Four Scheduling Pitfalls to Avoid for the Next Semester!

Scheduling classes for next semester? Here are Four Scheduling Pitfalls every Scientista should avoid!

December 1, 2011
By Julia Tartaglia

<<          #3) Lab, lab, and lab…                 >>

For the underclassmen: As a Scientista, you may be eager to get into a lab, and get there fast. While being excited about research and exploring lab opportunities early is great, keep in mind that independent research can be quite a large time commitment. So are those introductory science courses, which are often large lectures, with many assignments, and of course, labs! Many advisors recommend not pairing a lab-heavy academic schedule with an intense research schedule. Both take up a lot of time, and you may find yourself in a scheduling tiff. Freshmen and sophomores - don’t feel pressured to jump right into research. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to get involved over summers and in your junior and senior year. This doesn’t mean you can’t do research if you really want to, or if you know you have the time for it! Many freshmen and sophomores do become research assistants and make it work. But for those taking courses with labs, do keep in mind that you may want to hold off on the research for a bit, or find a lab that might not be as time-consuming right away.

For the thesis writers: It’s your senior spring! It’s also crunch time for writing your theses. Though you are likely done with data collection, you may find yourself with an extremely busy lab schedule. Data analysis can require hours a week with your PI or post docs. The actual writing process can be time consuming. This means you’re going to want to keep your schedules lighter (especially if you want to enjoy your last semester!). We recommend only taking three classes if you can. Try out some fun, refreshing electives that you didn’t get a chance to take during your four years! 
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