Incoming Students
Welcome to Tulane!
Your first year at Tulane will be an exciting time full of new friends and new learning experiences. The Newcomb-Tulane College Advising team is here to is here to support all Newcomb-Tulane College students in a holistic approach to academic, career, and personal success. Every Newcomb-Tulane College student has a dedicated team of advisors available for one-on-one meetings to discuss academic and career interests and plans throughout their undergraduate career.
By utilizing a personalized team of advisors, you will have an opportunity to:
- Explore and choose majors and minors
- Develop academic plans
- Cultivate career strategies
- Investigate pre-health and pre-law tracks
- Connect with faculty and major advisors
As you get acquainted with our office, all incoming freshman students will work with our First Year Advising team throughout their first year at Tulane. Specific advisors will be assigned to first-year students by August 1st. Until then, you may gain support from any advisor on our team. We ask that all students complete the May modules, review College Advising emails and requested checklists, and schedule registration meeting once directed to do so at the end of May. We encourage you to wait to request individual advising appointments until after your summer advising meeting.
Registering for Your First Semester
Please review the information below to learn about the process for class registration. Your experience may differ depending on your exact student population (First-Time Freshmen, Top Scholar, 2025 Spring Scholar, Transfer Student, or Student Athlete).
- Note about Advising Holds: If you see an Advising Hold in Gibson, no need to worry. The hold will be lifted when you meet with Advising to submit your first semester schedule. We require attendance at a summer advising session before schedule changes are allowed.
For more information, please click the topic below that best describes you.
Class scheduling happens during the summer. In May, you will start your first New Student Orientation Module. In this online course, there is a module dedicated to College Advising. It provides information on the undergraduate registration Process at Tulane. There are tasks that must be completed by the end of May to ensure a schedule closely aligned with your academic goals. During the first week of June, all students who have completed the tasks in the May module will be invited to sign up for summer advising sessions. Summer advising sessions will occur between June 10th and July 12th.
All advising holds will be lifted on July 14, 2024, after Summer Registration.
Top Scholar students will either register in March following admission’s Top Scholars weekend event, or at the end of May following the May 1 deposit deadline. Any Top Scholars that have not registered for fall semester and have commited to attending Tulane this fall will receive outreach from us at the beginning of May regarding May registration options. To prepare, complete all the items on the following checklist by May 18, 2024: (https://advising.tulane.edu/top_scholars_checklist)
In May, you will complete your first New Student Orientation Module. The May module includes a section dedicated to College Advising at Tulane. It provides information and steps you must complete related to registration at Tulane. The May modules will review degree requirements, major options, and scheduling goals for the your first semester at Tulane. You will complete your first course registration with a Tulane College Advisor in late October 2024.
The Office of First-Year Experience will be offering summer webinars to support planning for fall programming outside of Tulane (i.e. study abroad or domestic transfer courses) that you are considering. All 2025 Spring Scholars that have completed the tasks in the May module will be given instructions on how to access these webinars. For helpful information, please visit the Spring Scholars Admissions FAQ, https://admission.tulane.edu/spring-scholars/faqs.
Your exact timeline varies depending on when you deposit. Your exact course selection depends largely on how your credits are evaluated and transferred to Tulane. Once deposited, it is really important to get your transfer courses evaluated. The process and policies surrounding transfer credit can be found here: https://admission.tulane.edu/transfer/credit. Other important information can be found in the Guide for Admitted Transfer Students: https://admission.tulane.edu/transfer/admitted-guide.
.
Student Athletes at Tulane are registered through academic advisors in the Don and Laura Peters Academic Center, a support service offered through Tulane Athletics. Check your Tulane email for additional information. College Advising will connect with you about support during your first year in August.
Undergraduate international students in F-1 status are required to register for and attend a full course load of classes each fall and spring semester until they complete your academic program. Per federal regulations, undergraduate students must take a minimum of 12 credit hours while school is in session, which in the case of Tulane University means the main academic year, including both fall and spring semesters.
Some exceptions exist to these minimums and are listed on the Underenrollment Status Report, but you must get signed approval from your academic advisor and submit this form to the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) before you drop below full enrollment.
Additionally, undergraduate international students cannot take more than 3 credit hours of their required minimum credits in online classes. For example, an undergraduate student must take 12 credit hours, so they may take 3 credit hours of online classes but must take 9 credit hours of in-person classes. Any classes beyond the required minimum may be taken online.
If you have any questions about maintaining your immigration status, please visit this page, https://oiss.tulane.edu/maintaining-your-f-1-status, or reach out to OISS at oiss@tulane.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions
First, check your Tulane email daily. The First-Year Experience team in Newcomb-Tulane College (NTC) has already sent you information regarding your May New Student Orientation Module. Here, you will find an entire section dedicated to College Advising. We provide information on who we are, list tasks that need to be completed for accurate pre-registration, and detail degree requirements, major options, and scheduling goals for the Fall.
In the beginning of June, all students who complete the advising tasks outlined in the module will be sent email instructions on how to sign up for one of our summer advising sessions in June and July.
Your registration process may differ depending on your exact student population (First-Year Student, Top Scholar, 2025 Spring Scholar, Transfer Student, or Student Athlete). Please review registration timelines on our Incoming Students website if you are a Top Scholar, Transfer Student, or Student Athlete. 2025 Spring Scholars will receive outreach in fall to prepare for spring registration.
All first-time undergraduates will be pre-registered for some courses at the beginning of June. For more timeline and specifics about pre-registration, review this Pre-Registration Website.
After pre-registration, students will sign up for a virtual advising session to be held between June 10th and July 13th. During that meeting, you will finalize your registration for your first semester at Tulane.
All incoming first-year students will work with our First Year Advising team during your first year at Tulane. For your summer advising session, you will meet in small groups with two staff advisors for registration review and advising support. This advisor may not be your assigned fall advisor, but they will be an important summer resource to you until specific advisors are assigned.
Advisor assignments for all students will be made by August 1st.
While you may have seen a note that says, “Your registration time is open on June 1 for Fall 2024,” you will also notice there is an “Advisor Reg Hold.” After pre-registration, we do not want you to make any changes to your schedule until you meet with us.
On the day of your scheduled summer advising session, we will lift the registration hold so that you can actively make changes or additions. You will have 72 hours to make changes. After that, the hold will be reinstated until July 14th when all advising holds will be lifted for the remainder of the summer.
Students may add up to three (3) waitlisted classes to their schedules. Placement on the waitlist is visible on the register add/drop tab of the Class Schedule, but do not count towards your currently enrolled credits. When a student gets off the waitlist, they will receive an automated message from the Registrar that they have gotten off the waitlist and have 48 hours to add the class.
If your registration is open for changes, you may go to the Register Add/Drop page fo the Class Schedule and submit registration for the new course. Please check the Current Schedule tab to ensure the add was complete.
If your registration is not currently open for changes, you may contact advising@tulane.edu for support or complete a registrar support ticket. Regardless of who you contact, please include the course ID and CRN to be added and list any courses that need to be dropped. Watch for time conflicts and credits over 19 maximums.
Our staff will be available for Virtual Advising support from 3:00-5:00PM Central Time Monday through Friday until July 12th. Please feel free to drop in for support on a first come, first serve basis to make schedule tweaks, problem solve, or get clarity on your burning questions!
