Building Your Schedule

Creating your first class schedule takes some research. We provide you steps to take along with the resources you can use to simplify this process.

Research your options before you attend your small group virtual advising session. If you follow the steps below, you’ll be ready.

FYAR Steps

  1. Complete Elon Bound, your online pre-orientation experience that introduces you to your new community, academic and social opportunities, and more. Elon Bound will come available in early May. You must complete Elon Bound in order to take the next step!
  2. Once Elon Bound is completed, you will have the opportunity to sign up for a small group virtual advising session. Be on the lookout in your Admissions Acorn account and check your email for information to sign up for a session.
  3. Research classes of interest. We provide a list of classes based on categories in the Elon Core Curriculum as well as Intro to Major classes outside of the Core. Review these and note ones that seem interesting to YOU!
  4. Complete the small group virtual advising sign-up form. You will need to answer some questions based on classes of interest, your current major of interest, potential incoming college credit, and a couple more quick questions. This will help your session advisor when you meet.
  5. Continue to prepare for your small group virtual advising session. Use the Guidebooks, Course Lists, and OnTrack Videos (see next) to evaluate your TOP TEN list of classes of interest. If you don’t have 10, then you don’t have enough options as some classes are high demand and will fill quickly.
  6. Use our How to Use OnTrack playlist on YouTube. We provide short videos showing different ways to search for classes, how to plan times for classes, and how to check which classes are required for certain majors and how to plan them.
  7. Check OnTrack to learn when your ELN 1010: First-Year Advising Seminar (required) and either your COR or ENG 1100 (required) class will be. These are preregistered for you. Many are based on a scholarship, living-learning community, academic major, etc. so we do not allow students to change these classes. Be prepared to build your schedule around these courses.
  8. Add courses of interest to OnTrack! Make sure you add classes only for your first semester. For example, if you are starting at Elon in August 2025, then your first semester is fall 2025.
  9. Participate in ONE 60 minute virtual advising session. This does not mean you simply attend. This is about your schedule so you are expected to actively participate and advocate for your interests so we can help you build a purposeful schedule. For most students, their virtual advising session will include a brief group conversation followed by 1:1 meetings with the session advisor. The schedule will be completed during this session. You do not need to attend multiple virtual advising sessions.

Course Selection Resources

Use the left navigation to use the additional resources. We provide course recommendations by intro classes and Elon Core Curriculum, guidebooks, tutorials, and more.