Hello there! Congratulations on your admission and welcome to Gallatin. We are so looking forward to working with you as you develop an individualized, interdisciplinary concentration over the coming semesters. Please don’t worry if you don’t yet have a sense of what your individualized, interdisciplinary concentration might be or even if you don’t yet quite know what any of those things might mean.
This site is meant to help you prepare for your pre-registration discussion with a faculty adviser. It will also guide you through your registration for Fall 2019 courses and help you understand what to expect during Orientation Week and beyond. Ideally, you will set aside plenty of time to go over all of the information included here, but we are also well aware that you may still be immersed in all that is happening as you finish your high school requirements and want to make sure you have the information you will need in the immediate moment.
To get you started, here is a brief overview of the registration process for incoming first-year Gallatin students:
STEP 1: Activate your NYU account. This will allow you to use Albert, NYU’s student information system, which you will be using to register for your fall courses. It will also enable you to use your NYU email, where all University communications are typically sent.
STEP 2: Complete the Pre-Registration Interests Survey by May 14 at 12pm Eastern Time. Your answers will help us pair you with a Pre-Registration Adviser.
STEP 3: Read carefully through the How Do I…? section of this site, which will take you through the details of preparing for your first semester, both logistical and conceptual. (Think of it as an FAQ of sorts, addressing questions you likely have about planning for your first semester and identifying appropriate classes. This is also where you will find information about AP and other advanced standing credits.) Take some time too to learn about the Concentration and Interdisciplinary Study, as understanding these crucial Gallatin concepts will help you think about your first semester in a long-term context. (But please keep in mind that no one expects you to have your concentration figured out at this moment; indeed, your first year is very much a time of exploration and discovery. Still, it can nonetheless be helpful to have a sense of what is involved in developing an interdisciplinary, individualized concentration as you prepare to enter a community of scholars working to articulate discipline-spanning questions and develop discipline-spanning approaches.)
STEP 4: Read the course descriptions for your required First-Year Program Courses: the First-Year Interdisciplinary Seminar and the First-Year Writing Seminar. You will want to make sure you are considering at least five options for each of these mandatory first-semester courses, as these are small classes and will fill quickly. An important note here: these courses are first and foremost “how,” rather than “what,” classes. That is, they are intended to help you develop and exercise skills crucial to your time at Gallatin and NYU. Please keep an open mind when considering your options, and remember too that sometimes your interests may be best served by pursuing them through an unexpected lens.
STEP 5: Learn how to use Albert. Set aside time to go through the Albert registration guides to learn how to search for classes; validate classes; enroll in classes; and swap classes once enrolled.
STEP 6: Schedule an advising appointment with your assigned Pre-Registration adviser. You should expect to receive your Pre-Registration Adviser’s name and contact information on or around May 21. Please reach out as soon as possible or use the calendar link, if one has been provided, to schedule a time to speak with your adviser. (An important procedural note: your adviser’s calendar will be set to Eastern Time; yours may not be. Please make sure that you check your calendar setting and adjust your appointment time, if needed, accordingly. It’s never a bad idea to confirm your appointment and make sure you and your adviser are on the same page regarding its timing.) Gallatin emphasizes the importance of the adviser to a student’s academic and intellectual development, and your conversation with your Pre-Registration Adviser will offer an early glimpse of the experience to come. Please take it seriously, and please make sure to prioritize it.
STEP 7: Discuss your Fall 2019 plans and receive feedback and advice from your Pre-Registration Adviser. You should plan on speaking with your assigned Pre-Registration Adviser between May 22 and May 29. Unless you can easily get to campus, your conversation will take place by phone or Skype/Google Hangout. Please make sure you are prepared for the discussion: take time in advance of your scheduled appointment to review a brief guide to academic disciplines and consider your interests and how you might begin realizing them at Gallatin. Put together a list of some classes of potential interest, and do take the time to check for availability on Albert. (Because continuing students have already registered for Fall 2019 classes, you will find that some are at waitlist or even closed altogether.) You will also want to prepare a list of any questions or concerns you might have. Of course your adviser will likely have suggestions for you, and you need not–indeed, should not–have set your plans in stone. But it’s well worth remembering that the most productive conversations happen when you have prepared for them. (Take this as your first Gallatin commandment: it will serve you well in your classes and in your future adviser interactions!)
STEP 8: Submit a Plan of Study reflecting your discussion with your pre-registration adviser. (Make sure to review Important Considerations first!) The Plan of Study should be submitted no later than 12pm Eastern Time on May 29 in order to ensure that you can be cleared to register once incoming first-year Gallatin students are eligible to do so. It’s important to keep in mind that your Plan should be optimistic–that is, it will represent your ideal Fall 2019 schedule–as well as realistic–you should not include classes that are closed or waitlisted or that require pre-requisites you have yet to satisfy. Remember too that your adviser’s approval does not guarantee you will be able to enroll in the classes included on your Plan at the registration moment.
STEP 9: Register for Fall 2019 classes on Monday, June 3 at 2pm Eastern Time. Please check, well in advance, that the Adviser Approval Hold no longer appears on your record to ensure that you will be able to register at your assigned enrollment date and time. To best prepare for registration, make sure to have all potential Fall 2019 courses, including all backups, in your Albert shopping cart.
STEP 10: Complete the Advising Questionnaire by June 7. In order to make it possible for the Office of Advising to match you with a primary faculty adviser, with whom you will work throughout your time at Gallatin, please make sure to fill out and submit an Advising Questionnaire once you have submitted the Plan of Study.
You can (and should) contact your First-Year Class Adviser Yevgeniya Traps with any questions or concerns!