Registering for classes can be a tricky business. ‘ While many students often overschedule in the first week of classes, in order to have some breathing room in their schedules, it’s important not to wait too long to decide which classes to drop. According to the BGSU Web site, students who drop classes during the calendar week in which the semester begins will receive 90 percent of tuition and fees paid, while those who drop in the second, third and fourth weeks will receive 80, 60 and 40 percent of tuition and fees respectively. ‘ Luckily, most students will be paying the same price regardless. ‘ Interim Associate Bursar Lynn Hubers said many students don’t realize that between 11 and 18 credits full-time fees are the same and any change in classes from 18 to 11 credits does not result in a refund as long as a student is considered full-time. ‘ ‘It really is cheaper because you’re getting more for your money,’ she said. ‘If I register for 11 hours I’m gonna pay the same as if I was registered for 18 hours.’ ‘ The only time most students run into problems with the refund schedule is when they drop a class with additional fees. Although full-time fees are not subject to a refund between 11 and 18 credits, the additional fees for courses such as math and english are subject to the refund schedule. ‘ ‘Every scenario is kind of unique,’ Hubers said. ‘ Senior Chris Daigneault takes advantage of this fact and registers for more classes than he needs so that he can pick and choose between his classes. ‘ ‘I basically look for classes that I’m interested in,’ Daigneault said. ‘It’s normally in the [general education] classes because once you get up to the higher level courses there’s not much to pick from.’ ‘ In order to stay within the refund schedule policy, Daigneault normally registers for 18 credits, then drops his least-favorite class, bringing his schedule down to mangeable 15 credits with no change in fees. ‘ ‘Once that first day comes I get the syllabus and kind of see the culture of the class,’ he said. ‘Then I can make a decision within the first week what class is going to be too much reading or has a lot of exams, and then I can drop that class and it doesn’t affect my tuition bill at all.’ ‘ Daigneault has the ability to shop around as a senior now because of good planning. ‘ ‘I just spaced out my [general education classes],’ Daigneault said. ‘I’ve never had a semester where it was 15 credit hours [of] all business classes. They told me ‘If you don’t space it out it’s going be all business all the time and you’re going to get sucked in’. I kind of have fun classes now.’ ‘ However, Daigneault said he wouldn’t shop around if doing so increased his tuition bill and caused him to lose money. ‘ ‘If [adding and dropping classes] was going to change my bill I would not do it at all,’ he said. ‘I would just hope for the best. ‘ As a music major, sophomore Greg Wolfram took 23 credits last semester, and felt the sting of the refund policy when he had to drop some classes mid-semester and didn’t get a single cent thanks to the refund schedule. ‘ ‘[The work] was too much to handle.’ he said. ‘The reason I dropped it is because my professor kept not showing up to class and just telling us to do the homework and e-mailing us. Sometimes I don’t think professors think that much about how much money you’re paying to be here.’ ‘ Wolfram feels the policy should be changed to benefit the students rather than penalize them for dropping classes. ‘ ‘It’s just a lot of money to take classes here,’ Wolfram said. ‘I took out loans I’m paying back as I go through school.’ Although many students may dislike the refund policy, Hubers said the policy exists because students take’ up a place in a class which someone else could have registered for. ‘ ‘Think of it like an airplane or a hotel, you’re reserving a spot,’ she said. ‘When you withdraw there’s a penalty and later you withdraw the bigger the penalty.’ ‘ And students don’t really have much say in the matter, the policy was established by the board of trustees and has been around since the Univesity was established. ‘ ‘Other universities have similar policies,’ Hubers said. ‘We’re not not unique in that way.