How-to Guides
Your Guide(s) to Life at UW–Madison
Your first year at UW–Madison will be full of new experiences, opportunities, and challenges. That’s why the Center for the First Year Experience created how-to guides to help guide you through these new experiences, and we’re always adding more to better help our first-year students. From moving in to finding study spots, OSTFE has got you covered.
My UW–Madison
My UW–Madison (MyUW) is your secure gateway to personalized campus information and services. We recommend becoming familiarized with before the semester begins. You will find that your MyUW is pre-populated with apps that will be useful to you as a student. You can add or remove apps based on your personal preferences. If you are looking for something, just search for it. Access MyUW at my.wisc.edu with your NetID and password.
Pre-Populated Apps
My Courses: Access a list of your current courses and related information in one spot. View a print- and mobile-friendly version of your course schedule. Includes links to contact your instructor(s) and the campus map.
Course Guide: View course and instructor information, create customized course plans, identify favorite courses, link to enrollment, view textbook information, etc. Course Guide should be used in conjunction with Schedule Planner.
Schedule Planner: Import planned courses from Course Guide; set up blocked times for events such as work, practice, or lunch; and select a schedule you want from a variety of options. Then import the schedule to the Student Center and enroll. Access Schedule Planner through Course Guide.
Student Center:
• Academics section: Search for course offerings, add or drop courses, check grades, and review class schedule.
• Finances section:
-My Account: Click “Tuition Account Summary” to view tuition charges, payments/loans/grants/scholarships received, refunds issued (and type of refund), and the address for a mailed check. You can also view and pay tuition eBills online, set up authorized payers, and enroll for eRefund.
-Financial Aid: Check the status of financial aid applications, accept or decline a financial aid award, and search for scholarships.
• Personal Information: Update your emergency and personal information.
• Learn@UW: Access UW–Madison’s centralized educational tool, which your professors may use to help teach or supplement your classes. Learn@UW includes course management for online quizzes and tests, class discussion groups, document sharing, course events calendars, and grade postings.
Email/Calendar: Access your campus email/calendar, which includes unlimited storage, as well as spam- and virus-filtering.
Preparing for SOAR in Your First Year:
View a summary of your advising session that took place during SOAR, including your enrolled courses, advisor, and follow-up instructions.
Search for Other Apps
Scholarships@UW–Madison: The university’s one-stop shop for scholarships, allowing students to match to, apply for, and accept campus scholarships.
WiscAlerts: Sign up for UW–Madison’s text messaging emergency notification system. You will receive a text message in the event of an urgent situation.
Campus Chat Connections: Chat with services including Ask Bucky, UW Libraries, DoIT Help Desk, GUTS, the Writing Center, the Transfer Transition Program, and more.
UW Libraries Services: Access your UW Libraries account to view items checked out, renew items, and check library requests.
Visit it.wisc.edu/guides/get-started-with- tech for details.
Additional Resources
SCHOOLS & COLLEGES
Some undergraduate schools and colleges have specific resources and application processes. Please use the following links to ensure you are aware of all relevant information for your intended school or college.