But before you go and splurge on books, make sure you know which specific books you need. Even though there’s a standard list of LitHum texts, some professors may chose to use different translations or editions. Refer to your syllabus before purchasing any of the following:

If you’ve found this article, you’re most likely coming from part one of this two-part series in which we try to reassure you, the incoming class of first-years (or upperclassmen who just like reading back-to-school content), that all your academic, social, and lifestyle concerns have solutions. If you haven’t read part one about the academic scene at Columbia, loop back around to it at the end of this article.

From maximizing your Literature Humanities experience to not eating alone in Ferris Booth Commons, we are sure there are many things about being a first-year at Columbia that might worry you, despite all our past coverage on Required Reading.

Sign up for that registry, and beg your distant relatives to send you money, because it’s time to start packing for college.

Many of you have asked us whether it’s wise to get an internship your first semester at Barnumbia. Between classes, popping in and out of interest meetings to find which clubs suit you, and making friends with new people, adding a job or internship to your load if you do not absolutely have to may not always be advisable. Here are some key questions to ask yourself before you make the commitment.

You won’t truly understand this unfortunate reality until you live here, but New York City is expensive. Like, $5 for a half-gallon of milk kind of expensive.

By now you should be pre-registration pros, but what comes next? If you remember from the first part of this two-part registration series, you’ll actually have to do a bit of waiting— pre-registration only confirms your sections for Lit Hum and UWriting/FroSci (Columbia College), UWriting/Art of Engineering (SEAS), or First-Year Writing/Seminar (Barnard). You’ll finally be able to register for the rest of your classes during NSOP, and then you can add or drop any other courses through the fall shopping period, which covers the first two weeks of classes.

It might be the summer, but a lot of you seem to be eager to get back to school. How do we know? Because about 80 percent of the posts on the Columbia and Barnard class of 2021 pages are questions about pre-registration, what it means to shop for classes, and how to pick courses given your AP/IB/dual credit/life experience credentials.