Hi guys,

I'm going to be attending Mac in the fall as a first year student. I've accepted my offer and have been accepted onto residence, but have yet to choose any of my classes. I attended the tour/orientation day a few weeks ago, but I'm still a little confused... Could any upper year students please explain

1. Where/When/How, do I apply for classes?

2. How many classes must I choose?

3. Will I be picking for only the first semester, or the second as well?

4. If it makes any difference i'm going into Humanities, will this restrict the courses I can choose, or can I pick from other facilities too?

Sorry if any of these are obvious questions, but I literally just decided to pick Mac so i'm still trying to get caught up lol.

Thanks in advance,
Nick

1) dates: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /regis...%20Final. pdf
you choose your courses on SOLAR (click on MUGSI on the mcmaster website, login and then you will have to click on SOLAR--> they open at 12:01am unless otherwise stated)

2) 10 classes--standard is 5 per term--> look at your program requirements or requirements for what you think you'll want to go into in 2nd year and you will find out what courses are required, recommended and how many electives you can choose
undergrad calendar:http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /calen...12-13/pg3.html

3) both--> they can both be changed afterwards though so if you are unsure about something second term (or even first term) it can be changed ...you just have to be careful because some more "popular" classes fill up quickly

4) you can pick from any course of which you have the prerequisites (which is indicated under the course descriptions)

hope that helps!

As first-year Humanities, you still have plenty of time, so don't panic!

You register for courses for both semesters.

You will be entering Humanities I. The courses you must take are here: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /calen...13/pg1366.html

You must take Humanities 1A00 (a zero unit course, basically for completion).

You must take 12 units (Last number in course code is how many units it is worth) from:
ART HIST 1A03, 1AA3
CLASSICS 1A03, 1B03, 1M03
CMST 1A03
CSCT 1CS3
ENGLISH 1A03, 1AA3, 1C06, 1CS3
FRENCH 1A06, 1K06, 1Z06
GREEK 1Z03, 1ZZ3
HISTORY 1A03, 1AA3, 1B03, 1BB3, 1M03
LATIN 1Z03, 1ZZ3
LINGUIST 1A03, 1AA3
MMEDIA 1A03, 1B03
MUSIC 1A03, 1AA3
PEACE ST 1A03
PHILOS 1A03, 1B03, 1C03, 1D03, 1E03
THTR&FLM 1T03

Your other 18 units are any courses at McMaster you have prerequisites for. A list of courses by subject (including description and prerequisites is available here: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /calen...12-13/pg4.html )

Make sure you take courses to get into a degree program. Here is a list of programs and requirements by department: http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /calen...13/pg1368.html

For example Honours History ( http://registrar.mcmaster.ca /calen...13/pg2278.html) has entry requirements of "Completion of any Level I program and a Cumulative Average of at least 5.0 including an average of at least 5.0 in six units of Level I History. For continuation in the program, see the section on Minimum Requirements for Entering and Continuing in a Program Beyond Level I in the Faculty of Humanities Academic Regulations."

You will get to learn all about the pure joy that is SOLAR and class registration very soon. McMaster is awesome, but god damn is class registration awful. Expect to be unable to get into the system for hours at a time once it goes up, so have your timetable all worked out days in advance of it going live you will be ROYALLY ****ED for picking the classes you want.

Sincerely,
A cynical and jaded upper year

There are two things that I really want to emphasize:

1. Look at what you want to major in 2nd year, and pick your electives accordingly (spyridm)
2. SOLAR IS A ***** (Freak705)

Basically, give up hope of getting in SOLAR for hours after your day opens. Registration is the worst day of my academic year. Every year.

Pro tip: if you're an osap baby, you need at least an 80% course load to be eligible