How to: Speedrun Course Registration

In one of the best decisions Harvard has made since turning spring break into wellness days, course registration for the Fall 2024 semester is now due on April 17th. If you’re anything like the typical Harvard student, you’re probably really happy about this change because mid-April is famously one of the least busy times of the semester for students. But, if for some unfathomable reason you find yourself being uncharacteristically busy during the course registration period, here are some tips to speedrun the entire process.

Schedule an advisory meeting ASAP

Your advisors are busy, busy people, and while it depends on your concentration, they probably have a lot of people requesting them for meetings to lift their holds on my.harvard and for advice on classes. If you have no idea where to start, your advisor is probably your best bet to make sure you graduate on time with all your requirements completed. Alternatively, you can try checking out your concentration’s website and see if they have any sample course plans.

Copy an upperclassman

Log onto the Harvard College Facebook directory. Filter by your concentration (or intended, if you’re a first-year). Look through the photos of all the upperclassmen in your concentration, and choose the person who looks the least dead inside. If their email is available, shoot them an email and ask them what classes they’re planning on taking or have already taken. And just copy all of them. Make sure to also enthusiastically wave “Hi!” to them every time you see them in class to express your gratitude.

Take advantage of the “Have you considered?” section

You know what, I actually haven’t considered taking Flyby 101: How to Provide Unhelpful Advice Under the Guise of a How-To Article. That’s a really great suggestion. In fact, it’s such a great suggestion, I think it would be an amazing idea to just select four random classes from the “Have you considered?” section of the course catalog and see where life takes you. Four credits is four credits.

Ask the spirits

There are a lot of really great spots to communicate with spirits near Harvard (i.e. the Weld Hall elevator, Tasty Basty, the Lampoon Building). They’ve been here for so long and have seen so much of Harvard history, so they have a lot of quality insights into which classes are the best and most life-changing. It might be difficult to get them to talk, but I’ve found that a gentle tone and bribing them with the d-hall chicken sandwich usually works.

Skip course registration

And just register for four MIT classes. You wanted to break out of the Harvard bubble, right?

In conclusion, good luck.