Tonight at 7:10 p.m. sharp I will be logging on to my Spire account to choose what classes to take for the Fall 2019 semester. It’s 11:08 a.m. as I am writing this, and I have no idea what classes I want to take.

I’m a double major and a recently joined member of the Commonwealth Honors College(CHC). I have two outstanding gen-ed credits to fulfill, and a global education requirement to meet as a member of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. For this combination, I would need about five semesters to complete all of these requirements in a stress-free manner. Of course with my luck, I only have four.

Because I joined CHC as a sophomore instead of as a freshman, my course load of honors classes will look a bit different than my peers. Instead of having eight semesters to fulfill the eight course requirements, I have four. This means from now until I graduate, I must take two honors classes per semester to receive recognition as a Commonwealth Honors Scholar on my diploma. I also want to study abroad in the spring, which means it’s best I make my fall semester a little harder so that I can have more fun when I’m abroad.

Luckily, UMass advisors want us to challenge ourselves appropriately without the expectations being too hard. Thus, they are accommodating to students who are all over the place (aka, me). Because I’ve taken Journalism 300 as a prerequisite for all of the other major classes, I don’t have to take junior year writing (Communication 375). Likewise, as I already had my freshman year English writing (112) fulfilled by the time I became a member of the honors college, instead of re-doing English 112H, I can just take another honors-level course. It’s with little loopholes like these that advisors try their best to alleviate stress on the students, allowing us to meet our requirements on time.

I’ll probably end up taking eighteen or nineteen credits next semester, which is a lot more than I’m used to. However, I’m not worried, solely because of the amount of help provided on campus. I know that if I am not understanding something in class, there are several resources I can go to for help. For this, we are very lucky to be students at such a resourceful and helpful school.