If you plan to study America next fall, it's time to look at how your choice of academic course will affect both your marks and your personal happiness.

Working out which course to opt for is not a difficult process; it requires four considerations:

• Which courses have vacancies?
• What are your course requirements?
• Which courses will you find compelling and will teach you career skills?
• Which courses will help you structure your day to maximise time and minimise stress?

Course vacancies

To enrol in a course abroad, there must be an alloted space available to you. This holds true whether the class is a beginner's course holding 400 kids, or an upper-level seminar for less than 20.

If you're unfamiliar with US universities, you'll be surprised at the jostling and politicking that takes place around course selection season. The perpetual complaint among students is that, "there are never enough classes in my department!"

Allotment of class space is initially determined by seniority. This means that properly registered seniors have the first opportunity to enrol, followed by juniors, sophomores and finally freshmen. Therefore, as an incoming freshman, you'll receive the 'left-overs' --courses that fall at less than ideal times and/ or with less than ideal professors.

Also, some courses are also reserved for majors and minors exclusively. If you are neither a major nor a minor, but find the class interesting, you'll have to wait until ALL majors and minors have had the opportunity to enrol.

Expediency and thoroughness are also important. If you are late turning in your course selection sheet or if it is incomplete/ incorrect, you run the risk of falling to the bottom of the pile, literally.

If all else fails, you may attempt to avail of the 'sign-in'. This option won't be available to you as an incoming freshman, but should be remembered for the following terms.

A sign-in is when a professor makes an exception on your behalf, 'signing' you into the class roster despite it being officially full. It's difficult to achieve this because most professors don't want to increase their workload. For this to work, you'll need either a previous relationship with the professor, or a glowing recommendation from another professor, in addition to having a pressing need for the course.

Finally, it's advisable to choose 'alternates'. Alternates are courses that are not your first options, but will be given to you in case you don't gain entry into your preferred courses.  

• Choosing the right courses abroad

Course Requirements

Course requirements -- courses necessary to fulfil your basic curriculum -- vary by university and the type of degree you are pursuing. For instance, an undergraduate with an undecided major will have far less requirements than a postgraduate student studying physics.

As an undergraduate, the type of university you select will determine your requirements.

At a liberal arts college, your requirements will be varied and extensive. Approximately half of your courses will be needed to satisfy obligations. You will take classes in Science, English, History and more. Liberal arts colleges do this to promote diverse, critical thinking.

If this broad base is attractive to you, you're not alone. Liberal arts colleges are increasingly looked at as a favourable foundation for an education. Many MNCs, for example, prefer their employees to have taken undergraduate courses in a smattering of different areas before turning their focus to business and management in post-graduate school.

At a large university, even as an undergraduate your focus is narrowed to degree specialisation. For example, if you attend Ohio State University, the second largest university in America, your requirements will be far fewer, leaving you more time to study courses in your major. At a large university with few requirements, students majoring in biology will never take medieval poetry unless it suits them.

If you go in for a post-graduate degree, say an MBA, your focus will be substantially narrower. You will study a particular aspect of a single discipline in depth, in this case, Business Administration.

You should, however, have some freedom to craft your schedule within this focus. If you are interested in entrepreneurship, you'll focus on building a business. If you are interested in managing for an MNC, you'll study how to operate within a corporate framework.

By and large, however, course requirements for post-graduates exceed the requirements for undergraduates.

Compelling courses and career considerations

The key to success in university is aligning your interests with your chosen career path. In doing this, you will be doubly motivated to succeed. First, you will be engaged in the coursework and actually find yourself excited to learn. Second, you will know that you're learning career skills while still in university, and that future employers will see your transcripts.

If you are confident in your interests and secure in your chosen career, by all means, pursue a specialised course-load. Through intense involvement in one field, you can eventually become an accredited expert in a particular discipline. This is attractive to employers recruiting individuals for a specific purpose.

For example, if computer engineering is a passion, study it to the fullest. Knowledge of history, religion, sociology, etc isn't going to be very valuable in your situation.

What about those unsure in their future? What about those who like literature, molecular biology and theatre?

If you are unsure about your career and/or have diverse interests, I'd recommend taking samples from across the entire palette of courses. It's preferable to build an early foundation rather than dive into a specific subject that you may not want to pursue as a career.

For example, don't major in cinema and build your schedule around it unless you are positive that you want to work in the film industry. If you make this mistake, you'll set yourself back significantly as a student.

At some universities, you may keep your major as undecided or undeclared for two years while you search for what truly interests you.

It may not be attractive to your parents, or whoever is footing the bill, but it's beneficial for your future. Let them know that the days of deciding your career at age 12 are over. The job market is more dynamic today than ever; education trends reflect this.

Structuring your schedule

Structuring your schedule is highly subjective and based on common sense.

If you are a morning person, choose early classes, and you'll be finished with them by 2 pm. If you have trouble waking up in the morning and your quantum of energy increases as the day progresses, then schedule them for the afternoon.

Second, make sure to build your schedule keeping in mind your extra-curricular activities and jobs. There is nothing worse than finishing a three-hour stint in the biology lab and immediately beginning a six hour shift at work.   

Also, you need to make sure that none of your selected courses conflict with one another in terms of time. For example, you cannot take a 12:30 pm -1:30 pm English course on the East Side of campus if your required mathematics course doesn't end until 1:20 on the West Side of campus. Ten minutes to shift your mind from English to Mathematics, not to mention the journey, is insufficient.