Registration

[Rogue856]

Hi Everyone,

 

I got an e-mail from my new grad school letting me know registration started June 3. I also noticed the required first year course in my department is almost filled up...but I never got anything from my department letting me know if I should register now or at orientation. I don't feel like I need to talk to an advisor to register, all the information I need is on the dept website, etc. I'm pretty independent so as an undergrad I just matched my schedule to my degree requirements and never needed my advisor for that sort of thing. Is it ok to carry that attitude to grad school?

 

Thanks!

[mpheels]

It depends entirely on the culture of the department. For my master's program, the department registrar took care of the first semester, then we each had to register ourselves after that. For my PhD program, I have to meet with my advisor during orientation, then registration for the first quarter doesn't open until 6pm that night. After the first quarter, it's up to my advisor and me to figure out what works best. I would not recommend just registering on your own without checking first - find out who the registrar or student services coordinator is for your program, and ask her. These women (yes, almost always women) are a graduate students best friend.

[St Andrews Lynx]

I would check with an administrator or your advisor first. The information on the website might not be current, or else you might be an exception to some of the stated requirements. 

 

Enrolling onto a course at a new school without consulting anyone could lead - in the worse-case scenario - to getting enrolled on the wrong courses and needing the administrators to do extra legwork to sort out the issue. That would count as getting off to a bad start!

[Andean Pat]

I asked the graduate secretary. 

 

Honestly, I don't mind asking. If I don't ask, I won't know. But I must say I quite cheeky in this sense... hehehe

[Rogue856]

Thanks everyone! I have a tendency to over analyze everything. I did just ask the grad coordinator and she said I could if I wanted to or I could wait. Always best to ask and she was super nice so I won't feel awkward asking questions like that going forward!