Registration Hacks

Our advisors help you build the best possible schedule, and teach you how you can create it every semester.

Create a Registration Toolkit

You’ll need multiple schedule options at your immediate disposal. Be sure to print them. Organize your shopping cart well ahead of time and make sure similar sections are next to one another.

Take Care of Your Holds

Check the Buff portal and email your advisor to make sure you don’t have any registration holds on your account. If you have one, follow its directions to have it removed ASAP. Nothing is worse than realizing that an unpaid parking ticket is keeping you from your preferred classes.

You’re Not Wasting Time

We'll say it again. We know that it’s frustrating to see your preferred classes close. Time and again, though, we’ve seen our students end up loving a subject they ended up in by accident. The best news? GE means that even these surprises count toward your degree.

“I would just encourage freshmen who don’t know what they want to do in their first years to take as many classes that interest them as possible. And there’s plenty of time to pick up a major.”

Laura Wild
German & IPHY, 2019

Need more help?

The Registrar

CU Boulder’s registrar has a ton of registration resources that walk you through the nuts and bolts of their systems. You can learn more about your degree audit, our class search engine and other strategies that can help you register on-time.

Leverage Course Reservation

It's never fun to wait. But if you need to for a class, we have good news. Students who are dropped from waitlists get priority registration for the same course the next semester. The catch? You have to submit a form.

Plan Deeper

Do you want to study abroad? Do research? Ask your advisor which semester these are typically done in your majors. It's tough to plan around hypotheticals, but a class you want now might be available to take abroad.

This is just the beginning.

Your advisor can help you reflect on which classes should take priority, and the way these build into your broader academic experience and goals.

Schedule an Appointment

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