Transfer Admitted Student Checklist – Fall and Summer
Congratulations, #FutureBadger!
Here you’ll find details on all your next steps toward becoming a Badger
Set Up Your NetID to Access MyUW
MyUW is a student portal that will present new options to admitted students, including the admitted student checklist and other admitted student next steps.
You will need the 10-digit Campus ID number from your admissions letter or application acknowledgement.
You can also update any changes to your mailing address, phone number, or email address to make sure you receive important email from other offices.
Confirm Your Enrollment
Accept your offer of admission in your Student Center by the confirmation deadline.
This is a required first step for many other admitted student next steps.
Fall Term Confirmation Deadline: June 1 or ten days from the date of your admit letter or receipt of your credit evaluation, whichever is later.
You will then pay the $200 deposit online. It is applied toward your tuition and fees for the first semester and is not refundable after the confirmation deadline.
- Be sure at the top left it says “Applicant Homepage.” If it says “Student Center,” scroll down to “Applicant Homepage.”
- Click on the “Admissions” tile.
- Within the Admissions tile, view “Application Status”; it will show you the applications that you have submitted.
- Follow the instructions it gives you to officially confirm.
- If this is your first time logging in, you must activate your NetID. Your Student Center also gives you access to other personalized information, including your financial aid package.
You will then pay the $200 deposit. It is applied toward your tuition and fees for the first semester and is not refundable after the confirmation deadline. You can pay your deposit:
- Electronic Payment (preferred):
After accepting your offer in the Student Center, you may pay using a credit card or eCheck from a personal checking or savings account at a U.S. financial institution. - Check or Money Order:
Checks or money orders must be issued by a U.S. financial institution and made payable to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Please mail your payment along with this form (PDF) to our office. Do not send cash.
Verify your routing number and bank account number prior to submitting payment. Returned check or eCheck payments are assessed as $20 nonrefundable return check fee.
Activate Your @wisc.edu Email Account
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.
IT Services including your Office 365 Account (@wisc.edu email address assignment) will be activated automatically for students using this process.
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.
After you’ve completed these steps, you can log in to UW–Madison Profile using your NetID to review information pertaining to your email, NetID, and other aspects of your digital identity on campus.
Share Your Acceptance Virtually
Share your acceptance with friends and family, and show your Badger pride to the world using our virtual backgrounds, gifs, and profile pictures exclusively for our #FutureBadger admitted students! Animate yourself hanging out with Bucky, Jumping Around at a Badger game, and more! It’s a great way to celebrate all you have accomplished!
Sign Up for Transfer Admitted Student Day
We encourage you to attend Transfer Admitted Student Day. This events is a great opportunity to learn more about UW–Madison and decide if our campus is your next home away from home.
Understand and Apply for Financial Aid and Scholarships
The Office of Student Financial Aid begins processing financial aid eligibility at the point that you’ve been admitted, so you will be hearing from their office via email if you have already submitted the FAFSA.
Submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) for Financial Aid
You should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) at fafsa.gov using UW–Madison’s School Code (003895) each year to make sure you’re considered for federal, state, and UW–Madison-offered financial aid and scholarships that may require a complete FAFSA® for consideration.
The FAFSA® becomes available on October 1, and UW–Madison has a December 1 priority deadline to submit.
We encourage you to submit the FAFSA® as soon as possible, if you have not submitted it already.
The Office of Student Financial Aid holds a FAFSA® Frenzy and other events to help you get it submitted early, answer questions about the process and award offer, and understand who is eligible for financial aid.
Applying for Scholarships
To be eligible for scholarships at UW–Madison, you must set up your NetID.
The best resource for scholarships at UW–Madison is the Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH). Through WiSH, you can find information about, apply to, and accept any of the various scholarship opportunities available on campus. WiSH uses your data and answers from the general application to match you to open scholarship opportunities.
For more information about WiSH, frequently asked questions, and the application timelines, please check out our scholarship resource page.
Most scholarships are managed by our eight undergraduate schools and colleges, and more scholarships become available when you are a current student. It is important to explore your school or college’s process early and to visit WiSH to ensure that you’re matching to all scholarship opportunities for which you’re eligible, year over year.
Student Employment
Interested in getting involved, developing skills, and meeting new friends—all while getting paid? Then student jobs may be the perfect opportunity for you.
Here you will find thousands of part-time employment opportunities through both UW departments and with local businesses and organizations that are looking for students just like you. You can also connect with important resources to help you explore your passions and prepare for the job search and interview process.
If federal work-study is a part of your financial aid offer, it’s important to understand what it means: work-study is not a grant or a loan but a need-based, part-time employment program in which the government and the employer contribute toward your pay. Federal work-study must be earned at an eligible student job, including any UW–Madison department, approved community small business, or non-profit organizations within the Madison area. Regardless of whether you are offered federal work-study, you are able to work both for a university department or with a local business.
Understanding Your Aid Offer
Helpful definitions related to information you’ll find on your financial aid offer:
You can expect to have both direct costs (billed by the UW) and indirect expenses (expenses we estimate and you’re likely to incur but are not billed by the UW). As the indirect expenses are estimated, we strongly encourage you to plan your own specific budget based on your housing choice and meal plan, transportation needs, etc.
Your estimated cost of attendance minus any grants and scholarships you were offered.
Approximate your cost of attendance and estimate your financial aid based on your specific information.
Free money to help lower your cost to attend UW–Madison. Grants and scholarships are not repaid.
Accepted loans will need to be repaid after you complete your degree. Subsidized loans do not accrue interest until after you graduate. Unsubsidized loans start accruing interest at the time of disbursement, but no student loan requires repayment until either you drop below half-time enrollment or graduate.
Provides the opportunity to work part-time for any UW–Madison department or for approved Madison community non-profit organizations or small businesses to help pay for college costs. Wages earned are paid directly to you via direct deposit. However, a student doesn’t need to have work-study to be able to work on campus.
Explore Off-Campus Housing Options
Explore Off-Campus Housing Options
If you choose to live off campus, UW–Madison’s Off-Campus Housing Services can help.
One of the best ways to search for privately-owned housing options is through the UW–Madison Off-Campus Housing Marketplace.
Searching for available housing does not require you to create an account and is completely free. The site provides a database of campus-area rental vacancies, roommate openings, and sublets in apartment buildings, houses, cooperatives, and rooming houses. Users may select their criteria to generate a list of available rentals, complete with rental details and contact information.
Housing near campus is limited; if you choose to live off campus, we suggest starting the search process as early as possible. Rental properties in the immediate campus area begin filling vacancies at the start of the fall semester for the following August.
Campus and the city of Madison blend seamlessly together and students may also find success searching for housing in commutable Madison communities near campus.
You can also connect directly with knowledgeable staff by emailing any questions you have about living off campus to off-campus@housing.wisc.edu.
Students can expect to receive materials from University Housing and privately-owned housing providers. You can differentiate between materials sent to you by the university and those from private entities by looking for the university’s “W” crest.
Sign Up for Placement Tests
Placement testing is the way advisors learn more about your skills and help correctly advise you about your first-semester courses.
Your transfer credit evaluation will provide you with details on the placement test(s) you will be required to take.
You will register for and take your placement tests online.
Placement testing should be completed at least two weeks prior to participating in your orientation and course registration program (SOAR).
Sign Up for Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR)
Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR)
Students admitted for the summer and fall attend SOAR in summer. Students are eligible to sign up for SOAR after they have confirmed their enrollment by accepting their offer of admission in their Student Center.
SOAR Registration opens April 20 at 5:00 p.m. CT and closes July 26 at 11:59 p.m. CT.
For most students, SOAR is a two-day, in-person experience. Transfer and international students have additional options.
During SOAR, you will begin your transition to UW–Madison by learning about academic advising, degree requirements, and campus resources. You will also enroll in your courses.
SOAR offers you the opportunity to:
- Gain exposure to the array of academic and social opportunities at UW–Madison.
- Learn about university life and UW–Madison culture.
- Interact with peers, including both incoming and current students.
- Gain an understanding of UW–Madison policies, procedures, and processes.
- Meet with an academic advisor.
- Select and enroll in your first semester classes.
- Begin to explore and understand the Wisconsin Experience.
SOAR Parent and Guest Program
We strongly encourage up to two parents or adult guests per student to attend the concurrent SOAR Parent and Guest Program. There, attendees will be introduced to UW–Madison’s Parent and Family Program, which keeps families connected to the university all year long.
Benefits of participating in the SOAR Parent and Guest Program include:
- Learning about the campus resources available to support your student.
- Attending information sessions on topics such as advising, housing, financial aid, campus safety, health and wellbeing, and more!
- Asking questions of UW–Madison professional staff and current students.
- Gaining advice on supporting your student during their time here.
Students admitted for the fall term and wanting to start at UW–Madison during the summer term should sign up for Transfer Early Start Program (TESP). The Transfer Early Start Program structure will provide SOAR advising for both summer and fall (prior to summer courses starting in early June), summer course options, information related to cost and available scholarships for summer term, and allow you to meet fellow transfer students. Additional Transfer Early Start Program information will be emailed to you after you are offered admission. Final spring grades and transcripts must be received by the Office of Admissions and Recruitment prior to starting summer courses.
Share your Vaccination Status
UW–Madison requires students to share their vaccination status for certain common communicable diseases.
- Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR)
- Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap)
- Varicella (Chicken Pox)
- Meningococcal (ACWY, B)
- Hepatitis B
To comply with this requirement, students must share their vaccination status through MyUHS. Students must either upload their vaccination records or submit an attestation that they are unvaccinated (no explanation required). Log in to MyUHS using your NetID and password.
The deadline to complete this requirement for incoming summer and fall 2026 students is August 7.
More information and instructions are available on the UHS website.
Submit Your Final Transcripts and Scores
Submit Your Final Transcripts
Make sure to request a final official transcript be sent to our office by the deadline below, after your final grades are posted. Your final transcript must include graduation date.
Final Transcript Deadlines
| Admit Term | Final Transcript Deadline |
|---|---|
| Fall Transfer Students (semester schools) | June 15 |
| Fall Transfer Students (quarter schools and international schools) | July 15 |
It is very important that you successfully complete the course work entered on your application. A curriculum change could affect your admission status, and declining grades may be cause for revoking admission.
Regarding the final transcript listed on your pre-enrollment checklist: If your Student Center tasks do not include a pre-enrollment checklist, then you have completed all necessary steps needed to complete this item for SOAR. Your final transcript and/or documents must be submitted by the appropriate deadline listed above.
Send Your AP/CLEP/IB Scores
If you have scores from the AP, CLEP, or IB exams, you might be eligible to receive course credit for your scores. Request that the College Board or International Baccalaureate program send official scores directly to our office, which will arrive electronically directly from the testing agency.
Send Your College Transcripts for Course Credit
Receive credit for your previous college coursework.
We recommend sending your official college transcripts that you have not yet submitted to our office to be evaluated for course credit at this time.
Your official transcript(s) should be requested from the college or institution through which your credit was awarded.
We encourage you to send your official college transcripts as soon as possible to ensure your transfer credit is posted to your UW–Madison student record in time for class registration and advising.
Next Steps for International Students
In addition to our first-year and transfer Admitted Student Checklists, our international students have some additional steps to complete before arriving on campus, including information on obtaining your visa, the I-20 process, our Financial Verification Form for F-1 and J-1 visa holders, and mailing information for your visa.
New Student To-Do List
The New Student To-Do List will help you identify and track some of the important tasks you need to complete throughout the summer and into your first year at UW–Madison. First-year, domestic students can access the To Do list through your MyUW or at todo.newstudent.wisc.edu.