Getting The Most Out Of Academic Advisement

Once a semester you will meet with your academic advisor to discuss your college courses and they will help you figure out your schedule and what you need to take. Registering for classes though is something you have to do on your own and it is an extremely stressful time. To get the most out of your college experience, it all starts with academic advisement.

First, you’re going to meet with your advisor and they’re going to tell you what is offered this semester but not next semester according to what you need for the degree you are planning on. Figuring out your schedule isn’t a “these are the classes I want and need to take and that’s it” kind of thing. It is not easy and chances are you will go through a couple drafts of your schedule until you find one that works for you with no conflicts. If you do figure out your schedule correctly the first time, you are extremely lucky.

A certain amount of time after you meet with your advisor, you’re going to register for classes online. At my college and probably at yours as well, there was a certain registration date and time usually at 11:00 P.M. or midnight. You can imagine that the system was overloaded with students trying to register. Remember I said this was a stressful time? Well you may literally be pulling out your hair as you try to log into the system (and it goes very slowly) and then quickly register for the classes you need to take. A few tips for registration:

1-      Register the most important classes first- ones you can only take this semester or only have one time slot offered and ones that you are excited for/interested in.

2-      Have back up options for classes. A few of them. Remember we said you may be pulling your hair out? This is why. With so many students doing the same thing at the same time, you may find the class you had wanted filled up while you were trying to log in and find your class. That means you will need other options. Especially if you are going to school registered as a full time student and only wanted to take the minimum number of credit hours to be considered full time so you didn't get overwhelmed. If you don’t have back up options and your classes fill up, then you won’t know what classes to add in instead and you could possibly drop below full time which will mess up your financial aid. Trust me- have back up options. And not just the name/class number of the class. Also have potential times. Pretty much, you want to have almost an entire back up schedule created.

Registration may sound incredibly scary, and for that hour you are on the computer it is an extremely tense and stressful moment. But you will feel so relaxed once registration is over. Don’t worry, you only have to do this twice a year. More if you take summer classes, but you probably won’t do that until later in your college life if at all and it’s not a requirement.

The most important thing I have to tell you is this: keep track of what college courses you have taken and what you need to take. The classes you have taken are going to be conveniently listed online in your academic account, but what you need to take still will not be listed. You can easily acquire this sheet through your academic advisor or from the booklet outlining the requirements for your degree. Your academic advisor will keep this information, but don’t trust it. Yes- trust your advisor, but don’t trust them to keep track of what you are doing when they have multiple students to worry about.

Let me tell you a little story about this: my academic advisor changed four times in four years of college due to the college rearranging what advisors had what students and also due to advisors leaving the college. My academic information got tossed around and at one point, the advisor didn’t know what was going on with my class plan. Luckily I had the information and the advisor was glad I was so prepared. This is an extreme case, but be prepared and don’t let it happen to you. Also make sure you go into academic advisement with some classes outlined that you are interested in. Don’t let your advisor completely tell you what you are taking without input from you. Granted, you have to take all these classes anyway, but if there was an English or Psychology class you were really interested in and you are eligible to take it, then tell your advisor.

Good luck!