This morning I, along with the rest of the class of 2012, woke up at 6:50 am for the last time. We turned on our lamps, pulled out the list of CRN numbers we scrawled on papers the night before, and logged on to bannerweb. Then, we counted the seconds down to 7:00. At 6:59:59, students clicked across campus and began copying in codes as quickly as possible, vying for spots in our first-choice classes.

Now, this may all seem a bit dramatic. As seniors, we get first pick at registration and are very likely to get exactly the classes we want. But we go through the routine nonetheless, cherishing our final round of registration. The courses we signed up for today will be our last at Middlebury College.

With Middlebury’s impressively large course catalog, it has been a chore to find the right balance between finishing out all our requirements and making sure we squeeze in the random classes we always wanted to take but didn’t have time to… Actually, I can’t lie, I tried to register for an overload (5 courses) because I had so much trouble narrowing down my interests. Unfortunately, banner only let me sign up for 4, which is probably prudent in the end. Realistically there is no way I could balance 5 classes, job applications, Crew’s spring season, other extra-curricular commitments and still find time to see my friends (my top priority for second semester of senior year!).

I ended up registered for Political Islam with the absolutely incredibly Quinn Mecham, The Japanese Economy (a little out of my comfort zone…), Advanced Arabic, and Arabic Linguistics. We’ll see if I make it into my 5th choice, Chinese Readings in Politics and Business. It’s saddening to have my schedule set for the rest of my college career, but also invigorating to be looking forward to a whole new set of classes and my final semester at Midd!

I’d encourage any perspective students to look through the online course catalog online and try to create your ideal semester at Middlebury. Chances are, you’d inevitably encounter some scheduling conflicts (as I did this semester) and have to alter your plans accordingly, but I guarantee you could easily find something else you’d love to take!