<p>Arizonamom, That's my feeling as well - it's definitely a plus if an advisor initiates a bit for Freshman. After all, most high school students never see their guidance counselor to discuss course selection -- so they may not understand how it can be helpful in college. Again, keep the stories coming - I am finding this very helpful and interesting.</p>
<p>Son is a sophomore at Boston University. Freshmen are required to register at one of the orientation sessions. If they cannot attend an orientation session early, they can make a special appointment to register for classes. That is what DS did. He was away (at a BU sponsored summer program) during the summer orientation sessions and was attending orientation right before classes began. He didn't want to wait until then to register so we drove up there in June. He met with an advisor in the College of Fine Arts. She walked him through the online registration process, and discussed his required courses and electives with him. As a music major, he didn't have much choice...just two liberal arts courses. The advising he got was fine. The person was NOT a music person and didn't really advise him well on one course (chamber music...she said he couldn't take it as a freshman...not true). All in all it didn't matter as his schedule was very full anyway. He did chamber music on his own (no credit but good experience). Son walked away from the meeting with the advisor feeling very confident about the registration process. Good thing...as he couldn't find a freshman writing course that day and had to do that online from home. His advisor now is a member of the music department who he knows well. They meet with the advisor who just tells them to punch in the numbers (the courses for the majors are automatic...no choice on times, days or staff). Then the kiddos go and do it online when their assigned time comes.</p>
<p>At Williams: The summer before his freshman year my son completed a questionnaire which asked whether having an advisor from his intended field was important. He checked preferred and was consequently assigned a professor who is a senior member of the department in which my son will most likely major. The questionnaire also polled general personality traits, activity, academic interests. During freshman orientation he met with the advisor to discuss and select his first year classes. Found the advisor to be very helpful, supportive, and informative. During the course of the year, son initiated several (say 3-4) meetings on various and sundry topics. The advisor was knowledgeable and accessible. Once when my husband and I were visiting campus we had a chance meeting with the advisor. We were impressed with how much he knew about our son both personally and academically. Plus he is extremely personable, warm and funny. I dont think the advisor was officially involved in approving his sophomore classes, but son did consult him and again, received good advice and assistance even on classes in other disciplines.</p>
<p>The informal information channels are also well developed. Williams has on line access to student opinions on classes and instructors, although son has found these sometimes unreliable. You kind of have to toss out the best and the worst. He was also blessed with wonderful junior advisors freshman year who provided invaluable advice on which classes to avoid, which not to miss. One, who is truly Wonderwoman, seemed to know everything about everything on campus, courses, writing papers at the 11th hour, getting internships, working the housing lottery. She will hopefully be advising him the rest of his life.</p>
<p>Other informal advising routes available are other professors/instructors, who have been extremely generous with their time, giving advice on courses, writing recommdations, making introductions and connections. Same is true for extra-curricular advisors. They really seem to care about the kids and go out of their way to help. Williams also has a well developed career counseling office. Not so much an issue in freshman year, but very, very important as you get nearer graduation. They provide programs like seminars in resume writing, networking opportunities like an arts weekend in New York and exposure to all types of realworld related activities.</p>
<p>The main thing I would ask a prospective college is how knowlegeable advisors are outside their own field. Once the kids declare a major they are assured specific information and this is pretty easily come by. The difficulty is finding information on new and unknown areas which they may not have tried had they not been intrigued.</p>
<p>Carolyn - I will be happy to answer any questions I can after your visit. It will actually be easier for me in January after my son has been home for awhile and I REALLY get a feel for things from him.</p>
<p>Freshman seminar prof and a student helper advise the students. Students and families meet and have dinner the first day of orientation. H & I were concerned that they could not advise our music performance student-they said they were also concerned and would check with the school of music. Son met for dinner and a few other meetings orientation week. He met with student advisor who made sure everthing was ok before registration, cked what AP's he had etc. Son had no problem getting classes-calculus almost was a problem, too many students and they would have kicked him out because he was music. They added another class and everything is ok. The class has had several field trips and have had several Indian meals together. The seminar is about the people and culture of India. The student advisor told us at the dinner that it was her job to see that first semester was smooth. They sent him to the school of music to meet with an advisor. It seems like he checked with his Jazz improv prof and then got an ok from the advisor. I am grateful for the hand holding he is able to receive-even if he could do it by himself.</p>
<p>at my school (ycp), we are assigned a faculty advisor freshman year, and we can meet with him/her as many times as we want. we also get assigned to an upperclassmen.. you don't need advisors to get into classes, but you are <em>supposed</em> to have their signature on your paper if you have 90 credits or more - but with online scheduling that isn't enforced anymore. I personally have never met with my advisor or my mentor. I have, however, had my advisor as a professor multiple times, and i see him in class twice a week. i'm pretty good at advising myself (at least i like to think so ;) )</p>
<p>also you can go and talk to ANY prof at any point about classes or questions.. I have met with a few other prof's about taking their classes without prereq's, and they have let me in. :)</p>
<p>At Kenyon, first-year students get an advisor in a declared area of interest, plus two upperclass students to work with.</p>
<p>Harvard also has freshman attend seminars during orientation week that explain different requirements or class sequences. For example, all kids wanting to take a biology class were required to attend a seminar that explained the intro biology sequence. Same with math. So, info was given out to students--although not on a one to one basis.</p>
<p>Also, the different concentrations (majors) have web sites that explain the courses required, options available and course sequence suggested (from freshman to senior year). I looked at the one for Biochemical Science and it was very well done. It has info on it that an adviser would tell you if he were to meet with you. </p>
<p>My take--information is available, student can do a lot of the legwork to familiarize himself with the programs, never heard my D talk about her advisor/proctor as someone who has really been useful (yet) for advising purposes.</p>
<p>Northwestern's program (CAS) seems very similar to Kenyon's; we get an advisor in an area of interest and two upperclassmen with whom to work.</p>
<p>Yes! I'm back in... (couldn't post for 2 days)... I have no idea what was going on at my end, but no withdrawal symptoms either, as I could mercifully still read the CC parent forum!</p>
<p>Anyway....</p>
<p>Advising at CMU (SCS): All SCS students have the same advisor. There are approximately 130 freshman students. They met for about 15 minutes at the beginning of the year to verify course selections, and again mid-semester (to verify course selections for the second sememster). I believe some students meet with a student advisor in lieu of the Freshman advisor, because of time limitations at the beginning of the year.</p>
<p>The Freshman advisor sent a package home during the summer, and of course mentioned that he would love to meet with the student, and that they are welcome to stop in, but my son does not take advantage of this opportunity.</p>
<p>Horror story? no....but not exactly the type of student outreach I had hoped for either.</p>
<p>They are assigned another advisor at the end of freshman year. I have higher hopes for this level.</p>
<p>This is really fascinating. I showed this thread to my daughter and she particularly liked the mention of the schools that assign an upperclass student as a secondary advisor. She said that sounds like it would give you someone to ask questions about specific teachers and courses.</p>
<p>Carolyn, I'd highly recommend looking for a website with student evaluations of profs if there is one for any college that interests your daughter. Of course, there are wide ranging opinions of various professors and courses. However, it's an incredible resource. Like talking to hundreds of upperclass students.</p>
<p>OH RIGHT! you can go to ratemyprofessor.com and look up your school there. I almost forgot about that site... Check it out.</p>
<p>Frosh at RPI register for classes during Summer Orientation. Our son was assigned a faculty advisor in his proposed major, compsci. He reviewed his AP grade report and together they worked out the first semester schedule and he registered online the last morning of the 2 day SO.</p>
<p>Because he subsequently enrolled in a dual major program he was assigned a second faculty advisor in the CogSci department. He planned his second semester in meetings with both advisors. When he was closed out of the proposed psychology class, he registered for one of three other 2000 level courses suggested by his cogsci advisor in his Minds and Machines program. My son met with him the day after registering to make sure the course(Thinking) was okay, which it was.</p>
<p>My son chose the "non residence based advising option" at MIT. It is fairly traditional in that you are assigned an advisor and meet a few times during the semester. Once you declare your major you are assigned an advisor in that department. He is pretty independent about making choices and wasn't looking for a lot of intense advising, so this seems to have worked very well for him. His advisor steered him towards some great professors which made the courses more fun. Interestingly, pledging a fraternity seems to have helped alot as well as the older guys in the frat have turned out to be excellent advisors about their various majors!! And I was afraid the fraternity would just take away from study time -- it was such a pleasant bonus to hear what a positive this has been for my son.</p>
<p>D is at Smith (as if anyone didn't know :) )</p>
<p>Pre-major advisor assigned (I think) by e-mail. Individual meeting during Move-In weekend. I don't know if formal approval was required...they agreed upon a course schedule. They have met since and mapped out most of the next four years of a double-major. D happens to be doing research project for this advisor so they chat frequently...can't sort out the formal advising from the informal.</p>
<p>D's feeling great about the quality of support.</p>
<p>The only experience I can contrast is UCLA, where if the student isn't on top of it, you can fall through the cracks. And on tour, we heard from students that Columbia was really bad in that regard.</p>
<p>Tulane: Son has three advisors. Tulane College advisor -- contacted before enrolling in Fall classes and met individually with him during move-in week. Pre-med advisor: also met with him during move-in. Honors Dean -- weekly informal donuts with the dean.</p>
<p>Also, my son has been adopted by "Dean Jean," the recently retired (but never gone) Dean of the Honors Program who loves my son (and the sugar-free Marionberry jam we bring for her), and knows more about the workings of Tulane than anyone else alive. She is a gem, and we are so forunate to have her skilled guidance.</p>
<p>CD</p>
<p>Loyola Marymount freshman [woman] - </p>
<p>Positive: they have a June orientation [actually about 8 separate 2-day sessions] during which freshmen meet their advisors & register for the fall. (No transporation problem if you're one of the 73% in-staters; an extra cross-country trip if you're not.) Seemed great idea at the time: kid would be ready to hit the ground running once school started in August. Reality: freshmen get the "bottom of the barrel" in classes/profs. Kid didn't discover RateMyProfessor.com until AFTER this experience.</p>
<p>Assigned advisor was in her major (theatre), as a matter of fact, was head of the department. Disadvantage: had tons & tons of advisees, or at least students who wanted to consult with her, thus no time or attention given to my kid.</p>
<p>Other than this June contact, NO interaction between advisor & my kid during the fall semester until it was time to register for spring. (Yes, signature required for next registration, although no "advice" given.) By then, daughter had decided to change majors. IMPOSSIBLE RED TAPE!!!! Has not YET been able to complete paperwork to make the change.</p>
<p>No undergraduate (student) "advisors" available.</p>
<p>Registration for spring has been a nightmare. They register by "seniority," thus freshmen are on the bottom of the totem pole. Classes with "good professors" (according to RateMyProfessor) fill up fast -- i.e., are usually full by the time freshmen register. Two additional factors cause problems:</p>
<p>1) Rather than taking their teaching "stars" and letting them turn on an auditorium of say 200 kids, the school focuses on "small classes." Thus the lucky 20 kids who get in the good prof's class have a great experience, while the other 180 kids are in 9 sections of 20 kids, each of which is taught by someone "less scintillating," to put it politely;</p>
<p>2) Students have to satisfy "core" requirements, which is fine in the abstract. However, what happens is that for many introductory courses there are two sets of sections: one "for majors & minors" (taught by the "good" teachers) and the rest for non-majors & minors. Students can't get into the major/minor sections unless they've declared (declaring isn't hard, but changing is a difficult process) and the non-major classes are filled with kids "just filling core requirements" who are uninterested and unenthusiastic. Because the registration is computerized, kids can't get on a "wait list" or sneak into a majors/minors class if they're not one.</p>
<p>My thinking was that core and introductory classes should be where a student could explore subjects and be challenged -- perhaps even turned on to an area or major he/she hadn't thought about. However, with LMU's system, the crappiest teachers are teaching the sections for the undecideds -- not a method likely to turn kids on to the subject.</p>
<p>There's been NO advising. In attempting to change majors -- or discuss what majors might be worth considering -- Dean of the Liberal Arts college was completely unhelpful and close to rude. Daughter really hasn't been able to find ANYONE to consult, other than one upperclassman who led her orientation group. And this person's response to the disappointment and frustration my daughter expressed was that this was just "the way it is" at LMU.</p>
<p>I am REALLY disappointed. LMU TALKS a very good game. The head of the university is interesting, seems good-hearted and enthusiastic. The school really seemed like a vibrant, exciting place. But it's been lonely and foreign. There's no outreach, particularly to out-of-state students, whom I understand they're trying to recruit. [To be fair, they do have an occasional event for out-of-staters, but kids have to self-identify & go; no one checks up on them to see if they'd like to go or encourages/mentors them.] </p>
<p>The school's "walk" hasn't caught up with their "talk."</p>
<p>is that one student's "great" professor is someone else's nightmare! Take everything you hear (as a freshman) with a grain of salt regarding who are the best teachers.</p>
<p>And quite honestly, I think that it doesn't matter who is the chair of the dept. as if that alone makes them the best person in said dept. Frequently, dept head is whoever wants to take on the added respons. of management and administration in addition to their teaching and research. I'd think the profs who really love to teach & engage their students would not want to be hung up with all the administrative (serve on this committee, manage this budget, nominated to this task force) crap that can go with being a department chair.</p>
<p>Name of school - Parsons School of Design
Was advising done individually, as a group or some combination?
Individually (as a group when they did presentations on the different majors offered)</p>
<p>Did the advisor keep in touch with your child in some way during the first semester (either at the child's prompting or the advisor's)?
My D received an e-mail stating time/place for initial meeting early on and was told
she could drop by any time she had questions or concerns. My D drops by about once
a week just to say "hello", to tell the advisor how she's doing or just to complain about 3-D! . The second, formal meeting was set up to discuss her 2nd Semester schedule (but had to do the actual registration online herself).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Did your child need to get his/her advisor's approval before registering for classes?
I don't know about approval but since it's a foundation year and quite structured, there
really isn't much choice but I know that they did discuss her 2nd semester schedule.</p></li>
<li><p>how satisfied was your child with the advising he/she received freshman year?
From what she's told me, I would say she's quite satisfied. She likes the open-door
policy. Also, she discussed internships with an advisor in the career center which worked out well as that advisor e-mailed her some contacts.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Did your child take full advantage of advising options?
I think so since she seems comfortable enough to just drop by and visit and took it upon herself to make an appointment with a separate advisor in the career center.</p>
<ol>
<li>what questions should prospective students/parents ask colleges about their freshman advising programs before choosing a school?
Carolyn, I honestly don't know and it never even occured to me but maybe my daughter asked at her initial interview. Looking at the feedback, so far, will certainly
give you some good ideas for questions.</li>
</ol>