We’re only halfway through the school year, and already most of the students, particularly upperclassmen, are registered for next year’s classes. Registration started in November, and will probably be finished before February comes. Personally, I find a lot of problems for students with this system.

For example, students have only taken half of their classes for the school year. Imagine a student who is signed up for a semester-long elective, such as photography, that he will take second semester. If he has to register for classes before winter break, how will he know what to sign up for? He might end up loving photography, or hating it. If he is forced to make a choice that would be difficult to change, how will he know what to sign up for?

In addition, year-long classes will only be half complete, and as a result, the teachers may not know each student well enough to recommend them for appropriate classes. In addition, a student’s success in a class could change throughout the year either positively or negatively. With early registration, it is more likely that a student will end up being placed in the wrong class.

Early registration this year made me feel rushed because I felt like I had only just gotten used to my schedule and next year seemed terribly far away.  Also, it would be worse for freshmen and students recently transferred to RB because they wouldn’t really know what the school has to offer.

I can understand how early registration can be good for the administration in the school, because they will know earlier which classes will run. And I can see how a teacher of an elective would like to know as early as possible if their class has enough people enrolled. However, I think that the pressure and confusion on the part of the students is a lot to sacrifice for that. In addition, students who are unsure about their decision will be more likely to change their classes later, so the numbers may change even after registration is complete. Giving students more time to think about their choices will likely make those choices less likely to fluctuate.

Obviously, there’s nothing that can be done for this year, since a good chunk of the student body has already been registered. However, I would hope that next year the administration decides to hold class registration a little later; at least after winter break.