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Preparing for an Advising Appointment
Course Planning and Registration
How to Register for Classes

Preparing for an Advising Appointment

All CAS students must meet with an academic advisor before registering for the following semester’s classes. These tips and guidelines will help you prepare for your advising appointment and registration time.

  • Locate your advisor’s name and contact information on the Student Link, under Academics, and then under Academic Advising. If no advisor is listed, please contact CAS Advising at casadv@bu.edu.
  • Check for any emails from your advisor, which may contain instructions on how to make an appointment with them.
  • Review your general education requirements by checking your Degree Advice Report.
  • Be aware of where you stand with your Second Language Requirement.
  • Look over the Major requirements of any major you may want to explore! If you are Undeclared and have chosen not to declare a major yet, you may want to look through the Major Requirements to see prerequisites or introductory courses that would fit your interests.
  • Make a list of any courses that interest you, and bring that to your appointment.
  • Students are expected to proceed at the rate of 16-18 credits per semester, unless otherwise approved. You should plan to register for four academic courses for your next semester, plus any PDP or CAS FY courses for personal enjoyment.
  • A total of 128 credits is required in order to graduate. This amounts to 16 credits per semester, every semester, for four years. If you dropped a class and completed fewer than 16 credits in one semester, ask your advisor about overloading to 20 credits or taking summer courses to make up that credit.

Course Planning & Registration

You will need to meet with your advisor before you can register for classes. At your advising appointment, your advisor will give you an advising code for registration. Enter this six-digit code on bu.edu/studentlink under Registration, and then Reg Options for the next semester. The Student Link will remember your advising code and your account will automatically unlock at your registration time.

Use the course planner to build your schedule on the Student Link. The planner does not reserve seats in classes, but will make the registration process easier. Make sure to add all required components of classes (lecture, discussion, lab, pre-lab) if needed. At your registration time, you can quickly add what is in your planner, provided seats are still available. You may need to make some adjustments from there, but you will have expedited the registration process!

Click here for instructions on how to use the planner.

Make sure you meet all of the requirements for registration and are in compliance with the University here.

Helpful Hints for Registration:

  1. The button labeled “Continue Search From” at the bottom of the screen when searching for a course means there’s more courses on the next page.
  2. To keep track of what you have already registered for (times, days, etc.) it’s helpful to open another tab. Go to the StudentLink again and click on Academics, then Registration, then Reg Options for the next semester, then Graph. You’ll be able to see your courses in time blocks. Each time you add a class, refresh the Graph page.
  3. Some classes have special registration instructions. These instructions are noted with a blue pushpin icon in the Add Classes Display (Registration, Reg Options for the next semester, Register for Class, then input your course and select Go to view the Add Classes Display).

How to Register for Classes

  • Registration is accessed through the Student Link Home Page: www.bu.edu/studentlink
  • Click on Academics
  • Click on Registration
  • Type in you BU login name and Kerberos password
  • Click on Continue
  • Click on Reg Options underneath the semester for which you are registering
  • Enter your six-digit Academic Advising Code where it asks for “AAC.” (You will need to see your advisor to get this code.)
  • Click on Unlock
  • Click on Register for Class
  • Enter your course selections by College/Department/Course and click on Go
    • If you planned courses in your Planner, simply select Go next to “Search by: Planner” and mark the check boxes by your selected courses.
  • If there are no time conflicts or closed classes, click on Add classes to schedule. Note: Time conflicts, missing components and closed classes will be noted in red in the right hand column.
  • Select the section or sections of the classes you want
  • You will be asked, “Are you sure you want to register for the selected classes?” Click on OK. Your classes will be displayed.
  • To add more classes, click on Reg options and repeat above steps