First-Year Advising & Registration

CONFIRM Your Wheaton Account

• Start by setting up your Wheaton account.
• Once your Wheaton account has been set up, you will obtain access to the Wheaton Gateway. The Wheaton Gateway is your home page for student account access, campus announcements, resource links, and Banner Self-Service Course Registration. Step 5 will direct you on how to use Banner Self-Service to register for your classes.
• Set up your Wheaton email. More information about setting up your Wheaton email account can be found HERE.
• Important Note: Please use your Wheaton email account when communicating with our office. Academic advising will not respond to emails from personal email accounts. If you need help setting up your Wheaton email account, please contact Academic and Institutional Technology (AIT): AIT.Service.Desk@wheaton.edu or call (630) 752-4357. The AIT Service Desk is the first place to go whenever you encounter technical issues with your Wheaton account.

The office of academic advising is unable to assist with technical questions. For AIT related inquiries, please visit here.

REQUEST Your Transcripts

Wheaton College requires your final high school transcript as part of your admissions record. Please have your final transcript sent directly to admissions@wheaton.edu. The transcript, which must have an official seal and/or signature, must come directly to Wheaton Undergraduate Admissions from your school. It must show satisfactory completion of all coursework, final class rank (if available), grades for your senior year, and the date of graduation.

We also need any transcripts or score reports that may earn you credit at Wheaton. Below, you will find a list of the types of credit we accept and where to send those transcripts or score reports:

• Advanced Credit by Testing 2024-2025: Request through CollegeBoard.org. The code for Wheaton College is 1905.
• IB Testing Transfer Chart 2024-2025: Request for your results to be sent to Wheaton College (IL).
• Cambridge Level A or AS exams: Email the centre number, candidate number, and date of test to academic.advising@wheaton.edu so our office can access your scores.
• Request any college transcripts: Have transcripts sent directly to admissions@wheaton.edu. (Hint: visit the Office of the Registrar website at the college you attended to find information about how to request a transcript.)
• If you have other types of credit: Please reach out to academic.advising@wheaton.edu. We will work with you to have the credit sent to Wheaton College.

For detailed explanation on transferring credit, including an articulation chart for Advanced Placement & International Baccalaureate, please click on the links above. Please note: We will process the transcripts and score reports in the order they are received. Wheaton receives transcripts beginning in mid-May. It may take up to a month before you see your transcripts displayed in Degree Works.

COMPLETE the Pre-registration Questionnaire

The pre-registration questionnaire will appear as a new checklist item in your admissions portal on the first weekday in June. This questionnaire gathers information about your academic interests and keeps track of transcripts you send to Wheaton (See Step 2). While you will be asked in the questionnaire about what major you are considering, you will not declare your major at this time. The questionnaire helps assign you a faculty advisor in your current area of interest. Faculty advisors are not available to speak or email with you until August. 

After you complete the questionnaire, a registration time ticket will be issued to you. The registration time ticket is a digital time stamp indicating the time and date that you will be allowed to start registering for classes. There will be a detailed explanation of the registration time ticket in Step 5.

ATTEND the Mandatory Academic Advising Webinars 

The Office of Admissions emails first-year students with dates to attend the mandatory academic advising sessions (usually held in April or May). All first-year students must attend these meetings; parents cannot attend in your place. These sessions will cover:

• The Christ at the Core (CATC) general education curriculum
• How to complete your core competencies
• How to use major academic plans (MAPs) to schedule classes to complete your degree
• How to use Degree Works to track your progress and see requirements for majors, minors, certificates, and endorsements. 

These videos will also be posted in your Enrollment Checklist on your Admitted Student Portal.

You can also always make an appointment with an academic advisor after June 1st through this Appointment Link. Appointments are not required to register. In an effort to transition you to comply with FERPA regulations, we ask that you, the student, make this appointment and speak with one of our advisors one-on-one. Please note that scheduling fills up quickly, and the Academic Advising Office will have very little capacity to offer a meeting in July. Secure your appointment early.

Important Note: You must use your Wheaton email and password to login for appointment (See Step 1). If you have trouble, contact AIT.Service.Desk@wheaton.edu or call (630) 752-4357.

After you attend the mandatory advising sessions, you can prepare to register by taking the language placement tests and/or the calculus readiness assessment.

Please make sure you have gone through Steps 1 through 5 before attempting to follow the directions below. A time-ticket is required to register. Completing the pre-registration questionnaire in Step 3 issues your time ticket.

SELECT Your Classes

Locate your registration time ticket to determine when you can start registration. To locate your time ticket:

• Login to gateway.wheaton.edu
• Under Banner Student Services box. 
• Within that folder, choose, "Registration Dashboard." Click on that link.
• Then, on the next page, choose: "Prepare for Registration." Your time will be in the information section in the middle of the page. 

As you prepare for registration, take a look at the resources below. These different resources will aid you in determining which courses you need for Christ at the Core General Education Requirements.

If you are not sure what courses to take for your major in the first year, consult the Major Academic Plans (MAPs) for recommended courses.

Important Note: All first-year students are REQUIRED to register for CORE 101 First Year Seminar.

• • Sample of CORE 101 Sections (Please note, not all of these sections will be offered every fall. Please see the planning portion of the Registration Dashboard to view what will be available.)
  • General Education Requirements: Christ at the Core (CATC)
  • Major Requirements:
    Review the Major Academic Plans (MAPs) page for your major of interest. The MAPs outline the recommended sequence of courses for each major and suggestions on how to fit in the CATC general education requirements. You can learn more about each major by visiting the link to the department website as indicated on the MAPs page.
  • Schedule Template: Use a schedule template to organize your course schedule. You will want to register for 12-18 credit hours per semester. (We recommend 15-17 for first year students. Remember, Passage is CORE 131 and counts for 1 credit.) Don't forget a block to eat lunch! The cafeteria is usually open for lunch from 11am-1:30pm during the weekdays.
  • Placement tests may be required and competency exams are available for a few subjects.
    
    • Language Competency - Watch this video covering the Language Competency.
    • Speech Competency
    • Calculus Readiness Assessment for students who are registering for Calculus I.

Now you're ready to watch the video on how to use Banner Self-Service to register for your classes. (New video with Gateway coming soon.)