My take on how to tackle the enrolment process and the nerve-racking stressful adrenaline rush roller coaster. Making it a little less stressful and helping you get the courses you want!
Disclaimer: I’m not really an expert at this. But then again, is anyone?
Preparing for the enrolment
Mostly, the institute informs the students of the enrolment a week or 10 days in advance, giving you plenty of time to figure out your schedule. Furthermore, you can access the Fall 2020 schedule from the IBA website; here.
Note down your courses from the program announcement
Time to take out the handbook that was given to you on your orientation day. Remember orientation? So bright-eyed and full of hope you were, ready to take on whatever the world threw at you. Look at you now, makes you wonder where it all went wrong. Perhaps, it’s the food.
Anyways, take out your relevant program announcement, or look it up on the IBA website and find your relevant program and semester and note down your enrolment courses accordingly.
Also, if you’re a transfer student, this will be an excruciating process.
Search for all your courses
Once, after noting down all the courses, you would need to open the excel file with the schedule and Ctrl + F your way through the rest of the enrolment prep.
Get a pen and a paper and note down all the slots for the courses you would need, trying to stay as organized as possible. Note down the course codes with the courses so it can be easier to find the course next time.
Note Down the Teachers
Once you’ve taken out all the courses you need, go through the sheet again and start noting down which teachers are offering those courses. This would help you later on when you need to ask for reviews later on.
Note Down the Slots
After you’ve sorted the courses and the teachers, it’s time to note down the slots. Some people prefer not to take any first slots. Personally, I get drained by the fifth and try to avoid it as much as I can. Also, who wants to come to campus on a Saturday? Also try avoiding long breaks, if possible.
Ranking Your Top 3 for Enrolment
When you’ve got your teachers and slots sorted out and you’ve done some research. Now it’s time to rank your preferences. Rank your preferred teachers and your preferred slots.
Everyone has the perfect timetable according to them, with no first slots and no weekends, and brilliant teachers.
Make At Least Two Versions of the Timetable
Once you’ve created your dream timetable it is time to step back to reality with a more realistic option two. The second-best slots and teachers, and if need be, the backup courses.
Consider Asking for Help
Help is just what you need during these tough times. Whether it’s asking your friends for help or using some trusted apps to get you through this process. You need all the help that you can get.
One pair of students, Furqan and Hassan, noticed the tediousness of the above-mentioned process, and how looking at a strange color-coded excel sheet makes you cry. Deciding to save their tears for something better, they put their ongoing Computer Science degrees to use and created the website; Enrollment Games. Because as the Hunger Games say, may the odds be ever in your favor.
The site is fairly simple to use. Open the link, choose your university, mention what course you want and the rest is optional. However, in order not to overburden the site, it is preferred that you do mention the course slot and teacher you want.
Once you’ve selected your requirements the site will provide you with the relevant course code. Basically, doing most of the work, this reminds me of most of my group projects at IBA. In the case of many clashes or too many possibilities of a timetable, the site will not be able to show you a timetable. Therefore, it’s possibly best if you take a course or two at a time as to not overwhelm yourself and the site.
Oh, and you can even leave a teacher review, eliminating the need of asking for one on Facebook. And it comes with a very important Dark Mode feature, because who uses Light Mode now?
However, it is to be noted that there is a possibility of human error and some courses being missed out. Therefore, it’s probably a good idea to do a double-check.
Furqan and Hassan have been in the business for a while now, and with the help of their friend, Abdur Rafay Saleem, they have since helped multiple students with their enrolment worries. So feel free to make the perfect timetable through their website, with a click of a button!
Invest in a Good Internet Connection
The better the internet speed the faster the page loads and the better are your chances of getting the course you want. Invest in good internet, even if it’s only for enrolment day.
Evaluate Your Backup Options
You also should have a backup internet source in case there is load shedding and you can’t use your router anymore. I usually open the portal on my phone with 3G as a backup. Electricity, much like enrolment, is unpredictable.
Pray For a Good Enrolment
It’s all luck and good luck. Some things may work out for you and some things won’t. Maybe, you will end up with all of the courses you want, or you’ll get 0/6. We’ve all been there. It’s more about luck and chance rather than style and technique.
Absorb the Shock of Enrolment
Enrolment is a relatively short time period in actuality. It lasts for about five minutes. If your enrolment goes on for more than that then there is a very high chance that you have messed it up already.
Anyways, once it is done and dusted, and the adrenaline starts to wear off, it is time for you to assess the damage. Analyze, your slots, see if you can make any changes if possible. And then, eventually, make your peace with the new semester.
To Sleep or To Drive; That is the Question
Enrolment usually always happens in the mornings, chances are you specifically woke up for this. So, now you need to ask yourself whether your enrolment was good enough for you to now peacefully sleep through. Or, do you need to frantically book a Careem to the campus and beg for some courses.
It’s like a choose your own adventure book. Good luck!
One thought on “Enrolment and the Secret to Acing It”
Well there is a trick.
I met the one of the team member who developed this course enrollment section. They used the FIFO (first in first out) data structure means if u have 3 courses to enroll and atleast ek aesa course hoga jo sabko chahye so when adding the courses add that particular course first( though when u add all courses their order will be differne mean jo sabse phly dala wo first nai dikahyega bcz course erps ke hisab se order hue hote hai) so when enrollment starts sab se ziada priority usko mili gi jo table me sabse phly add hua tha and boom