Walt Haim, sophomore architecture major, sat in the studio one night last semester and waited for the clock to strike midnight. One minute later, Haim began to schedule classes.

So did the other architecture students in the studio.

Then Flashline crashed.

By the time Haim was able to access Flashline again — about 30 minutes later — several of his classes were already full. He had to find alternative classes to take.

Haim has classes starting at 7:45 a.m. and some ending at 7:10 p.m., making for 12-hour Wednesdays.

“It makes for a really rough time,” Haim said.

Many students have already begun the scheduling process this semester as open registration starts Nov. 5 for all students, according to the University Registrar’s website.

Sometimes, students — like Haim — run into issues with registering for classes.

“If I clicked a second too late, a class would be filled up,” Haim said.

Charity Snyder, university advising director, said students should plan ahead before registering and think about what options they have for classes in case they can’t register for it.

“If they find that they get closed out of classes they need, then talking with an adviser to figure out ‘What’s a good alternative? Do I need to get on a waiting list to try to get in the class because I absolutely have to have this one to take something else?’” Snyder said.

Freshmen, many of whom began registering Thursday, have more classes to take than upperclassmen. This makes it easier for them to find alternative classes, Snyder said.

Students should always register during their scheduled time because they can modify a schedule at a later date, she said.

“If you meet with your adviser, and they [say] ‘Why are you taking this class instead of that class?’ even if they have already scheduled, they can adjust their schedule,” Snyder said.

Another resource for students is the Graduation Planning System, which is initially prompted and approved by the adviser. Snyder said students may go back on their own and use the GPS plan to choose classes and alternatives.

Maggie Thurston, sophomore pre-human development and family studies major, recently declared her major and talked with an adviser about what classes she should take for spring 2013.

“I got on at 12:01 [a.m.] the night I scheduled,” Thurston said. “And I was up until 3 a.m. trying to get it done. So I called the advising office the next day and tried to get a meeting with anyone I could because I was desperate. I had only managed to get one class scheduled, because they were all full.”

Thurston’s adviser had to override the classes and wait to see if any other sections would become available.

“At this point, I had to get a filler class that I don’t need, which kind of sucks,” Thurston said.

She said felt confused while planning her schedule and wished she knew more about her major’s prerequisites and other necessary classes before registering.

“Next time I go, I’m going to bring up this past situation and have a plan B and C, and have her check to make sure I am not limited on those courses,” she said.

Contact Alicia Balog at [email protected].