Did you ever "shop around" for a college course? Men and women alike know the pleasures of the shopping tour, a visit to store after store in deliberate search of that which satisfies as nearly as possible our investing abilities. Shopping divulges limitless possibilities of investment. Wouldn't you rather shop and see the goods at first hand, rather than buy through an unromantic mail order catalogue?

Shopping for a college elective should afford all the pleasures of commercial shopping. Look around a bit before you invest. Look over the goods on display. Surely no instructor will object to answering questions about the course he offers, or object to a silent auditor in his class. Sample the course before taking it. What do you think of the instructor? Can he give you a fresh point of view? Does his course offer good value to you? Of course it fits somebody--but does it fit you? Is it too elementary or too advanced?

The method of signing for electives at registration time vexes all of us. We dash into a class because "the 'prof' is a friend," or because "it fits our program" or because it "is a snap course." Like the mail order catalogue, the time schedule seldom embellishes a course with details as to its real value. Frequently an ambiguous title deceives us and we are in a course that is entirely inappropriate. As in commercial buying the red tape is too entangling and "shopping" is the only recourse. University of Washington Daily