To all the incoming FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS... congrats on choosing McMaster! MacInsiders is the largest student-run community for McMaster students and we're here to help each other make your next 4+ years at McMaster an amazing experience!
MacInsiders has many parts to it, the main ones being our
discussion forums,
articles (tips and advice), and
course reviews. If you don't have an account yet,
sign up here!
Within the Tips & Articles section you'll find a whole
bunch of step-by-step guides to walk you through almost everything you need to know to get ready for September. Here's just a few of them to get you started:
Getting Ready For McMaster
McMaster has an
official Getting Registered Guide, and also a
website for incoming students (http://start.mcmaster.ca), use those resources to help guide you through the process.
If you're looking for a quick summary list of what to do, we've tried to simplify things for you below.
STEPS:
1. ACTIVATE YOUR MACID
2. NEW STUDENT FORM
3. PLAN YOUR COURSES & MAKE A MOCK TIMETABLE
4. REGISTER IN SOLAR
5. PAYMENT AGREEMENT
6. ENABLE YOUR MAC EMAIL
I'll walk you through them all and direct you to further reading on MacInsiders you can check out that will go into greater detail.
Before we do that, get a pen and paper out and take notes!
STEPS TO REGISTRATION, SIMPLIFIED:
1. ACTIVATE YOUR MACID <- Click to go to each step in detail
The first step is to
Activate Your Mac ID and McMaster Services. This gives you access to MUGSI, SOLAR, and a whole bunch of important services you will be using throughout your time at McMaster. You'll need your letter of acceptance with your student number on it, because that's what you'll have to type to activate your MAC ID. So first make sure to find that letter with your student number in the top-right corner! If you didn't get your confirmation letter yet, wait until June as that is when they will be sent out.
2. NEW STUDENT FORM
You need to fill this out and send it to McMaster by July 15th. THIS IS IMPORTANT! Without sending this form in on time you won't get your student ID card on time. This form is required in order to get your Student Card with your photo on it which you will use for many things such as getting your sticker to show to the HSR bus drivers when boarding the bus so you don't have to pay the fare (HSR bus fare is free if you have a valid sticker, are a full-time MSU student, and paid your fees). You'll also need it for exams, and a whole bunch of other things when needing to show valid student ID. Download the New Student Form
here. Learn more
here.
3. PLAN YOUR COURSES & MAKE A MOCK TIMETABLE
You NEED to plan ahead when selecting the courses you want. Sure, every faculty has 'required' courses that you're guaranteed to get into... but there are also ELECTIVE courses that you get to pick from and they aren't guaranteed you'll get into them, they fill up fast! This means that you need to plan ahead and know exactly which electives you want to take beforehand so that when it comes time to picking them, you'll be ready to go and get your selections in quick AND if one is full, have backup choices in place so you don't get stuck taking electives you aren't interested in. Learn about how to
plan your courses and build a mock timetable. Once you know exactly the types of courses (and elective courses) that you want to take, you'll be able to register in SOLAR once it opens to your faculty.
4. REGISTER FOR YOUR COURSES ON SOLAR
Once you've planned your courses out, all you can do is wait until your
SOLAR entry date to register for your courses.
5. CALCULATE YOUR FEES & AGREE TO PAY
After you've selected your courses, you'll confirm them and agree to pay for your tuition by completing an online 'payment agreement'. This is simply an agreement to pay McMaster and is done online through SOLAR. You have to agree to pay before McMaster will make a timetable for you and confirm your courses, so make sure to complete the Payment Agreement as soon as you can! It doesn't mean you have to pay right away, the agreement step is just clicking a button to confirm you agree to make the full payment before the deadline.
6. ACTIVATE YOUR MCMASTER E-MAIL
1. Go to
http://mugsi.mcmaster.ca
2. Login with your MAC ID and password
3. Click on My MUGSI (first link on the nav bar)
4. Click 'Enable Your Mac ID Services' on the left side
5. This will open a new screen. Once again, click 'Enable your MAC ID Services' link.
6. You can now login to your e-mail by visiting
http://studentmail.mcmaster. ca
ALL DONE!
Be sure to check these out:
--
SIGN UP FOR MACINSIDERS!
Make sure to sign up for a MacInsiders account before September so you can connect with over 30,000 other McMaster students. Sign up here:
http://www.macinsiders.com/register.php
Check out more helpful tips and guides on MacInsiders by
clicking here.
