Don't forget your own interests, and other course enrollment tips

I remember the first time I sat down with a Course Offerings and began my scrupulous attack on those newspaper-thin pages: fall of freshmen year, on my brand-spanking-new shag carpet from Home Depot, while the hum of students bracing for the burgeoning academic year filtered through my gothic window.

As I pored over every reading list and classroom requirement, my excitement grew. How could there be such a wealth of information out there, of which I had never even considered studying? How could I possibly explore every intriguing niche of what Princeton academics has to offer?

Now, having finished my final Course Guide perusal of my Princeton career, I still close the smudged pages with longing — though perhaps less exhilarated and more wistful. There are still scads of classes I would love to take, and looking back over the seven semesters under my belt, I wish I could revise my transcript, substitute certain mistakes with classes that seem more promising, using my sharply-honed insight gained from four years of deciphering class descriptions.

Unfortunately I can't rewind time and rewrite my experience, but I can share a few pointers I have gleaned along the way with those who are still making their class records. Of course, my personal adventures in the Land of the Registrar could never speak for everybody, nor can my advice be universally helpful.

I'm an A.B. student particularly inclined toward literature and humanities, and less apt in the math and science departments, but I hope that my dos and don'ts for navigating class registration might be useful for a few eager, black-fingered, page skimmers like myself.

DO take what looks interesting to you. So what if your parents tell you that Japanese urban architecture or the history of voodoo is not applicable to your future: If you find yourself drawn to the subject matter, then perhaps this is a previously undiscovered interest worth exploring. There is no better time or place to find out, because honestly, when will you ever get the chance to decipher hieroglyphics found in a Burmese temple again?

DON'T forget your general requirements. It sucks to wake up as a junior and realize, oh gee, I still have to take two semesters of science, a writing requirement and epistimosomething before I can graduate.

Requirements within your major are enough to handle, so try to make your last two years as enjoyable as possible by not saving the unsavory requirements until the end. If you search around a bit, you can find something to satisfy those EMs that won't make you run screaming, and you'll be sitting pretty by the time your departmentals start piling up.

DO ask around for advice on specific classes and professors, and consider it carefully. I have found most recommendations worthwhile, and most warnings accurate. If your roommate or teammate can't stop mentioning a class or professor in conversation, then it's usually a good indication that the class is compelling.

DO pay attention to the reading lists. This is prime evidence of exactly what you'll be devoting your time to for the next 12 weeks. If you can't even make it through the whole list, perhaps you're not truly interested.

DON'T forget to build a cohesive schedule. That is, if you have chosen four classes that are all seminars, or reading-intensive, or focus on the same subject or time period, then you might want to consider how taxing your weekly workload might be. Balance is key: between writing papers and doing labs, heavy reading and heavy discussions and classes that you find more fun and classes that you simply must suffer through.