<p>I haven’t been able to find any clear instructions about when and how we are supposed to register for classes. Do we do it now online, or are we required to wait until the first day of class? And if one does wait to register on campus, is there a good chance that the good courses will be full?</p>
<p>It varies. Some classes require that you pre-register. Those classes have a red key next to their names on OCI. These are usually English classes and freshman seminars. For most classes, you don’t actually register until classes start. So you’ll have to wait until the first day of classes (or a few days before) to actually set up your schedule for registration.</p>
<p>For the pre-registration classes, there will be (should already be) instructions on the freshman website. You basically just state your interest and enter a lottery.</p>
<p>For everything else, you use something called Online Course Selection (OCS) and you basically add the courses you want to take and have permission to take, print it out and have a bunch of people sign it. Then you submit it to your Dean’s Office and that’s how you register. The only courses that could be “full” are seminars which are difficult in general and you normally need to meet certain criteria, like prereqs, preregistration, or to be in a particular major or year.</p>
<p>^ How does pre-registration for freshman seminars actually work? I’m really confused.</p>
<p>PS you’re a saint.</p>
<p>A few days before classes start during Camp Yale, you will get an e-mail telling you that pre-registration is up, along with a link to the preregistration site. It’s only open for a certain window of time, so make sure to log into it ASAP. Then, it asks you to rank your top 3 freshman seminars, and then asks you to tell them why you want to be in said seminars (this is optional, and doesn’t really help you, IMO). Then you click submit.</p>
<p>Very similar for English, except you get 5 choices instead of 3. Then you check back onto the same site to check what class you got, if any. OCS also usually knows and will change any red keys to green keys if you’re accepted. It has been faulty in the past though.</p>
<p>Sorry if I’m a bit dense, but how does all this fit in with shopping period? i.e. do I understand you correctly that registration for most classes is on the first day of class (if so, how does shopping period work)? and are freshman seminars and English classes not “shop-able”?</p>
<p>Thanks drbigboyjoe. I can now rest easy in my procrastinatory tendencies.</p>
<p>Seriously though, big help.</p>
<p>So, you don’t officially register for classes until the end of shopping period. The only time this is different is for classes that require preregistration or lotteries. You get a week and a half to shop to your heart’s content, then by the end of shopping period, you have to submit a course schedule to your Dean’s office. The vast majority of courses are shoppable, so you get to shop for a week and a half and try them out. Then, if you want to take those courses, you add them on OCS, print the schedule and submit it to your Dean’s office. Theoretically, if you decide you’re not going to shop, though, you can submit your schedule on the first day of classes.</p>
<p>English and Freshman seminars are “shoppable,” but if you didn’t get it during preregistration the chances of you getting it after shopping period is EXTREMELY low. You just show up to class, tell the professor you’re interested, and if anyone drops out or if they increase the number for the class, then they’ll let you know. Otherwise, you probably won’t get the class.</p>
<p>@ rocker- drbigboyjoe95105 is AWESOME!!! 
</p>
<p>Haha ditto learninginprog. Thanks so much!!!</p>
<p>Strictly speaking, even classes requiring pre-registration are shop-able. That is, pre-registering does not commit you to taking the class, so if you’re even considering taking a class that requires you to pre-register, you should pre-register. You can still decide not to take it after attending a class or two.</p>
<p>One note about shopping period…you’re expected to do the work from the beginning, which may impact how many courses you can really shop over the entire period.</p>
<p>@Hunt: so how many classes is too much? Ie 8ish?</p>
<p>^ It depends. Chances are there are certain classes you’re definitely going to take. You aren’t really “shopping” those. If you’re shopping big lecture classes, it’s likely that sections don’t start until the week after shopping period, which means you can get away without doing the early work.</p>