May/June
Williams begins its registration as a preregistration demand process.  First-year enrollment requests are recorded without checking enrollment caps or prerequisites.   Schedules are not firmly fixed during preregistration.  Part of the First Days schedule in early September is devoted to placement exams and academic advising.  We expect that most first-year students will make changes in their schedules once drop/add begins. 

July thru early August
Online registration will re-open July 13 and you will receive more information by e-mail from the Registrar’s Office.  Limited enrollment courses are reviewed.  If a course has overenrolled, instructors review the class list and trim the enrollment down according to priorities for each course.  Any student dropped is notified by e-mail and can select another class from those still open.  If you are dropped from a course, you should not feel obligated to choose another right away.  It is fine to wait until First Days to gather more information about available courses.

Late July thru mid August
Course requests are reviewed against any Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or college course work taken while in high school.  We may change your course registration according to placement guidelines and you may wish to change your registration if you submitted your course requests before receiving placement test results.

Late August
Enrollments in multi-sectioned courses are balanced.  This process may assign your registration to another section that fits your schedule, but will keep your registration in the course.  Williams uses this process to accommodate as many course requests as possible.

First Days/Early September
During First Days, a number of departments give placement exams.  Exam results will be available before drop/add opens for first-year students.  You may need to change your registration as a result of any placement exams you take.  Also during First Days, academic departments are available to meet with first-year students and discuss course offerings.

Drop/Add in Early September
Drop/Add is the last opportunity to settle in to the courses you will take for the semester.  First-year students meet with their assigned Academic Advisors early on Wednesday, September 9, discuss any placement results and review course selections.  After this meeting, students can make registration changes.  More details on how to proceed through the drop/add process will be included in information available during First Days.

Spring Semester
Preregistration for Spring Semester takes place in early November.