Please review course descriptions carefully. There may be some courses that restrict registration by degree program or class level.
Co- or Prerequisites:
All students must meet course prerequisites. Students will be dropped from a course if the co- or prerequisite is not met (see the Registration Calendar for dates). 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 and Course Evaluations: Course Evaluations are available online for spring 2005 through the present classes. Beginning with fall 2008 evaluations you will be able to see statistical information as well as course evaluation comments.
- Grade Distributions for previously taught classes
NOTE: Do not bid on clinics or the spring semester of a year-long class.
- Clinics: JD and LLM students accepted into clinics have been pre-registered. You may not drop the clinic from your schedule without permission of the clinic.
- 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 Office of Records and Registration will register you for the spring portion.
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. Please see the following link for a list of clearing prices for popular classes that closed in previous years.
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, simulations, 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 November-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. If you wish to still be considered for a course within a specific round even if you win your primary/alternate selection you must place multiple primary bids for the course as the system will not place you on a waitlist if you win any course along the same bid line. E.g., You bid 1000 points for Course A; with an alternate of Course B. Course A is closed and you win a seat in Course B. You will not be placed on the waitlist for Course A if a seat opens up.
Although you have an unlimited number of bids, you are not required to enter a course selection in every space.