the art of subject registration

being a final-year-final-semester student i think i am experienced enough to share some tips of subject registration, haha. and this will serve as a reminder nothing in the entire university life is as stressful as this fateful day, not even the exams come close.

registration for subjects is an art. it requires rocket science calculations.

firstly, you have to decide which combination will be least taxing and require the least number of days of presence in school.

then you try and compare which combinations are better, e.g. early monday mornings with a two day week compared to late morning classes with a three day week. and you have to anticipate which classes will be most popular so as to minimize congestion and lower the probability of not getting it.

contigency plans have to be made, for different index numbers, different courses, backup plans for elective modules. if index A (module 1) doesn’t work out and you want to settle for index B (module 1), you may have to drop index C (module 2) first and add both index B (module 1) and D (module 2) to prevent timetable clashes.

make sure you reach school damn early to chope seats in the computer lab (2pm is considered late for a registration slot at 3.30 pm) so that you can discuss contigency plans with your hang-out gangs in school if their original plans fall through. then msn windows start appearing the moment you log on as your other friends start asking you about your timetable plans. it is during this moment on msn that you can discover which classes your enemies are landing in and you can try to avoid them.

3.15 pm. once you finish all the planning, exchange your log in user ids and passwords with your friends who want to have the same timetable. so that if yours screw up and the others are fine, they can make use of their terminals to help you check for vacancies or register. maximize efficiency.

3.20pm. confirm all ideal timetable plans and contigency plans. make sure you have a paper with all the plans and index numbers on it so that you don’t fumble and have quick access to that if you have to register manually. don’t rely too heavily on the STARS planner and don’t tust your memory too much when it comes to index numbers.

3.25 pm. closes all msn windows and whatever you are doing online. looking across the sea of computers in the lab, you’ll see the STARS website on every computer screen.

3.28pm. everyone has their cursor placed over the almighty button that would send the index numbers to STARS to register, do the same. there is complete silence in the lab. the more impatient and kiasu ones start to click on this button repeatedly to see if by any chance, the server will open the floodgates slightly earlier than stated.

the lucky ones (like yours truly) who sit behind those impatient people will peer at the screen in front waiting for them to successfully add the subjects before clicking their own, thus ensuring that the floodgates have indeed opened and that you are one of the fastest.

due to past experience STARS sometimes screw up after too many attempts and you have to re-log-in again, therefore it is not wise to be one of those impatient ones who keep clicking.

3.30pm. the floodgates open and you hear, “can liao! can liao!” followed by exclaims of “YES!”
just a few minutes later you start hearing cursing and swearing - because the server has jammed.

3.35pm. the bunches of students who had exclaimed and marvelled at the magical moment of smooth registration pack up and leave the lab. the others with slight problems getting their ideal combination stays behind and ferociously clicks on different buttons to check vacancies and to add or drop index numbers. in between you hear shouts over your head, “(insert index number) has (insert number) vacancies!!” keep you ears open cos sometimes these tidbits of information will benefit you too.

if everything fails, email the school and plead with them to get you a slot.

that’s all there is to subject registration.

i am sure glad i don’t have to go through this painful event again. cos everytime it takes place, i have a splitting headache from the stress and complication.

farewell to registration headaches!