Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Hello students in the Class of 2029 and new transfer students,

Please do not forget to review important information about Fall 2025 course registration and to prepare for the upcoming course selection period.

Please look over the resources available on your Lyceum Summer Resources page. The section called “Registering for Fall 2025 Courses: Exploring the Liberal Arts and Academic Opportunities” includes information on course registration, much of which is summarized in this email.

This section of your Summer Resources describes in detail when and how to register for your Fall 2025 classes. It also includes information on what courses you might consider taking by providing information on your general education requirements, placement tests for language, math, and chemistry, recommended entry courses for every field of study, and more. 

Some basic information and dates about the course selection process

For information on where and how to register for Fall 2025 courses, please review this instruction page on the Bates Registrar website. You will be required to make the following selections for registration in Garnet Gateway (also accessible at the Quad):

• 1 top-choice First-Year Seminar (FYS) course
• 3 top-choice non-FYS courses
• 8 alternative FYS courses
• 12 alternative non-FYS courses

Registration is NOT first-come, first-served; you will be able to register at any point while registration is open and have the same opportunities for courses. You will be registered for your alternative choices if your top-choices courses are full.

Remember, if you are interested in taking any math or language courses, you should complete the relevant placement tests no later than 5 PM eastern today July 2, 2025.  Information on placement tests is at your Summer Resources Lyceum Page under the “Registering for Fall 2025 Courses” section. You can also access that information here.

If you do not provide all of the information asked for when making course selections, the Registrar may put you in any course appropriate for a first-year student that has open seats.

All of the above information – as well as resources to help you identify your course selections – are at your Lyceum Summer Resources page.

Tuesday, July 1 – On or near this date, you should have received a message to your Bates email from your Summer Registration Consultant with instructions on how to register and how to meet with your Consultant.

Wednesday, July 2 – Last day to take placement tests for mathematics and languages. Information on placement tests is at your Summer Resources Lyceum Page under the “Registering for Fall 2025 Courses” section. You can also access that information here. 

Wednesday, July 9, 2025—Course selection for all Fall 2025 courses (including required First-Year Seminars) opens at 9 AM Eastern. Students will be contacted by their personal course selection consultant on or near July 1, 2025 via email, and they will have an opportunity to meet with their consultant over Zoom, email, or phone. In-coming first-year students are asked to select 1 top choice FYS (and 8 unranked alternatives) and 3 top-choice courses besides FYS (and 12 unranked alternatives). Transfer students should not select first-year seminars. Registration is not first-come/first-served, so students can enter their course selections into Garnet Gateway between 9 AM Eastern on July 9 and 4 PM Eastern on July 23.

Please check out the FYS Explorer as a great resource to explore your FYS options and for a worksheet (on the last page) to help you organize your course selections before you meet with your Summer Registration Consultant.

Wednesday, July 23, 2025 – Fall Course Selection closes and Consultation Period ends at 4 PM Eastern

Friday, August 8, 2025 – Fall course schedules released. Students can only alter these initial schedules when they are at Bates during the add/drop period, which opens on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 at 7 AM. They will have a chance to meet with their pre-major academic advisor/First-Year Seminar (FYS) instructor on Friday, August 29, 2025 from 9 AM to 11 AM.

Thanks for taking the time to read this email and for reviewing your “Registering for Fall 2025 Courses: Exploring the Liberal Arts and Academic Opportunities” materials on your Summer Resources Lyceum page as you prepare for Fall 2025 course registration.

We look forward to working with you throughout the summer and to meeting you in person in late August.

Steve Engel, Professor of Politics and Associate Dean of the Faculty 
Kim Trauceniek, Senior Associate Dean of Students
Nick Dressler, Associate Dean of Students for Residence Life and First-Year Experience
Catie Luedee, Associate Director for Outdoor Education and Programs
Luke Allen ‘22, Coordinator of Campus Life Programming and First-Year Experience