Fall 2024 Preference Selection

Choosing your Lab and Discussion Section

The Chemistry Department will be utilizing the Yale College Preference Selection system, which opens at 8:00 a.m., Tuesday, August 6, and closes at 5:00 p.m., Monday, August 12.

If you have registered for a Chemistry course(s) this fall 2024 term, you will need to complete the following steps to secure enrollment in the corresponding lab or discussion section(s).

During this time, students are expected to rank their top three preferred days and times for their correlating discussion or lab sections.

As some may recall, the Preference Selection is a computer program algorithm that optimizes all the students’ placements for maximum adherence to your wishes. Not everyone gets their first-choice lab or discussion section(s), so you will need to make careful choices of multiple times that will fit your schedule.

Simply click on the link to the chemistry course(s) below to start:

• CHEM 134L - General Chemistry Laboratory I
• CHEM 136L - General Chemistry Laboratory II
• CHEM 161 - General Chemistry I
• CHEM 163 - Advanced General Chemistry II
• CHEM 165 - General Chemistry II
• CHEM 174 - Organic Chemistry for First Year Students I
• CHEM 220 - Organic Chemistry
• CHEM 222L - Laboratory for Organic Chemistry I

Important Reminders

1. You may change your mind and reset your preferences as often as you wish during this Preference Selection window. If you do not sign up before Preference Selection closes on August 12, a section seat cannot be guaranteed.
2. Friday and Wednesday lab sections are very limited due to spacing and lab capacities.
3. Though you are not required to take the lab (e.g., CHEM 222L Organic Lab with CHEM 220 Organic lecture) in the same semester as the lecture, this is recommended because the material in one helps you for the other. You may not take the lab before the corresponding lecture.

Once assignments are finalized, discussion sections will be automatically added to your registration worksheet. No additional steps are needed to enroll in the course. Starting August 16, all students will be able to view their course(s) and section assignment(s) on their registration worksheets.

If you have missed Preference Selection or would like to switch sections, simply re-register during the add/drop period and select one of the available seats. There are no waitlists, and it is on a first-come, first-serve basis, so this is a risky course of action.

Instructions

Step-by-step instructions are on the registrar’s website.

For answers to frequently asked questions, read the Preference Selection FAQs.