I managed to make it through registration and grade reporting with minimal distress this semester, so I am quite thrilled about that. I had a few issues with the department of sociology, but apparently showing them a “Principles of Sociology” credit is as good as a membership card. I was authorized to register for the courses I needed before my final grade was received by the registrar. Also, because of paperwork problems my SOCI 210 credit was a bit in limbo, since I received authorization for the course in summer, but I never updated the paperwork for fall. Oops, one little error. That all got worked out and I was able to enroll for courses I need for my sociology minor. I was also able to register for my “outside” elective that I wanted. I selected Art History 1 at Gaston, to count toward my Associate in Fine Arts degree.
While my primary registration went over with very few problems, finishing filling out my final undergraduate semester is a little more of a challenge. At this point I am safe. I have the right number of credit hours and everything is on track for graduation. Unfortunately, this does not mean that I have resolved all of those courses that I wanted to take but never have had the chance.
The biggest problem I have at the moment is the graduate/undergraduate course debate. If I receive permission to take a graduate level course, my registration limits will be locked out to 15 credit hours (12 undergrad + 3 grad). If I am not approved to take the course, or if I opt to not take it I will be allowed to carry max load, which is 21 credit hours (7 courses). My minor has 12 remaining hours in it, so that would eat up my hours with the graduate course. The problem is that I have another 3 hour course that I would like to redo to resolve a grade that I am not happy with, and there are some other courses I am interested in as well.
These additional courses also pose problems of their own. One of the courses I am interested in is “Sociology of Deviant Behavior”. It looks like a really fun class from its description. Unfortunately, at the moment the course is full, and the instructor refuses me a permit. I am pretty confident that if I asked for a permit from the department it would be granted, but I do not like going above instructors like that, so I am stuck with the option of watching the schedule and diving on any open seat that I see. Maybe I might get one during the drop/add period. I don’t hold out much hope for things like that.
I don’t REALLY want to take the graduate level course, not in the sense of its content. I do believe that the course will be interesting, but its not as stimulating as some other courses might be (the course is “Advanced Sociological Theory”). I feel that the course is important as it will show graduate schools that I am capable of graduate-level course work, and it will also serve as a mechanism to allow me to enter the graduate world by transcending my undergraduate career. During high school there were Huskins and Dual Enrolment courses to help me cope with the transition. Taking a graduate course in my last semester as an undergrad is the closest comparable construct of that to my current situation. The graduate course also serves as a final sanity check for a few things. “can I handle graduate level work?” and “do I really want to continue my education now?” are the two that come to mind. I want to take the course because it is the logical thing to do.
For the other courses, they serve no useful purpose, except to allow me to explore a few of my academic perversions. “Sociology of Deviant Behavior” and “Industrial/Organizational Psychology” are the ones that I would like to take. I think I would thoroughly enjoy “Deviant Behavior”. “I/O Psyc” I would enjoy, but to a lesser degree. Both would expand my knowledge of two subjects of interest. Unfortunately at the moment both courses are full and my options for getting a seat are limited. Both will be a “wait and see” kind of course regarding registration.
