Mid-semester Pre-Registration Instructions

Students on Leave or Studying Abroad click here for Instructions

About the 4.5 credit limit

Pre-registration begins Monday, November 23 at 12:01am
to Wednesday November 25 at 4:00pm

There will be Pre-Registration Forms for:
Bio 002 lab
Physics 004 lab
Physics 004L lab

Do Course Planning Homework

• Read not only the Schedule of Courses and Seminars, but also read the College Catalog chapters entitled Educational Program, Faculty Regulations, and Degree Requirements.
• Review the Distribution Requirements for your graduation year.
• For every department or program offering courses in which you are interested, read the beginning pages of their sections in the Catalog, printed before their course listings. These pages tell you from the beginning what a department or program is about, what they expect of potential majors and minors, what Honors is like, and how study abroad fits. Departmental web pages can also help you become more informed about your choices, and some department's (physical) bulletin boards post next semester's syllabi and other helpful information for you to browse.
• Select several courses you might like to take including alternates, map then onto a weekly planner (scheduling your time is your responsibility) and go to your advisor ready to discuss specific options.
• If you wish, read some advice to First Years from Student Academic Mentors (SAMs).

"Four courses plus PE or PE Dance "

• The official normal semester load is four to five credits, plus PE until it is done, and then PE is optional. The actual norm at Swarthmore is 4.0 or 4.5 credits per semester, plus PE or PE Dance.
• First-year students are advised to take four courses (4.0 to 4.5 credits, no more, no fewer), plus PE or PE Dance, both semesters of their first year.
• Fewer than four credits is a possibility, but only with special permission of your faculty advisor, and students are never permitted to carry fewer than three credits in their first eight semesters.
• More than five credits per semester also requires special permission.
• PE or PE Dance is recommended for every semester until you fulfill the four unit PE requirement. Normally it is finished within the first two years.

Alternates and Flexibility - the keys to Happiness

• The keys to contentment with your registration are to always have alternates at the ready, and to be flexible enough to use them.
• Choose 6 to 8 courses you would like to take, knowing you will actually only take four or so.
• First-year students in particular are reminded that you can make adjustments during Add/Drop, and it is okay to "shop" in moderation.
• Remember that the liberal arts experience includes serendipitous discovery. Be open to it.

All Students Must Be Advised

• Students MUST see advisors during the advising period, that is, prior to pre-enrollment -- or else they may be prevented from pre-enrolling.
• No card or form is signed by the advisor, but advisors do keep track of who has been advised.
• Double majors must see both advisors.
• Spring Sophomores and Juniors without majors consult the chair of their would-be major for major advising.
• You are responsible for not booking yourself into a registration time conflict. Check the class meeting times in the Schedule of Courses. For the complete rules on attendance in classes, see the catalog.

You might be put on HOLD

• Students who do not get advised may be prevented from pre-enrolling by their advisors placing holds on their pre-enrollment.
• Students can also be withheld from pre-enrolling for other reasons. Students are informed by email of holds being placed, and can check for holds on the mySwarthmore web site.
• Students who discover they are withheld from pre-enrolling must resolve the problem, and then ask the advisor or office placing the hold to tell the Registrar the hold is released.

Pre-Enrollment counts!

• Pre-enroll for all the courses you expect to take. Courses, sections, and labs might be cancelled due to under-enrollment. Don't wait to indicate your intent to take a class.

Pre-Enrollment

• Pre-enrollment starts at 12:00am Monday, and ends at 4:00pm Wednesday. For exact dates, see the Academic Calendar.
• ALL STUDENTS are encouraged to pre-enroll on Monday, and then return to review their pre-enrollment on Tuesday and/or Wednesday. The point of this is that any problems encountered on Monday are easily fixed prior to the end of the process. You might have a hold you need to get released. Even if you have no problems, check back on Wednesday to make sure you did it right and check enrollments as they rise in case this affects your choices.
• Pre-enroll using the mySwarthmore web site.
• All departmental lotteries will be run off the pre enrollment results.
• Pre-Enrollment provides equal access to courses and lotteries regardless of when you do it with the exception of Economics and Arabic. These departments use first-come, first-served to fill sections of larger classes. For more information please see the departments.
• If you miss Pre-Enrollment, you can still register for classes using an Add/Drop form, but you will have missed all the lotteries.
• First-year seminars are restricted to first-year students. Sophomores and upper-class students should not pre-enroll for these.
• Add Byrn Mawr, Haverford, or U Penn courses differently, using the paper method - you don't add those using the pre-enrollment online tool.

4.5 Credit Limit

• In order to be fair and give all students a better chance of getting 4 courses they really want, the registration limit for pre-enrollment is 4.5 credits.
• There is no limit on PE or PE Dance. Neither counts toward the 4.5 credit limit.
• Students who really want a 5th course add it during drop/add, preferably after they've had a chance to visit it and be sure of their interest. In some cases a faculty advisor can request the pre-enrollment limit be raised to 5 for a major with an approved 5-credit program.
• Students are required to enroll for 4.0 credits per semester, unless they have obtained special permission to do otherwise. For fewer than 4.0 credits or more than 5.0 credits students must file ahead of time an Application for Extra or Less Credit with the Registrar. Obtain this form in the Registrar's Office.

Departmental Lottery Procedures Available

• Departmental procedures are available online and in most departmental offices.

After Pre-Enrollment comes Lotteries

• After Pre-Enrollment is over, departments have several days to review pre-enrollment class lists, and possibly lottery the class according to departmental policy.

After Lotteries, Drop/Add

• About a week after pre-enrollment the registrar will send an email asking every student to check his or her mySwarthmore account, to see the results of both the pre-enrollment program and departmental lotteries.
• Students who get all their choices are done registering.
• Students who do not get all their choices because of lotteries or otherwise need to make changes must use an Add/Drop form to make changes to their schedule. Visit faculty to ask for entrance into open spaces in desired classes.
• Drop/add starts as soon as lottery results are announced, and runs through the second week of classes next semester.

List of Open and Courses Closed

• Use this list in consultation with your advisor in preparing to make changes to your schedule.

You must attend the First Class Meeting

• Students are required to attend the first class meeting to confirm their enrollment in each class. Students should contact the professor directly to ask that their seats be held if they cannot make the first meeting. Students are required to complete a drop/add form for all drops & adds, but the instructor of a class has last word about who is enrolled.

Read the FINE PRINT:

Don't see the course on-line?

• If you don't see an expected course on-line during pre-registration, check with the department to be sure, and plan on adding the course after registration ends.
• Econ seminars: See the Economics Department's Administrative Assistant after pre-enrollment is over. You do not pre-register for Economics seminars.
• English 1C: Sign up for English 1C at the English Literature Department. You do not pre-register for ENGL 001C.
• Music 48: Sign up for Music 48 at the Music Department. You do not pre-register for MUS 048, nor do you register for MUS 048 with an Add form - the Music Department tells the Registrar who is enrolled.
• FMST 098: See the FMST Department Chair after pre-enrollment is over. You will not be able to pre-register for Film Studies 98.
• Various other courses are also not listed for pre-enrollment. Check with the department how to add them.

Prerequisites

• Students must be sure that they have fulfilled any pre-requisites for all courses they wish to take.
  
• While the pre-enrollment program will not prevent students from wrongly pre-enrolling in courses with pre-requisites, chairs will be able to delete wrongful registrations along with lotteried deletions.

Seminar Pre-Enrollment Instructions

• Where noted in the printed Schedule of Courses and Seminars, seminar students must register for BOTH REQUIRED SECTIONS (one-credit each) of double-graded seminars in order to get both grades and both credits.
  
• Students wishing to take seminars must obtain the approval of the chair of the department prior to pre-enrollment.
  
• Planning ahead: To avoid scheduling conflicts, honors students planning on taking two seminars in one semester must alert the chair(s) of the appropriate department(s) of this at the beginning of the semester prior to the one in which the two seminars will be taken.
  
• While the pre-enrollment program will not prevent students from wrongly pre-enrolling in unapproved seminars, chairs will be able to delete wrongful registrations.

Directed Reading, Independent Study, etc.

• Students wishing to do directed reading, independent study, etc. must get this approved by the professor prior to pre-enrolling. If the directed reading, independent study, etc. is offered through the pre-enrollment program, students may register at this time -- otherwise students may add this during drop/add.
  
• While the pre-enrollment program will not prevent students from wrongly pre-enrolling in unapproved directed readings, etc., chairs will be able to delete wrongful registrations.

Tri-College or U Penn

• Swarthmore students who wish to take courses at Bryn Mawr, Haverford or the University of Pennsylvania do NOT pre-register with mySwarthmore. Instead, register for these using the forms required forms available in the Swarthmore Registrar's Office.

Credit/No Credit Not Part of Registration

• Students who wish to take one or more courses on a Credit/No Credit basis must indicate this on the appropriate form obtainable in the Registrar's Office. This form must be turned in during the first two weeks of classes - not before. The deadline is the end of the ninth week of classes.
  
• After their first semester, students may use a maximum of four Credit/No Credit declaration options.

Auditing

• Auditors are not required to register, but may choose to register for "audit" in order to be able to use Blackboard. In any case, audits must be approved by the instructor and finally validated after the semester is over.

Other information

• A fine of $1.00 per day is imposed for late enrollment. Students returning from leave have until the end of the first week of classes.
  
• Students who do not intend to return next semester should apply to the Dean for a Leave of Absence.
  
• Students who do not enroll nor obtain a Leave of Absence will have to apply for re-admission if they wish to return.
• Read the Guidelines on Scheduling Conflicts Between Academics and Athletics.