<p>well how is it? i heard it’s great at some schools, not so at others</p>
<p>That depends greatly on your college and your major.</p>
<p>You’re computer science.</p>
<p>David Cordes, PhD</p>
<p>**Professor and Department Head, Department of Computer Science</p>
<p>Director, Freshman Engineering Program**</p>
<p>205-348-6363</p>
<p><a href=“mailto:cordes@cs.ua.edu”>cordes@cs.ua.edu</a></p>
<p>Dr. Cordes is very good about responding to emails (unless he’s on vacation.) Since he’s both the CS Dept Head and the Director of Freshmen Engineering, I would think he’d be a good source for answers/help. </p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>If OP’s in engineering, that I would say the advising is great. Engineering has far fewer students than business or A&S, so it’s much easier to get individualized attention during the advising process.</p>
<p>cool m2ck! maybe i will contact him in the future :)</p>
<p>do some departments have better advisers than others? and what role do they play at this university…like do they only help you pick classes, or do they also ac as guides/counselors?</p>
<p>Some majors have rather tight sequencing or req’d courses, so “advising” is a bit redundant. Who needs to be told to take XXXX when XXXX is already listed as a required course for the major? </p>
<p>Some majors already have each semester already laid out - either on the website or in the undergrad catalog. For instance…</p>
<p>First semester</p>
<p>Frosh Comp I
Cal I
General Bio
Bio Lab
Foreign language</p>
<p>So, in the above example, your only “choice” is your foreign language and that’s a personal choice. An advisor isn’t likely going to say, Take French, don’t take German.</p>
<p>My son’s applied math major with classical track has each semester pretty much spelled out. He was able to add a couple of minors simply because AP classes replaced some of the req’d courses. An advisor might have suggested a minor if my son didn’t already have two in mind…CBHP and philosophy.</p>
<p>An advisor might take a larger role if you’re deciding within your major, which emphasis or track is better for you. For instance, in Math, there are several tracks you can follow, so an advisor might help you “hash out” which track is a better fit for your abilities and interests.</p>
<p>I will say that as far as Comp. Sci. goes, DS has had almost immediate email response from Dr. Cordes when he has had a scheduling (or other) question.
The actual scheduling gets a bit more confusing when you vary from the track sheet by APing out of classes, but again it is very easy to get a response from Dr. Cordes.</p>
<p>As far as DSs trying to double major out of his college (Engr. + A&S), that seems a bit more difficult but I’m sure that once he gets on campus he will find the right resources. It does seem like right now, because AFAIK you can’t declare your double major before you start, the advising is dedicated to those in the college with your primary major.</p>
<p>True…</p>
<p>You can’t declare a second major before you start at Bama. You declare one major at first.</p>
<p>And, when I once emailed Dr. Cordes with a question, he answered within about 3 minutes. I was amazed because it wasn’t during “business hours.”</p>
<p>How about Pre-Med?</p>
<p>dr. cordes has answered our questions quickly and he is very nice.</p>
<p>*How about Pre-Med? *</p>
<p>I like how Bama has recently changed its pre-med advising. They used to have 2 advisors who worked with pre-med students. Now, they have 3 advisors. Two advisors who work with frosh/soph pre-med students. The third advisor (who is the most senior & experienced advisor) works only with juniors and seniors. </p>
<p>This is a better plan because it “frees up” the time for the more experienced advisor to work with the students who’ve made it thru the “weeder courses” and are still on track to apply to med school.</p>
<p>M2CK- Do you know the name of the third pre-med advisor? Would it happen to be Chris Hutt? My son will have already completed all his college level premed requirements (college chem 1,2, Orgo 1,2, Bio 1,2 etc) when he starts college next year so his will be a bit of an unusual situation and I would prefer to talk to someone who can advise him on how to best proceed.</p>
<p>We found pre-med adviser Jessica Gentry to be VERY helpful. She looked over D’s schedule and told her of alternative options. An email is all it took for D to get a registration override she needed.</p>