firststeps.htm

Let's assume that you've applied to the MS program in Reading, and we've made the decision to accept you. The first thing you'll know about this is a letter in the mail (yes, mail, not email) congratulating you on being accepted into the program. This letter will confirm the program you've been admitted into, the semester you'll start, and whether you've been admitted to study full-time or part-time.

This letter will ask you to confirm that you are coming into the program, and it's important that you sign and return the enclosed form.

Shortly after you receive our letter, you'll get another one from the Graduate Office. This letter is the official UA acceptance. It gives you:

your UA-ID. This is a number that looks like a Social Security#, but is generated by the University, and is used instead of the SS# for all official transactions. You'll need this ID, so make a note of it.

confirmation of the semester you'll begin your studies (this starts the clock for things like the Statute of Limitations).

The program you are admitted to. Don't misinterpret this--they only mention that you are admitted into the MS Literacy or MS in Early Childhood/Childhood Education (Literacy), which is accurate, but doesn't tell you which specific program you'll be in. Go by our letter here, otherwise you may think that you can choose any track, when in fact you've been admitted to only one of them (see Switching Programs for advice on changing your program after you've been admitted).

Next, you'll receive another letter from IT Services, giving you instructions for establishing an email account, and most importantly, logging into MYUALBANY, which is where you register, and how the University communicates with you. Again, this letter contains important information, including PIN numbers, so don't discard it. We require you to have a working email account; it doesn't have to be your UA email, but it does need to be reliable. After our initial correspondence with you via regular mail, almost everything after that will be via email, so if our emails keep bouncing back, we might insist that you use your UA email account (it's free, and can be set up to forward mail to another account).

Finally, after you've confirmed you are coming into the program, you'll receive another letter from us giving you the name of your advisor, your AVN# (that's the Advisement Verification Number, so you can register for open-enrollment courses), and information on getting started in the program. When you get this letter, act on it immediately because you need to get into courses, and students already here have had a head start on registration. Be sure to contact Linda Papa (LPapa@albany.edu) if you are coming in as a full-time student, because it's necessary to get you into four courses in your first semester.

And a couple more things to think about. Don't neglect to have official transcripts forwarded from your undergraduate or graduate colleges. UA puts a hold on students for whom these haven't been submitted. Also, those pesky health forms they asked you for (if you are taking on campus courses)-- forgetting those also produces holds. Holds prevent you from registering for courses. (They also show up on your MYUALBANY page, so you'll know they are there). And don't forget that parking on campus requires registering your car. Do that via mail as soon as you receive the forms, because waiting in line on the first day you come to campus will leave you wishing you had taken this advice. And yes, they do ticket, every day of the year....

Last Updated: September 22, 2005