After orientation

After you've completed a CalSO program, you'll be going home with lots of good information. In addition to reading through hand-outs and leafing through your student handbook, Resource (also available online!), here are some important things for you to do before the semester begins.

Sign up for your classes
Check the Bearfacts website
Prepare a move-in checklist
Contact faculty and/or departments for waitlisted courses
Things to do before the semester begins

1. Sign up for your classes
Getting your Adviser Code (AC) and Tele-BEARS Phase I appointment time at CalSO was just the beginning. Now you actually have to sign up. If you’re still not sure what to take, or have a question, don’t hesitate to contact your adviser for further assistance. And, remember, Phase II is just around the corner. That’s when you’ll fill out the rest of your schedule.

You can check for your Phase II appointment on Bearfacts (http://bearfacts.berkeley.edu). You can also check the Registrar’s website for course add/drop deadlines, in case you sign up for a class you might drop later (http://registrar.berkeley.edu).

2. Check the Bearfacts website
You should make a habit of checking the Bearfacts website (http://bearfacts.berkeley.edu). This is where you can update your contact information, check your billing statement, view your course schedule (and see if you’ve been moved from any waiting lists), and review your Financial Aid offer. Updated nightly!

3. Prepare a move-in checklist
If you’re going to be living in the residence halls, consider the following suggestions on what you might want to bring (you can also check the Move-in Day list: http://www.housing.berkeley .edu/Move_in_2009/my_room_sat.html).

A fan for your room
Quarters for laundry
A water filter
Extension cord
Flip flops
Social Security Card and other ID (needed if you plan to get a job)
Umbrella and/or rain jacket
One nice dress-up outfit (for interviews or a night on the town)
Some warm clothes for layering up on cool nights
Medicine, insurance cards, doctors’ numbers, etc.
Driving directions to Berkeley

4. Contact faculty and/or departments for waitlisted courses
If you’re on the waiting list, and you really want the course, don’t be shy about making yourself known to the instructor (and getting more information on how students will be enrolled from the wait list).

5. Things to do before the semester begins
This page is filled with reminders of things to do ahead of time to make your semester go a little easier, from finding a job to registering your bike (it's the law!).