¨ Don’t worry about making a mistake. Make a choice. Always seek alternatives to your first choice classes.

¨ Your first two years are spent completing college and lower-division major requirements. Remember that breadth and major requirements equal only about two-thirds of the total units needed to graduate. Don’t be afraid to explore and expand your horizons. Take advantage of the many educational experiences that await you at UCR (i.e., Education Abroad, UC-DC Program, Internships). Don’t procrastinate.

¨ Aim for a schedule that will help you progress towards meeting your major and breadth requirements. As you select courses refer to your CHASS BREADTH REQUIREMENT worksheet and your MAJOR REQUIREMENTS information. As you select possible courses consult the General Catalog (for course descriptions and pre-requisites) and the Schedule of Classes (days and times and the final exam schedule -don’t schedule courses with the same final exam time). If you’re flexible with your personal schedule, you will increase your options. Courses offered at 8:00am and late in the afternoon are usually not impacted.

¨ Understand the system: write down dates and deadlines (“nobody told” me is not an acceptable excuse). Learn your graduation requirements. Check your degree audit on PAWS every quarter. Keep copies of all your official paperwork (i.e. add/drop forms, fee payments, etc.) and course work.

¨ Read the course syllabus at the beginning of the quarter. Make sure you understand the demands of the course.

¨ Have a balance your schedule. Select a variety of courses to give yourself flexibility in meeting course requirements. Some courses require lots of reading and writing (history, literature courses). Math and science may require weekly homework assignments. Foreign language and science courses with lab components require large time commitments.

¨ Learn where your resources are, i.e., the Learning Center, the Career Center, the libraries, computing facilities, and the Health Center.

¨ Read the information provided to you carefully. This information can be of great value to you, but only if you read it. It’s up to you to identify the information you need to be successful and to take an active part in decisions about your academic life. Write your questions down and schedule an appointment with the appropriate office/person to go over them.

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