Getting Started as a Transfer Student

On this page:

• Registering for your first quarter classes
• The quarter system and your schedule
• Your first advising meeting
• Declaring a major

Registering for your first quarter classes

Entering transfers are not able to access the registration function in CAESAR. Your selections for first quarter classes will be entered into the system manually, after you’ve had a chance to discuss your choices with the Dean for Academic Standing or with a Weinberg College Adviser. New transfer registration can take place over the summer, if you are able to make a visit to campus, or via a telephone conference with the Dean. Both Dean Weimer and College Advisers are available during the summer to answer your questions and discuss your first quarter schedule.

If you arrive on move-in day without having registered, the process is slightly different: you must make an appointment to meet with a College Adviser to choose your classes, then go to the Weinberg Office of Undergraduate Studies to be officially registered. Sometimes transfer students who took advantage of summer registration still have questions about their schedules when they get to campus. No problem—College Advisers are here to help you make changes throughout Wildcat Welcome and during the add/drop period.

The quarter system and your schedule

Your first quarter schedule might look different than you expect. Your schedule may include a foreign language course, if you need to complete the foreign language requirement, and it will most certainly include at least one distribution requirement. If you need to begin a yearlong sequence of courses (this particularly affects junior transfers who are science majors or premed), we will do our best to get you into that class.  Your first quarter schedule may also include an elective course. Weinberg’s liberal arts program allows plenty of room for electives, and this can be a good way for a new student to explore some of the many academic options at NU.

A normal course load is 4 courses per quarter, and we’re not likely to approve an overload for entering transfers. Even if you have many requirements to complete, we strongly advise you to craft your first quarter’s schedule to allow some time to adjust to your new environment.

Your first advising meeting

Your first advising meeting will be devoted to sorting through your credit evaluation, going over WCAS degree requirements, discussing your academic plans, and selecting courses for your first quarter here.  In order for this meeting to go as smoothly as possible, you should bring the following documents with you:

1. a copy of your credit evaluation from the Registrar’s Office,
2. a record of any AP/IB scores you have,
3. course descriptions and syllabi from your prior institution(s) for courses you think need to be reevaluated, and
4. a completed transfer student degree requirements worksheet.

These documents will help your adviser assess your initial credit evaluation, your progress in satisfying our distribution and other requirements with your coursework, your progress toward university graduation requirements, as well as get a sense of your progress toward a particular major or minor.  With this knowledge, you can, with your adviser, devise an academic program.

Your adviser will help guide you through your transfer credits and your academic plans, but here are some answers to frequently asked questions.

Declaring a major

For most transfer students, there is no hurry to declare a major, even if you arrive with a pretty solid idea of what field you want to pursue. In some cases, however, it may be advantageous to declare a major before registering for your second quarter classes. Discuss this with your College Adviser and consult the department or program website for specific information on the major.