to participating students with customized pre-departure orientations and regular check-ins during the required self-isolation period and the term.