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Choosing Electives Strategically: Finding the Right Fit for You

lecture hallWritten by: Victoria Lam, 2nd Year Chemistry
Photos by: Michael Conley at The Western Gazette

As course registration season approaches, students face a simple yet commonly difficult challenge: choosing their electives. After enrolling in mandatory courses, many students have only a few elective spots remaining but hundreds of options to choose from. This dilemma creates a strong pressure to pick the “perfect” elective course.

If asked to describe the “perfect” elective, students would likely reference a “bird course”, defined as a course so easy you can simply fly through it and achieve a GPA-boosting grade. However, because students have different interests, strengths, and learning styles, a bird course for one person may be challenging for another! Instead of blindly selecting that elective recommended by a friend, I’d suggest looking up its course code online and reviewing a past syllabus. Then, ask yourself the following questions to decide whether it is the perfect elective for you.

What Is the grading scheme?

In general, this section of the syllabus clearly breaks down what the course’s methods of evaluation will be, and their weighting toward your final grade. Compare this breakdown to your academic strengths to make a rough prediction of how well you might perform in the course. For example, if you’re great at memorization, a course with a multiple choice midterm and final seems right up your alley! On the other hand, if you don’t enjoy doing a lot of writing, you might want to avoid an essay course with essays weighted at 30% each (see the Western Academic Calendar Courses page under “Course Numbering, Suffixes and Glossary” for information on how to identify essay courses, and more).

What Is the Weekly Workload?

This isn’t always clearly stated in the syllabus, but you can often get a sense of it from the grading scheme, learning outcomes, and schedule that may be available. Consider whether you can realistically manage the workload alongside your other commitments and courses. For example, if the course has weekly quizzes or graded problem sets, remember that you'll likely need to dedicate several hours each week to prepare for them.

Does It Focus on a Topic That Interests You?

In my experience, this is the most important question - and if its answer isn’t yes, I’d suggest not taking the course! If you don’t enjoy the content, you will likely lack motivation to learn it, which could result in falling behind, struggling on evaluations, and finishing with a less than stellar grade. Identify your interests outside of your core program and explore courses that focus on them. You may have a better chance at achieving a higher grade in these courses, AND you will finish them having gained knowledge that you genuinely value!

If you’re in need of some courses to apply these questions to, check out the list below, featuring recommendations from myself, friends, and online forums! These courses have no prerequisites (at the time of writing) unless otherwise noted. Consider the level and category of each course, which are important to fulfilling your graduation requirements.

Fall/Winter 2026-2027 enrollment appointment start dates for first year students will occur between June 22 and 26, while those for fourth, third, and second year students will occur in July in that order of priority (see here for more details). Whatever your year or program, be sure to plan your schedule and enter that appointment confident to hit “enroll”!

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