Here are 8 things to expect during early registration:
- Early registration is now three weeks long instead of two, which means your assigned day may seem later than usual. But more often than not it still aligns with how many credit hours you’ve accrued. Take a look at the bottom of this page to see where you fall in relation to other students.
- Departments optimize their enrollment in a number of ways to ensure graduating students get the courses they need, including using waitlists. The best thing you can do is join them if a class (or section of a class) you want and need is full. Take a look at this Quick Guide if you need to know how to do so. Keep in mind that waitlist offers are not guaranteed, so register for whatever sections will keep you on track to graduate on your timeline.
- Like you, advisors are human and get sick or bear children or experience family emergencies, so we appreciate your patience as we ensure everyone is authorized to register in as timely a process as possible.
- You may not be able to register because you have a hold on your account. MyUI should indicate who to contact about lifting particular holds, but two of the most common are a late U-Bill or an unsigned Billing & Student Payment Agreement.
- Many courses have prerequisites, courses that you need to take before you can move onto the next. If Schedule Builder is saying you cannot register for a specific course, you may lack a prerequisite. If you are currently completing a prerequisite at another institution—not just wanting to take a course for which you are unqualified—you’ll need to Request Prerequisite Special Permission.
- If you’ve requested prerequisite special permission, that means you’ll need to submit a transcript as soon as the prerequisite is recorded so you don’t get removed from the Iowa course that requires it. Every institution has a unique but similar process; you can use this guide to help navigate it and get the transcript back to Iowa.
- Stress. You should expect stress. Fortunately, the University offers a number of resources to help you manage your well-being during this stressful time.
- Support. You should also expect support. Reach out to us—your advisor or our Information Desk—if you need support as the semester winds down.