New Student Checklist

Pre-Orientation:

Tuition Deposit

• In order to sign up for summer orientation, you must first pay your $250 non-refundable enrollment deposit. Visit drake.edu/admitted to make this payment. 

Sign up for an Orientation Session - Summer Orientation opens February 2  

• Sign up for your orientation session of choice at edu/admitted. Date preferences are processed on a first-come, first-serve basis.   

Join Drake Admits Instagram

 Select your Housing and Meal Plan.

• Complete the Housing & Meal Plan Selection Application, for on campus housing with the $250 Housing Deposit or Commuter Fall 2026 for students who meet the commuter release residency requirements.
• Full-time students must live in a Drake residence hall during any period of University enrollment within two years following high school graduation. Exceptions include individuals who are marriedor live within a 45-mile radius of Drake University with their parent(s)/legal guardian.
• Students who qualify for an exception to the two-year residency requirement and are seeking commuter status must submit a commuter application and receive written approval from the Office of Residence Life. If you have any questions, please email housing@drake.edu

Set up your password via password.drake.edu

• Ensure student is setting this up and not parent or guardian.

Set up Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) so you can access key campus systems including myDrake.

• See these MFA guidesfor directions

Update your emergency contact information 

• Log in to myDrake  
• Select My Information in the My Drake Profile section

Set up your parent or guardian to have Proxy Access to receive communication from Drake or view your academic information.

• See Authorizing Proxy Access (How-to)

Review the Advising Guide 

• We have designed the information to prepare you to fill out the advising survey. We encourage you to thoroughly review all materials before filling out the survey.

Complete the Advising Survey available April 1 

• Students must complete the survey before they can register for Drake classes. Your advisor will use the information on the survey to prepare your fall semester schedule.
  Also, please note that this survey allows you to save and continue. However, once you hit submit, you can no longer edit. Deadline to submit survey is May 16.

Prepare to get your Mobile Drake ID!

• Drake University offers a Mobile Drake ID. To create your ID, please start by submitting a photo online or email your photo to studentservices@drake.edu. You can also have your photo taken at orientation. Once your photo has been approved, you’ll be able to add a Mobile Drake ID to your phone and/or smartwatch. Instructions on how to load your Mobile Drake ID to your devices are also posted in the Knowledge Base.

Submit your Medical History Form

• Students who have not submitted a medical history form will not be permitted to register for the following semester’s classes. 
  Medical history forms may be submitted via email (Studenthealthcenter@drake.edu) , fax or dropped off at the Health Center table during check-in on day one of summer orientation.  

Complete Federal Work Study Employment Matching Survey 

• If you are eligible for Federal Work Study (listed on your financial aid award letter), and would like to be placed in an on-campus job, complete the On Campus Student Employment Matching survey no later than July 12. 
• All students interested in working on campus during their time at Drake are encouraged to bring required employment documentation to campus during orientation and complete at the Bulldogs at Work booth at the Orientation Resources Fair. (List of acceptable documents, you will need 1 item from List A OR 1 item from List B AND List C).

Complete the Language Placement Exam

• Please note, you only need to take this exam if you are continuing your studies in any of these languages. To ensure that you begin in the course best suited for you, you will need to take the placement exam. Note that changes can be made to schedules if the placement proves not to work out for you.
• Note: If you are taking the exam in more than one language, please email worldlanguages@drake.edu and include the names of the languages. You will then receive a link to the second exam in an email. You can also contact this email address with any questions. If you have NO prior experience with the language, you may simply enroll in a 001-level class such as French 001, SPAN 001, etc.
• Please choose the appropriate link for your exam.
• French
• German
• Spanish
• Once there, you will need to set up an account and answer a series of informational questions. Please be sure to use your Drake i.d. where it asks for an i.d. number. Then you will take the multiple-choice exam. At the end, you will receive a score and a Drake placement level. It should take less than 20-30 minutes, on average. Your Drake account will be charged $5 to offset the cost of the exam.
• The instructions for Japanese and American Sign Language are different as there is no standardized test for them. Please click the link for Japanese. Send an email to the address below for American Sign Language.
• Japanese 
• American Sign Language - email worldlanguages@drake.edu

Music majors

• Look for a follow-up email from Mary Beth Holtey, Assistant Dean, with details about theory placement and keyboard placement. 

Student-athletes

• Check your Drake email for communication from Stephanie Sledge (Associate Athletics Director for Student-athlete Success), containing specific information regarding athletics.

Check out New Student ITS information

• Wait to purchase your technology until you have attended summer orientation.

Review Orientation email messages

• You will receive important email communications with information to prepare your for your orientation session.

Submit a roommate request

• Through the Housing & Meal Plan Selection Portalby June 16. 

Post-Orientation:

Start checking your Drake email                                                                                   

• Log in to myDrake                                                                                            
• Click the My Email icon under Commonly Used Apps. It’s fastest to download the Outlook app from app store and login directly.

Purchase a parking pass  

• Deposit funds into your Bulldog Bucks account. Your Bulldog Bucks can be used for printing, concessions, off-campus dining in Dogtown and Bookstore purchases. Bulldog Bucks are different than flex dollars associated with a meal plan. Learn how by visiting drake.edu/studentservices/bulldogbucks.  

Food allergies or special dietary needs 

• Reach out to Drake’s dietitian Samantha Matt via email at matt@drake.edu.   

Academic Accommodations 

• Complete the intake formby selecting Forms at to start the process for requesting accommodations through Student Disability Services.   

Complete Online Sexual Assault Prevention Course

• This course will educate students about preventing sexual assaults, bystander interventions and provide information about campus resources. Check your email on or after July 1^st. It must be completed prior to the start of class to ensure your account is not place on hold, preventing you from registering for classes in the spring. 

Housing Assignments will be available online starting Friday, July 17

• To access your room assignment, follow these steps (after the dates designated above):
  1. Log into my.drake.edu
  2. Click on the Self Service icon in the "Commonly Used Apps"
  3. Click on the "Housing Roommates" in the Student Record card
  4. Select term

Financial Aid

• Email financialaid@drake.eduabout any non-Drake scholarships you are receiving (Name/source of the scholarship and the amount)
• Develop your plan to pay your bill. Financial planning worksheets are available here.
• If utilizing loans, complete all required steps (instructions available here).
• If utilizing a payment plan, enroll through the Student Accounts section of myDrakeafter you receive your first bill.

Tuition and Billing Information

• Add anyone who you would like to receive billing notification or have access to your student account as an authorized user. Setting up an Authorized User in Touchnet

Send any relevant final transcripts to the Office of Admission. 

• Email transcripts to admission@drake.edu or 
  By mail to Drake University 
  Attn: Undergraduate Admission  
  2507 University Ave 
  Des Moines, IA 50311 

Working on Campus

• Students offered Federal Work Study positions through the summer Work Study Employment matching process must accept or decline their placement offer by July 29. 
• Students who are interested in working on campus but did not accept or were not offered a work study award should apply in Handshake, using their Drake email address and password. View opportunities and apply under Drake University On-Campus Employment.
• All students interested in working on campus during their Drake experience are encouraged to bring required employment documentation to campus during move-in. (List of acceptable documents, you will need 1 item from List A OR 1 item from List B AND List C). Students can complete their paperwork either in the Human Resources offices on the 3rd floor of Old Main, or the Student Services Center in the Johansen Student Center during normal working hours (8am-4:30pm).
• We highly encourage student employees to complete their direct deposit as soon as possible. This simplifies the payroll process for students and Drake’s payroll department. Please reach out to student.employment@drake.edu if you have any questions. 

Review Course Ready program

• REMEMBER toopt-out if you do not want to participate in the program.

For students not enrolled in Course Ready

• Order your textbooks throughDrake's Official Online Bookstore, powered by Books by eCampus. Sign in via myDrake to view a customized list of professor-selected course materials according to your schedule. Ship free to Bulldog Shop for convenient on-campus pickup; we'll hold your books until you arrive on campus.

PRE-WELCOME WEEKEND:

For students who are interested in working on campus

• Login to Handshake to search for jobs and internships, learn about career events, research company profiles and more. 
• Follow @drakecareer on Instagram to stay up to date with upcoming events.

Making meal plan change selection

• Clickhere if you would like to make changes to your meal plan selection.

Fall Semester Billing

• Fall Semester billing notifications emailed out to students and authorized users.
• Sign up for the payment plan begins once bills are emailed out and is available until the first day of the term.Setting up a Payment Plan in Touchnet

For students who are interested in joining the Fraternity and Sorority life.

• Learn more about recruitment and how to get involved in fraternity and sorority life by visitingdrakefsl.com.

Download Microsoft software through your Drake account (it’s only available 30 days before classes begin) 

August 17: Available fall financial aid will start applying to student accounts

August 19: Move in Day

• Be sure to check your Drake email early August for information on how to sign up for move in time. Visit the Office of Residence Life websitefor more details on move in. 

August 20-22: Welcome Weekend

• Check out Welcome Weekenddetails and schedule. 

August 24: First day of the semester

• Fall bills are due in full if you did not sign up for a payment plan. Making a Payment to your Touchnet Account