In mid-May, students will receive an email from their First Year Advisor inviting them to register for a First Year Fall Registration Webinar. In this all-encompassing webinar, you'll learn about your first semester courses, degree requirements, how to plan your courses, and how course registration happens. You only need to register and attend one webinar. 

Additionally, First Year Advisors will be giving students feedback throughout the registration period. Students can email their assigned advisor or make an appointment with them.

For more information on the Registration Webinar and how to choose courses, please see the First-Year Course Registration page. 

If students are Undecided, that is okay! This first year is about exploring an intended major through the AU Core Curriculum. Students will work with their First Year Advisor to explore interests and complete first year AU Core Requirements (AUx, Complex Problems, Written Communication and Information Literacy I, and Quantitative Literacy I).

All first year students will have an intended major in their first academic year. Upon completion, students can officially declare a major, add a minor (if they choose), and add a second major (if they choose).

Students can change intended majors over the summer. After the first semester, students will be able to change intended majors as long as minimum GPA and any other requirements are met for the new intended major. Minimum GPA requirements can be found on individual Major pages under "Academic Programs" in the Course Catalog.

Depending on interests, students should work with their advisor to see if a double major is possible within their ideal time frame and if they should start taking courses in a potential double major in the first year.

No. Students will stay with their first-year advisor regardless of intended major or if they change their intended major throughout the entirety of the first year.

Electives are courses that are not required for intended majors, minors, or part of the AU Core. Electives are an opportunity to take courses to explore other areas of interest that students would otherwise not take as part of their major curriculum while still gaining credits towards the 120 credits minimum needed to graduate.

A waitlist occurs when a course is full and appears as a yellow box with a red outline on the Student Planner in Eagle Service. Seats open up to students on the waitlist when another student drops. Students on the waitlist eligible to register for a course will receive an email before 8am the morning after the seat is available. Students have until 5:59am the day after this email was sent to register. Student should check their AU email daily when on a waitlist. Students will have to register by the deadline or the spot will be forfeited. Emails are sent 7 days a week and all deadlines are in EST.

Before students wait list a course, they should always first register for a back-up/ alternate course– “Wait to wait list.” Planning a course without wait listing it does not hold a spot nor are spots guaranteed once someone is on a wait list.

To wait list for a course, click the “Wait List” button in Eagle Service under the course info. Eagle Service shows the total number of wait listed students. Students can check their spot on the wait list on the MyAU Portal under the Academics tab called “Wait Listed Sections” and under the course in the Student Planner in Eagle Service. One can only be on 3 wait lists total and cannot wait list for more than one section of a course. If students are wait listed for a required course, they should consult with their First Year Advisor for appropriate back-up courses.

The AU Core is the curriculum all students will complete over their time at AU with an inquiry-based focus. The required courses are outlined here: https://www.american.edu/provost/undergrad/core/overview.cfm

Students can see the requirements for all majors, minors, and certificates in the "Academic Programs" section of the Course Catalog. Students can check their progress through Eagle Service (under "My Progress" in the Student Planner) and consult with their First Year Advisor if any questions arise.

All students can make changes to their schedule including adding or dropping courses during the add/drop period. The add/drop period is the first 10 business days of the semester. During the add/drop period, students may add or drop courses or change course sections, except when academic unit or teaching unit explicitly prohibits it, without penalty or notice on their transcript. Students should consult with their First Year Advisor prior to adding or dropping a course.

After the add/ drop date, students can withdraw from a course up until the tenth week of the semester. The Academic Calendar outlines specific deadlines and the percentage of a refund one may be eligible for depending on when they withdrew from a course. Students should consult with their First Year Advisor prior to withdrawing from any classes.

Students should expect to take at least 12 credits, which is considered full time student status. We recommend students complete on average 15 credits every semester. This will keep them on track for graduating.

Especially during the first year, we would recommend keeping credit loads between 14.5-16.5 credits.

Once a student exceeds 17.5 credits, the number of credits allocated to have full-time status, students will be charged additional tuition as a result of the credit load. Additionally, the credit overload requires approval, which is rarely granted during the first year. Students should discuss with their First Year Advisor for more information.

Students are only required to take a language at AU if it is required as part of a major or minor or in order to receive credit from an AP language exam with a score of a 5. 

The language course students should take depends on the Language Placement Exam score and intended major. Student who are intended International Studies majors, should discuss with their First Year Advisor if they want to take Hebrew or Korean due to course availability.

If students are starting a NEW language and have no prior experience with the language, they do not need to take the Language Placement Exam– they will start at the Elementary I level of that respective language. Students should communicate this with their First-Year Advisor.

All incoming students to American University, either transfers or first-year students, must take the mathematics placement test, including special programs students (and non-degree students who want to take a math or stat class. Even if you have AP, IB, or transfer credit for a mathematics class from another university, you still must take the placement test). Any student who has not taken the mathematics placement test will not be eligible to register for classes.

You can find the Math Placement Exam as a part of your New Student Checklist. 

For more information about the Student Planner in Eagle Service, please visit the Student Planning page from the Office of the Registrar.

You can also review the Eagle Service 101: Building Your Course Planner.