Preparing for the Fall

How spending time now can help prepare for your future studies.

The process of understanding and registering for your university courses can be both daunting and stressful, but always remember that planning ahead and asking questions throughout the process is key! Here are a few tips to help new, incoming students.

Plan ahead

In order to plan ahead and be prepared to choose your university courses, understanding the Undergraduate Program Calendar is crucial. The purpose of this Calendar is to display both required and elective courses that you will need to take in order to meet your program requirements.

Connecting with your academic advisors

Once you’ve familiarised yourself with the Undergraduate Calendar, your next move should be connecting with your program’s academic advisors. You’ll typically have the option of emailing your program’s academic advisor, or booking an appointment with them. Your Advisor is the best resource to ask questions to and clear any concerns you may have about your upcoming course load, or even how to pursue a specific career.

Planning for your courses

Now comes the step of registering for your courses! While doing so, take into consideration which hours during the day you are the most productive. If you’re an early bird or a night owl, you’ll have a better feel for if you want most of your courses to take place early in the morning, or later at night.

You’ll also need to take into consideration any extracurricular activities or jobs that you may be involved in. At Brock University, you can visit our timetable website ahead of time to see course offerings, timing, and availability for other course components (labs, seminars, and tutorials). This way, you’ll have a rough idea of how to plan your schedule before course registration officially opens.

Additional resources to help you hit the ground running

Smart Start

Take part in Brock’s one-day summer academic orientation program in July and August. Here, you can have your course registration be reviewed, meet other first-year students, learn more about financial aid and academic supports, tour our campus, familiarize yourself with classrooms and students spaces, and more! You’ll leave feeling confident and prepared for your first day of classes in the fall.

BU101

BU101 is a free, non-credit online program you can complete at your own pace to help you prepare for your courses at Brock. With BU101, you'll get an introduction to Brightspace and learn important skills for scheduling, note-taking, attending lectures, studying, researching, and writing. You'll also get a preview of a course syllabus and sample lectures from several Brock professors! This program will also help you with: planning and scheduling, tech skills and assignments, note taking, academic integrity, academic writing, science prep and lab reports, computation and stats, and research and referencing.

Though it may seem like a lot of work now, it’s best to set yourself up for success by exploring the wide variety of helpful resources available to you as a new student, and to help plan a course schedule that works best for you!