Senior Caroline Ciorciari calmly looked over her notebook filled with several alternate schedules for her fall 2013 semester last spring. Her nutrition in health and illness class closed just a few hours before her predetermined registration time, but she remained unalarmed. Using her notebook filled with various versions of the same schedule, she was quickly able to pick out a new one.

Classes quickly close during open registration, Ciorciari’s situation is one of many for students. A race for classes can be especially frustrating for underclassmen since those with the most credits get first dibs on registering. And, naturally, those with the most credits are upperclassmen.

Ciorciari is in the three-plus-three physical therapy program, which means she only has three years of undergrad and three years of grad school. She is set to graduate in May and has a few other tricks for getting into classes. Based on her experience, she suggests students pre-register for a lot of sections in every subject.

“Make a bunch of possible schedules with different sections so you’re not screwed over when any of the classes you wanted closes,” Ciorciari said.

Dorothy Lauria works in the university’s registrar office and acknowledges there is no way to guarantee every student their first choices for classes. Lauria agrees that students should plan alternative course schedules in case anything falls through.

“And if the class looks too amazing to be true, it’s probably going to be closed by the time underclassmen register,” Ciorciari said.

Despite this, there is still a way to get into a course, even if it is already closed.

“If a student truly has no alternatives, they may petition for special consideration,” Lauria said. “The petition process appears on page 7 of the fall registration bulletin.”

This bulletin can be found online at www.quinnipiac.edu/registrar and allows students a way to get into a class that they really need to take. Students can also get placed into closed classes if those classes are crucial to the core curriculum of his or her major.

Senior computer information systems major Colin Schloth admits registration was frustrating for him at first.

“At first it was hard to get on the right class track,” Schloth said.

He was a transfer student so it made registration more difficult since he wasn’t used to the system, Schloth says. As a result, he was forced to take some summer classes. After some trial and error, Schloth began to get the hang of the system and found ways to get the classes he wanted and needed.

“Have a plan. Look up what classes you need, talk to your advisor and find the course codes you need,” Schloth said. “When it comes time to register, do it right when the time slot opens. Doing it this way, I never missed a class.”

 Another way to have a smooth and painless registration is by resolving any bursar “holds” on the school account, Lauria said, since a hold will prevent access to registration. students should look at the notifications tab on the MyQ portal page to make sure there are no holds on an account. If there is nothing on the notifications tab, students will know they are ready to register.

Students may not get into a particular class, but this doesn’t mean the class is closed forever. Many students add and/or drop courses throughout the open registration period, so what might be closed one minute may open the next.

“The appointment system is designed to provide equitable access to courses,” Lauria said. “After appointments, students should use open registration to check on any changes to the course database and feel free to make changes.”

As long as students are familiar with WebAdvisor, they will be able to find and register for the classes they need most, Lauria said.

Ciorciari also advised students save their free electives.

“That way, if something falls through, you’ll always have a backup,” Ciorciari said. “The key is to be prepared.”