Welcome to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute!
We are so excited to welcome you to RPI and have you join our community. The School of Engineering First-Year Advising Hub will be your main resource when it comes to understanding your academic requirements.
As part of Student Orientation, we have developed this Registration Guide to support you with your first selection of college courses! We understand that you are each coming into Rensselaer at a different place based upon the credits you are bringing in. We want to ensure that you have a good understanding of your first-year curriculum and that you feel confident with the courses you select for the Fall semester.
This guide covers:
- The SoE Hub and your Hub Advisor
- Curriculum Planning for the Fall Semester
- The Major Template (4-Year Plan)
- Transferring AP, IB, and other credits to Rensselaer
- An Overview for Course Registration
- Upcoming Webinars presented by the SoE Hub (major specific)
- Online Academic Resources
Special Note! While there are loads of tools and resources on campus for academic planning, this Registration Guide will provide you with a 'starter kit.' After the fall semester begins, we will introduce you to all the information you need to know for your 4-Year Plan, and be available for one-on-one meetings. We'll talk more then!
Review this entire Registration Guide before developing your schedule! You will find important information and tips throughout each section.
And remember, the SoE Hub is here to support you!
The SoE Hub and your Advisor
Turn up the volume or click the CC button to meet your SoE Hub Advisor, Cara Leath!
The School of Engineering (SoE) Advising Hub is your primary resource for academic and curriculum planning support for your first year at Rensselaer. When you declared Materials Engineering, you were assigned to one of our Hub Advisors, Cara Leath. She will walk you through each step of developing your Fall schedule with this guide and upcoming webinars.
Contact information for Cara Leath | natalc2@rpi.edu
Curriculum Planning
For this Student Orientation Guide, we are focusing on your first semester at Rensselaer. Once you start classes this fall, we will talk about future semesters!
Let's start with...
- Major Template
- Your Schedule for Fall 2020
- AP, IB, and other Transfer Credits
- The Humanities, Arts, and Social Science (HASS) Core
1. Major Template
Which courses will put you on the path to becoming a Materials Engineer? How do you know what you're required to take? Is there a chance to add other courses such as a Computer Science or Art class?
Your Major Template is the answer to these questions.
It is a semester-by-semester guide of your required curriculum. A Major Template is specific to each cohort, in this case, the Class of 2024. A template can change annually, so you want to ensure you are always looking at the correct guide. There should be a date ending with “2020” at the bottom (for example: 8/19/2020) for your cohort.
P.S.: Even if you are ahead in credits, and might graduate early, you will always be part of the Class of 2024 cohort as you started at Rensselaer in the 2020-2021 Academic Year.
All courses listed on the Major Template are required for degree completion and to graduate as an Materials Engineer. You can certainly add to your curriculum in ways, such as declaring a minor, but you must take all courses listed on your Materials Engineering Template.
Pro-tip: Never use Google to search for your Major Template! You may end up taking the wrong courses by following a plan meant for another cohort. When in doubt you can always request a Major Template from your SoE Hub Advisor.
In thinking about your first semester, it is important to understand that each student will start in a different place on the Major Template. If you have AP, IB, or other transfer credits, this may allow you to take courses that are listed in the second, or even third, semester, even as an incoming college student. It is common to be 'off template.' The key to curriculum planning is understanding the sequence of classes (prerequisites and corequisites), and which courses would not be ideal to take together in the same semester. With this understanding, you can move upper-level courses to earlier semesters (if needed).
Quick Definitions:
- Prerequisites: Courses that must be completed before you can take the next course in the sequence. For example, Calculus 1 is a prerequisite for Calculus 2.
- Corequisites: Courses that must taken during the same semester, or before you take the next course in the sequence. For example, Physics 2 is a corequisite for Introduction to Engineering Design.
Remember! Your Hub Advisor, Cara, is here to support you whenever you have questions about your curriculum requirements. We do not expect you to understand or know everything right off the bat. We are here to help!
How do you navigate your Major Template when planning your first semester?
Our suggestion is to save the Major Template (JPG below), and take a good look at the courses listed in the first year. Think of these courses as your Plan A, and Plan B. In Section 3, your advisor Cara will talk more about the courses you will see listed, and offer a little insight on how you should build your schedule!
If you have AP, IB, or Transfer credits (more information in Section 4), we suggest that you use your computer's basic-level photo editing software to cross out all the courses you believe your AP/IB/transfer credits will fulfill. What remains in those first two semesters is what you should look at taking next fall, and register for during this summer's registration period. You can also print out the guide and use a pen or highlighter.
Turn up the volume or click the CC button! We will walk you through navigating your Major Template.
An old Materials Engineering Major Template is used an example in this video. You will dive deeper into your Materials Engineering template a little further into the guide!
Save your Major Template (below) in a safe place!
2. Your Schedule for Fall 2020
As mentioned, we are going to focus this Registration Guide on your upcoming Fall semester. Once you start classes, you will meet with your SoE Hub Advisor to talk about your spring semester and your 4-Year Plan.
In the fall semester, as a Materials Engineer, you will take:
- 1-Credit, MTLE 1200 | Introduction to Materials Engineering
- 4-Credit ENGR Course | ENGR 1100 or a 4-Credit Science Course
- 4-Credit MATH Course | MATH 1010, 1020, or 2400
- 4-Credit Science Course | CHEM 1100, or ENGR 1600
- 4-Credit HASS Course
= a total of 16 or 17 Credits
Turn up the volume or click the CC button! Your Hub Advisor, Cara Leath, will walk you through your first semester and the above mentioned courses.
Use your new Major Template to learn more about the above mentioned classes, like MTLE 1200. On your Major Template, you will see the course title, the number of credits each course is, and the suggested semester that you take the course.
To begin, you need to learn all of your course options and the sequence (Pre/Corequisites) in which you need to take them.
3. AP, IB, and other Transfer Credits
Are you planning to use AP, IB, or other transfer credits?
Yup! -- Read through Section 3) AP, IB, and other Transfer Credits.
Nope! -- Skip to Section 4) Your Humanities, Arts, and Social Science (HASS) Core.
Is it worth using my transfer credits? How will they work toward my requirements at Rensselaer? How have other students done this in the past?
Many students take advantage of transferring college credit to Rensselaer. This is one of the first decisions you will make about your curriculum and your Fall schedule. So, where do you even begin?
To start, you need to have a good understanding of what options you have, both with the courses or exams you have taken, and the scores you have received. You also need to start thinking about how those credits will have a direct impact on your fall schedule. Review the equivalency charts (below) to see examples on how your AP, IB, and/or Cambridge Exam credits can be used toward your Rensselaer graduation requirements.
Some students also receive credits through other colleges during high school. Common names for programs that grant these credits are dual enrollment, taking courses at a college as a “non-degree seeking” student, Project Lead the Way, or SUPA. If these courses were “above and beyond” what was required for you to graduate from high school, there is a good chance they can be accepted for use at Rensselaer! Check out the video below to see how to get those credits to RPI.
Hopefully, you can start to envision what your fall schedule might look like.
By using your AP, IB, or other transfer credits, you give yourself the option to advance through your curriculum at a quicker pace. This can be a great option if you have considered adding to your existing requirements, such as declaring a minor.
Now, you might be asking yourself...
Should I move to the next highest course, or should I retake the course again at Rensselaer? What happens if I'm bored, or if the course is too hard? Do I want to move along in my curriculum faster?
The final step is to decide how you want to use the credits that you are able to bring with you. You might be unsure if you want to take the next course in the sequence during your first semester of college. However, our data shows that students who choose to use their transfer credits do very well!
Check this out; in a 5 year analysis...
- Over 300 students with Calculus 1 credit proceeded to Calculus 2 and 75% received a B or higher.
- Over 200 students with Calculus 1 and Calculus 2 credit proceeded to Multivariable Calculus and Matrix Algebra and 90% of them achieved a B- or higher.
- Over 100 students with Calculus 1 and Calculus 2 credits proceeded to Introduction to Differential Equations, and 90% of those students received a B- or higher.
- Over 100 students with Physics 1 credit proceeded to Physics 2, and 74% of them achieved a B- or higher.
Bottom line: If you felt confident with the material presented in the course, you may want to move forward in the sequence. From the data above, you can see that many students found success in taking the next course. However, if you found yourself a little overwhelmed with the content, it is perfectly fine to retake the course here at Rensselaer. There is nothing wrong with gaining a deeper understanding of the content by revisiting the material.
Regardless of what you register for, there will be time to adjust your schedule once you are on campus for Student Orientation this summer, and again when you are here in the fall. There is a two week Add/Drop period at the start of the semester. This means that if you wish to switch out of one course and register for another, you will have that option. For example...
- If you earned credit for Calculus 1, but choose to retake Calculus 1 at Rensselaer this fall, only to discover that you are not being challenged enough in the course, you can switch into Calculus 2 during the Add/Drop period.
- Or, if you have earned the credits for Physics 1, and choose to register for the next course in the sequence, Physics 2, only to discover that you want to retake Physics 1 at Rensselaer, you will be able to take a step backwards in the sequence during the Add/Drop period.
You will have to finalize your schedule before the Add/Drop period ends, but there is loads of time between now and then!
Now that we've covered how transfer credits can impact your fall semester, let's talk logistics!
Is there a limit to how many credits you can transfer to Rensselaer? Yes!
- You can apply up to 32 transfer credits total toward your degree at Rensselaer.
- Up to 20 credits can be accepted across AP/IB/Cambridge exams specifically.
- You can apply up to 8 transfer credits to your HASS Core. You will learn more about the HASS Core in Section 5.
We suggest transferring everything possible, even if it goes over the credit limit. Once you have, you can work with your Hub Advisor to decide which courses should be applied towards your degree. Using the equivalency charts above, you are able to see how courses can be applied to your degree in many ways.
Unsure how to transfer all your credits to Rensselaer?
As mentioned in the video, if you received credit from another college while you were a High School student, and these credits were not applied to your High School diploma, you will need to fill out the following form (button below) if you want to transfer these credits to Rensselaer. You will need a guidance counselor or principal from your high school to sign the form to verify that those college credits were 'above and beyond' your High School graduation requirements.
If you took a college course at another college during the summer between high school and your first semester at Rensselaer, you will need to fill out the following form (button below), along with the Incoming Freshman Transfer Credit Procedure/High School Certification Form above.
Important note! There will be plenty of chances to speak with your Hub Advisor if you have any questions about transferring credits to Rensselaer. Never hesitate to reach out! We are here to help.
And finally...
Wondering what other incoming students have transferred to Rensselaer? Check out this cohort-based, major-specific resource!
4. Your Humanities, Arts and Social Science (HASS) Core
Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences - Your General Education!
Turn up the volume or click the CC button! We will explain your requirements in the following video.
During your first year you will take an Interdisciplinary HASS course (IHSS), as mentioned in the video above. You are also required to take one Communication Intensive (CI) HASS course within your first three semesters. When you go to register, you will see which IHSS courses are Communication Intensive. You can also visit the link below for a comprehensive list of courses that meet the Communication Intensive requirements. It is important to think about what pathway you may want when deciding your course options, so make sure to check those out as well!
Questions about HASS courses or the HASS Core itself? Unsure what to register for, or what your AP, IB or other transfer credits will satisfy? You are always invited to reach out to the HASS Hub. Visit their website (button below) for contact information.
Additionally, you can attend a HASS Webinar focused on your HASS Requirements and the Pathways. Find more information by clicking the button below.
How to Register
Now that we've touched upon what classes you should be taking, let's discuss how you will actually register for them. There are 4 main steps in registering for your fall semester courses, and seeing your first college schedule!
- Set up your Student Information System (SIS)
- Find Your Registration Time Ticket
- Create a Mock Schedule in YACS
- Clear your Financial Agreement Hold
- Register for Courses with SIS
This first registration period during July is the only time you will complete Step 1! Once you set up your SIS account, you will be good for each registration in the future. However, you will need to repeat Step 2 through Step 4 each semester, including the removal of your Financial Agreement Hold.
When will you register for your fall classes?
Summer registration for the fall semester will start on July 13th and end on July 22nd. The Registrar's Office will email you a time ticket that will provide you the date and time of when you will register for your fall courses. This information should be emailed to you before registration opens for summer, so keep an eye on your RPI email account!
You can always find more information on the Registrar's website. In future semesters, your time ticket will be based on the number of credits you have earned. You can find more information by clicking the button below!
Throughout the registration process, you can always email The Registrar's Office for support. Their email during your first registration period is: newstudentreg@rpi.edu
Step 1) Set up your Student Information System (SIS)
You will be given your Rensselaer Identification Number (RIN) from the Office of First Year Experience (FYE) ~6 days after you submit your deposit. In other words, you will have this number well before it is time for you to register for your fall courses. You will always use your RIN to log into the Student Information System (SIS).
The first time you log into SIS, you will use your birthday as the password (MMDDYY), and you will be immediately prompted to change your password. Keep all this information in a safe place!
If you have any issues logging into your SIS account, you can always contact Rensselaer's Registrar's Office. They will help you out! Email: newstudentreg@rpi.edu
Important note: Faculty and staff will commonly ask for your RIN, so always have this identification number on hand. It's useful to include in your emails to professionals on campus so we are able to quickly pull up your information.
Step 2) Find Your Registration Time Ticket
As mentioned, registration for the fall 2020 semester will start on July 13th and end on July 22nd. How do you know exactly what time you are supposed to register for your classes? The Registrar's Office will assign you a Time Ticket for your personal registration period.
SoE Hub Pro-Tip! The second your registration period begins (based on your Time Ticket) you should register for courses! During registration, hundreds of Rensselaer students are given access to register for their courses at the start of each hour. By delaying your personal registration you might miss the sections and courses you want to register for. Most first year students are planning to take the same courses, such as calculus and HASS. Do not wait to register for your courses, register immediately!
How do you find your Time Ticket?
Once you log into SIS, first select the Student Menu option, then View My Registration Status. Your time ticket is in United States Eastern Standard Time (EST) and is displayed in military/24 hour time. You may register any time after your assigned time slot during the registration period.
Special note: If you are unfamiliar with military time representation, times of 0000-1200 are equivalent to AM times. For times between 1201 and 2359, subtract 12 to get the equivalent PM time - for example a time of 1600 equates to 4:00 pm, a time of 1930 equates to 7:30 pm).
Be sure that you check your SIS account during the week of July 6th to find your Time Ticket information. Once you see the day/time that you will be registering for courses, put a notification on your calendar and block that time from other events.
If you know that you may have trouble accessing your SIS account to register for courses at the day/time listed on your Time Ticket, you may reach out to your Hub Advisor for support. Registering for your fall 2020 courses should be made a priority!
In future semesters, your time ticket will be based on the number of credits you have earned. You can find more information on Time Tickets by clicking the button below!
Step 3) Create a Mock Schedule in YACS
CRN = Course Registration Number
Turn up the volume or click the CC button! We will walk you through this crucial tool.
Important Note! YACS pulls all course information from SIS; however, there is a delay in the information being transferred from SIS to YACS. This means that the number of seats shown in YACS is most likely inaccurate when registration is open as changes are occurring every second to the number of available seats. YACS is unable to keep up! Always confirm the number of seats left through SIS so you are not surprised if a section is closed. It's important to always have a Plan A, Plan B, and maybe even a Plan C when you are registering for courses. Our advice is to have SIS and YACS open at the same time, even side-by-side, when you are registering for courses (see image below).
Step 4) Clear Financial Agreement Hold
You will have to remove your Financial Agreement Hold every semester before you are able to register for course.
What are holds? Holds are Rensselaer's way of keeping you on track. If you have requirements from the Bursar, Registrar, Health Center, or other offices on campus that have not been fulfilled, you will have a hold on your account. Holds will prevent you from registering for courses once you are on campus. You should check SIS regularly for holds, especially in the weeks leading up to your future registration time tickets.
Step 5) Register for Courses with SIS
SIS = Student Information System
Turn up the volume or click the CC button! We will walk you through how to register for courses with SIS.
Registration Guide Video Chats
Continued support from The School of Engineering Advising Hub, and your Hub Advisor!
The SoE Hub will host important, major-specific, 45-minute registration video chats from June 22nd to July 9th. Cara Leath, your advisor, will walk through the Materials Engineering Major Template and your fall semester registration. Attending one of these video chats is highly suggested!
She will review...
- What courses you should take this fall
- Resources to inform your decisions
- The tools you will use to register: SIS and YACS
- And, she will leave time to answer all your questions!
Make sure you have the following worksheet (button below) ready to use for the webinar! Either print it out, or be able to edit it on your computer. It will become your personalized guide when you sit down to register.
What dates and times will the video chats happen? Check out the schedule in the link below! This link will also be made accessible on our webpage.
Useful Resources!
In this section, we have collected a few resources that will support you with registration at Rensselaer...
Learn more about the SoE First-Year Advising Hub...
And remember, you can always reach out to your SoE Hub Advisor!
Cara Leath | natalc2@rpi.edu
Don't forget! If you reach out to your SoE Hub Advisor, you should include your full name and RIN #.
School of Engineering First-Year Advising Hub
3306 Ansell Lounge, Jonsson Engineering Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
All photos within this Registration Guide were taken on Rensselaer campus by SoE Hub Advisor Kristin Bergene, during her lunch time walks. We hope you enjoyed a brief look at how gorgeous campus. We certainly do not take it for granted!