Welcome to UMBC! We are excited to welcome our incoming class of students! This year’s orientation may look a little different but we are working hard to provide all incoming students all the resources and tools for a successful start to the Fall semester.
The goal of Orientation Advising is to Register incoming students for their first semester of coursework at UMBC. We will introduce you to your academic pathway, registration tools, and provide important information on major expectations.
In order to make your advising session the most productive please read over the following information carefully.
What Should I do before my Advising Session?
- Look over the Academic Pathway for your intended major. The academic pathway includes all major and general education course requirements. This is your “roadmap” to your degree. Your particular path may look different due to math or foreign language placement, AP/IB/CLEP test credit, or transfer courses.
- Review the gateway and course repeat policy for your intended major. Computer Science, Information Systems, and all Engineering majors have specific grade requirements for particular classes and rules about how often courses can be repeated. You may be taking gateway courses your first semester! Please familiarize yourself with these rules.
- Take your Math Placement Test, if you haven’t yet done so. Computer Science and Engineering majors are math dependent- meaning you won’t be able to take any major related coursework without the appropriate math placement. AP scores from Senior year have not yet been reported so do NOT count on 2020 scores for math/ major course registration. When in doubt take the Math Placement Test!
What should I have at my Orientation Session?
- You will need to sign onto your MyUMBC account in order to register for classes. Make sure you have upgraded to a full MyUMBC account and have your username and password ready.
- If you have AP scores from previous years please be ready to sign on to your College Board account in order to show them to your Orientation Advisor. UMBC will need an official score report from the College Board to provide you credit for courses, but being able to access the scores may assist us with Fall course registration. Spring 2020 AP scores are not yet available, and we will not be able to use those tests for scheduling purposes.
- If you have transfer credit from another institution, or are enrolled in Summer 2020 college coursework, please be ready to sign on to that institution’s website to access an unofficial transcript. Spring 2020 grades may not yet have been received or processed by UMBC. We will need the official transcripts to provide credit, but having access to the grades may assist us with Fall course registration.
What should I do after my Orientation Session?
- If you have any questions, concerns, or want to make any schedule adjustments please contact a College of Engineering and Information Technology Advisor!