SOAR FAQs

There are two components to SOAR: Academic Advising & Course Enrollment and Student Life & Transition. The content of the SOAR program is designed to help you have a successful transition as a new Badger based on these themes.

The SOAR program consists of the following:

• Having an individual meeting with an academic advisor
• Enrolling in your Fall courses
• Enrichment content and events focused on student life & transition

Yes, there are fees depending on the number of guests. The cost of the SOAR program for the student will be included in the New Student Fee which will be charged on the student’s first-semester tuition bill. However, each guest that the student decides to bring will cost an additional $25. 

As a first-year student from the United States, you will attend SOAR in-person, you are expected to attend the full day program from 8 AM – 3 PM central time.

You may receive some initial communications to the email you used to apply to UW-Madison. For this reason, we ask students to activate their Wiscmail account (@wisc.edu) once they pay their enrollment deposit. Most information from university offices is sent to this account. To access your Wiscmail account, go to the MyUW homepage and click the Email tile. You can also change your preferred email in your Student Center through MyUW using this step-by-step instruction page. 

If you feel that you are not getting SOAR communications, be sure to do the following:

• Check your SOAR reservation to ensure all emails are correct (e.g. no misspellings, incorrect punctuation, etc.)
• Check the junk, spam, and deleted folders of your personal email you used to apply to UW-Madison and Wiscmail account.
• If you need any help with your Wiscmail at any point, it is best to contact the DoIT Help Desk for help.

If you already have an active NetID and have accepted your admission, you may need to activate IT Services in order to access your @wisc.edu email account.  You can activate missing IT Services by following the instructions on the NetID – Activate Missing Services page.

Note:  Your IT Services may take up to 24 hours to activate. You will need to wait 24 hours before you attempt to login to your newly activated Office 365 email account.

If you have not yet activated your NetID, Use the instructions on the NetID – Activating Your Account page to complete the activation process.

Yes! We understand the value of connecting current students to each other as they make their transition to UW-Madison and start building their Badger community. New students and their families will be able to connect with SOAR student staff and UW-Madison staff throughout the program.

To be able to access the SOAR reservation system, you must have accepted your admission offer for the Spring 2024 semester in MyUW. Check your Admitted Student Checklist for instructions on that process. Review our SOAR Program Overview for more information and a link to our reservation system.

You can go into the SOAR reservation system at any time and update your information. Any changes to your SOAR reservation must be made at least 1 week before your SOAR session. After 1 week, changes are not permitted. Our SOAR office staff are happy to help if you have any questions.

The SOAR reservation system is the only way to see what SOAR program options are available to you.

No, you will finish SOAR with a full schedule of classes that fulfill undergraduate degree requirements. University administration officials closely monitor course enrollment throughout to ensure a maximum number of options for all incoming students.

In general, very popular courses and popular dates and times may not always be available, but students can work with their academic advising team to see if and when they may be offered in a future semester. We encourage students to keep an open mind and be open to different possibilities.

Advisors will work directly with students if they have concerns or issues with course access. We are committed to student access to courses that are needed for graduation, and there are a lot of interchangeable parts in the first four semesters. Advisors will work with students to make a schedule that works for them.

The most common reason is that you have not yet paid your enrollment deposit to the Office of Admissions and Recruitment, or your payment has not finished processing. Paying your enrollment deposit is the way students confirm their intention to attend UW-Madison and authorizes them to access our reservation system. If you have not accepted your admission offer, please refer to the instructions in your Admitted Student Checklist from the Office of Admissions and Recruitment.

Please note: It can take up to 48 hours after payment for the University to process your deposit. If it has been more than 48 hours after paying your enrollment deposit and you cannot access the SOAR reservation system, please contact the SOAR office.

Deferred students: Students who deferred their admission to Fall 2022 from a previous semester should contact the Office of Admissions and Recruitment to check their admission status. You must confirm with the Office of Admissions and Recruitment that you intend to start UW-Madison courses during Spring 2022 so they can activate you for the Fall 2022 term. This must be done before you will be eligible to make a SOAR reservation. 

Reentry/readmitted students: If you are entering the Fall 2022 semester as a reentry student, you will not go through the SOAR program and will be unable to access the reservation system. Your next steps are to:

• Connect with the school/college academic advising office that matches your intended major or degree program. Visit the Find an Advisor page on the Office of Undergraduate Advising website for the contact information for each advising office.
• Complete your Admitted Reentry Student Checklist from the Office of Admissions and Recruitment

The availability of specific SOAR session weeks depends on a variety of factors. If you receive this error message, please contact the SOAR office and we will help you complete your reservation.

If you are considering deferring your enrollment, please thoroughly review the Office of Admissions’ Deferred Enrollment information page. Please contact the Office of Admissions as soon as possible to discuss your options. 

Students in the WESL program will know all their class requirements in advance. This will allow WESL students to schedule their SOAR requirements around their class commitments. If you have additional questions about the WESL program, please contact the WESL staff at WIExpSummerLaunch@wisc.edu. 

For up-to-date information on placement exams, please visit this website.

UW System Placement Tests: Math, English, and World Languages:

1. Go to go.wisc.edu/uw_testing.
2. At the top of the page, click the hyperlinked text: “registration form for Fall 2023 students”*
3. You will then be on a page titled Regional Testing 2023. At the bottom of that page, click the hyperlinked text: “registration form”
4. The registration form will then load onto the page. Fill out and submit the form to register!

*You must log in to this registration page using your UW-Madison NetID and password. If you’ve activated your NetID but have forgotten your NetID password, you can reset it online with the NetID Password Reset Tool. If you have forgotten your NetID, you can recover it using the self-service NetID Recovery Tool.

ESLAT (English as a Second Language Assessment Test)

You will complete the test in Canvas, the University’s learning management system, and no registration is needed. After you pay your enrollment deposit AND activate your NetID services, you will see the ESLAT exam appear within your UW Canvas dashboard by the following Monday. If you are required to take the ESLAT, please do not take the UW System English test.

Students must complete all their required placement testing at least 2 weeks before their SOAR program. Failure to complete all your required placement testing on time may result in your inability to enroll in all your courses during SOAR.

UW-Madison requires students to complete the Math B placement test. The Math exam must be proctored. Please see this website.

The UW system offers free testing options for the placement tests. English and World Language tests will be completed online free of charge.

For the Math placement test, UW-Madison students must complete the “Math B” exam. The Math exam must be proctored. There are various Regional Testing sites located all around Wisconsin and one in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Taking the test in person is free and strongly encouraged.

If students cannot take the exam in person, there is an option to pay a $40 fee to complete an online proctored exam. Reminder, students must complete the Math B exam.

Students who plan to take a language course above the introductory level at UW-Madison must take a placement test in that language. Additionally, many programs have a world language requirement. Be sure to review the UW Guide to determine your degree requirements for world language and consult with your advisor during SOAR.

Spanish, French, and German placement tests: These tests are offered by the UW System and are in the same online testing portal as the English test. Go to go.wisc.edu/uw_testing if you still need to register. Freshman are strongly encouraged to test in the world language they studied in high school or have previous experience with, even if they have anticipated AP test credit. Previous experience may include native speakers and those who have previous coursework in the language. 

Other World Languages: If you are interested in taking a course in world language other than Spanish, French, or German, visit the UW-Madison Languages Placement Procedures page for more information. 

First-year students are strongly encouraged to test in the world language they studied in high school, even if they have anticipated AP test credit. Freshman who have previous experience in Spanish, French, or German and who plan to take coursework in this language at UW–Madison, must take a placement test in that language to qualify and enroll in classes beyond the entry level language course. Previous experience may include native speakers and those who have previous coursework in the language. 

If you are interested in taking a course in world language other than Spanish, French, or German, visit the UW-Madison Languages Placement Procedures page for more information. Additionally, many programs have a world language requirement. Be sure to review the UW Guide to determine your degree requirements for world language and consult with your advisor during SOAR.

We are committed to providing all incoming students the opportunity to meet with a professional academic advisor within their SOAR advising group before enrolling in courses. A significant portion of the SOAR program will be allocated to Advising, Academic Planning, and Course Enrollment during the program. 

In some cases you can do this and some cases you cannot, as it depends on the policies of each school/college. For SOAR, you should work with the advising group which matches your “primary” academic interest. If you are equally interested in both majors, you should work with Cross-College Advising Service to start. The SOAR reservation process and the Preparing for SOAR module will also help you identify the advising group that best matches your academic interests and career goals. 

You will finish SOAR with a full schedule of classes that fulfill undergraduate degree requirements. The University closely monitors course enrollment and availability. Very popular courses and popular dates and times may not always be available, but students can work with their academic advising team to see if and when they may be offered in a future semester. We encourage students to keep an open mind and be open to different possibilities.

Advisors will work directly with students if they have concerns or issues with course access. We are committed to student access to courses that are needed for graduation, but there are a lot of interchangeable parts in the first four semesters. Advisors will work with students to make a schedule that works for them.

Generally, around 15 credits per semester is recommended, but this is a very individual decision, and some students will select a schedule with slightly more or fewer credits than 15. 

1 credit typically equals 1 hour of instruction and 2 hours of work outside class each week.

Advisors will help students consider many circumstances in determining appropriate credit load, including obligations, jobs, course combinations, and their previous academic experience.

All incoming students have one Fall enrollment hold called ‘SOAR Advising Required’ that will be released after completing the SOAR program. During your advising meeting, your academic advisor will explain when your SOAR Advising hold will be removed and when you can begin enrolling in your fall courses.

If you have already met with an academic advisor, please refer to your SOAR Academic Advising Canvas course or contact your SOAR advising group for help with course enrollment.

We are collaborating with our partners in the McBurney Disability Resource Center to ensure the best options for students needing early course registration. If you anticipate needing accommodations for your courses this fall, please start the McBurney intake process.

We value disability as an aspect of diversity and want to ensure that you are able to complete SOAR requirements and fully participate in our programming. SOAR staff members are happy to assist you and your family members with needs you may have due to a permanent or temporary disability or condition. 

Confidentiality: The SOAR Program takes the confidentiality of student records very seriously. Disability accommodation information will only be shared with staff members on a need-to-know basis. Requesting accommodations will NOT affect your admission, advising experience, or course selection.

More information requesting accommodations for placement testing, the SOAR program, and the academic year (all of which are separate processes) is on our Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities page.

These are separate processes. Visit our Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities page for more information.

Domestic and international freshman students should have the New Student To-Do List app pre-loaded onto their MyUW home screen. If it does not appear automatically, you can search for the app in MyUW or use todo.newstudent.wisc.edu.

Yes, the New Student To-Do List is the broad list of tasks you must complete before you arrive on campus in the Fall. SOAR is just one part of your task list!

All information regarding move-in is available on the University Housing Moving & Breaks page. Visit the University Housing Contact page for all questions about on-campus living. 

In the coming months, we will share more information about what Wisconsin Welcome will look like to help students connect to campus resources, explore campus and Madison, and build community with fellow students.