As GVSU students flock to MyBanner to plan out next year’s schedule, it’s easy to fill up a course load with easy professors and blow-off classes, but play to your strengths and take a challenge or two.

Websites like RateMyProfessors.com and word-of-mouth recommendations can help shape your schedule, but take them with a grain of salt. Remember that people, whether commenting anonymously online or talking face-to-face can be biased, especially in classes they don’t perform well in, and play to your strengths. Know when to play it safe, taking easier courses and professors in the subject areas you struggle with, and challenge yourself in your major and in subjects that excite you.

Too difficult of a schedule can add undue stress and burn you out, but a course load full of blow-offs will have you coasting and bored, which is a miserable way to spend a semester.

A mix of challenging classes or professors mixed in with easier ones can help you maintain a balanced schedule that allows you to grow without biting off more than you can proverbially chew.

When it comes time to select your schedule, the best advice is to know your strengths and weaknesses. Know where you can afford to stretch yourself to your limits and know where you need to reel back and give yourself a break. And when you inevitably get stuck with a required course you hate, or one taught exclusively by a professor you don’t like? All you can do is grin and bear it and do your best to make it through.