Be Advised!: Advising Season

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by Arabella Chamberlain

Beware, advising season is upon us!

Sounds a little scary, right? It's not just me? You're not alone if you feel that way. You might be thinking, "I've barely made it through this semester and you want me to pick harder classes and take more labs next semester?" It can be daunting. So what's a good way to make sure your schedule isn't too crazy?

• Don't schedule classes right over your lunch break. You'll be very hungry and there's probably at least one other credit you could take instead that doesn't block out your schedule from 10am-2pm. You can always grab Charlie's Pub if necessary, but you might get tired of that after 3 days a week, 14 weeks in a row.
• Need a writing intensive course? Take it one at a time. Unless you're an English major who can't escape this (I commend you), only take one writing intensive course a semester. Try to space out your classes well so that you don't have 3 essays due the same day.
• Keep that in mind for labs too. If you're a STEM major, your extra labs and things are bound to stack up and suddenly, you're not only in classes 4 hours a day - you're in labs 4 hours a day! Keep track of what classes have required labs and which ones don't while scheduling for next semester.



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• Look at your major and general education requirements before you head to your advising session so YOU have a good idea what to register for, not just your advisor who has dozens of other students to advise as well. Plus, it always helps to know if you're on the right track - before you get too far down the line.
• Don't overload your classes unless you absolutely have to! If you stay on top of your classes, you shouldn't need to do this. Even if you aren't on top of it, it's better to be just a little short and fill it with a 0.2 or 0.3 credit than to be a little short and fill it with a 1.0 credit and a lab. Space things out appropriately!
• Ultimately, take care of YOU! When making your schedule, don't just take only the courses required of you, but maybe step out of your comfort zone and take that art class you've been eyeballing since freshman year, or fill a Gen Ed with something new and exciting, not just some "Intro to..." class. Get into the nitty gritty of your education and experience all that college has to offer.

Happy advising!