It's almost that time: class registration! It's a fun gauntlet that we all run every semester to get the classes that we need to advance ourselves in our academic career.

  What has caused so much trouble in the past? That depends on who you ask. Too many people at once, bad/slow Internet connections, and an inadequate system, meaning Gulfline, are usually above the named culprits.

      But this season the Office of the Registrar has a plan! They divided up the student body into 11 subcategories based on hours awarded when the first group opened up at 12:01 a.m. March 17. I have noticed the further I get, the easier my experience has become, but I could see the issues for incoming freshmen and sophomores who have achieved 45 hours or less. Those groups have the most people in them who are trying to get into many of the same general education/ prerequisite classes.

       Hopefully the system that they have come up with will make the entire process easier. I guess we won't know until we are up at 12:02 a.m. and flipping between Facebook and the Gulfline log- in page yelling with our peers. That will be the ultimate judge of success for the Registrar's office.

     What can you do to make sure you are ready and can get in and out of Gulfline quickly, to help eliminate the bottleneck? Be prepared with your CRN numbers for the classes you want. If you need to, make an appointment with your college's adviser, today! They can make suggestions and check to see that you are on course. Keep calm as you refresh. Slamming your mouse on the desk, slapping the screen, or cursing so loudly that your neighbors can hear you will not make the system go faster. I promise it won't.

     Just be patient, prepared and keep a good sense of humor. Everything will be OK and you will get in. Then, let the advisers know how your experience was, not just your 1,100 Facebook friends who can't do anything about it. Happy registering!