Step #1: Search and Bookmark Courses
Please review course descriptions carefully. There may be some courses that restrict registration by degree program or class level.
Pre or Corequisites:
All students must meet course prerequisites. If you seek a waiver of a prerequisite, you must obtain approval in writing from the instructor. (Use the JD or LLM form available online.)
Note: Prerequisite waivers for courses must be filed each semester, in each year of study at the Law School.
Mutually Exclusive Courses:
Check course descriptions to see whether courses are mutually exclusive with other courses. Aside from the course descriptions that you can view via COURSES, we have several other tools to help you assess classes.
Faculty Profiles
Faculty Profiles are available for viewing.
Course Evaluations
Course Evaluations are available for spring 2005 through fall 2009 classes. Beginning with fall 2008 evaluations you will be able to see statistical information as well as course evaluation comments.
Grade Distributions
Grade Distributions for previously taught classes are available for viewing.
NOTE: Do not bookmark clinics, the spring semester of a year long class or writing credits.
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CLINICS: JD students accepted into clinics have been pre-registered. You may not drop the clinic from your schedule without permission of the clinic.
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Spring semester of a year long class will be restricted during the bidding period. You must obtain a seat in the fall class and the Records office will register you for the spring portion.
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WRITING CREDITS: You cannot add a Writing Credit or Directed Research during the bidding period. You will be allowed to register for the Writing Credit during the add/drop period. At that time, you can bid zero points on it if you successfully obtain a seat in the course or seminar.
Step #2: Bid on Bookmarked Classes
It is hard to say exactly how much you should bid on any particular class. The clearing price for a class this year may be different from clearing price last year. A list of clearing prices for popular classes that closed in previous years during the bidding cycles is availble for viewing.
It is most likely that a class that has been historically popular will continue to be popular. The most difficult courses to get into are those offering a writing credit, other seminars, courses offered by Stern for preferential cross registration, and required or very popular courses such as Constitutional Law, Professional Responsibility, Corporations, and Evidence.
Keep in mind that bidding all your points on one course does not guarantee enrollment, since many other students may have bid for the course in the same way. Popular basic courses, however, have multiple sections in each academic year.
If you attempt to register for a spring section, but do not get in because it is closed, do register for a fall section.
If you take the risk that you ‘might’ get into a closed spring course section during December/January add/drop and are not able to, no special accommodation will be made.
If you get into your primary selection for a bid amount, you will not be considered for the alternate selections of the same bid amount. If you DO NOT get into your primary selection for a bid amount, you will be considered for your first alternate selection of the same bid amount. If you get into your first alternate, you will not be considered for the second alternate.
Although you have an unlimited number of bids, you are not required to enter a course selection in every space.
Step #3: Designate Seminars/Courses for Satisfaction of the Substantial Writing Requirement(For JD Students only)
During the bidding period you may indicate whether you intend to fulfill your Substantial Writing Requirement with some of the seminars/courses you requested. A Substantial Writing Requirement is typically fulfilled with a seminar's Writing Credit, or with a two credit Directed Research.
Please select the "Substantial Writing" option. If "Substantial Writing" is chosen, your selection will be given a higher priority than a student who has not so designated the seminar/course or for a student who has already fulfilled the Substantial Writing requirement. If you select Substantial Writing, all primary and alternate selections for the same bid amount must all exercise the Substantial Writing option. Similarly, if you do not select the Substantial Writing option for a bid amount, no courses in the same bid amount may exercise the Substantial Writing option. If you have completed your substantial writing requirement in a previous semester, selecting “Substantial Writing” will have no effect on your bidding results.
NOTE: A limited number of seminars may restrict the number of students that may write a substantial paper in the seminar. i.e., not all students that win a seat in the seminar will be able to satisfy substantial writing. Please check courses descriptions and take this into account when bidding. If you win a seat in the seminar remember that you must separately add the writing credit during the add/drop period.
Step #4: Submit your bid requests
You do not have to rush to enter, finalize and submit your bids on the first day that COURSES becomes available. The bidding period is approximately four weeks long and you can enter and adjust your bids or add/drop requests until the times listed in the Registration Calendar.
Step #5 Review your bidding or add/drop results
To access your results on the COURSES home page click on the “Bidding Results” link. You will see green and red shading. Green shading indicates the courses you have won and red shading indicates the courses that you did not win.