<p>So we are back from NSO. My d had a great time, loved feeling like she was now Blue Hen, and met some nice kids. The sessions were ok. The parent part was tedious, and really did not learn anything not on the web site...
Here is the issue. Her advisor session was dreadful. Her permanent advisor was not able to see her, as she had too many kids. My d was given to someone who was a fill in. Not a real advisor. To say she knew little is an understatement. She had no idea what my daughter should take, could not make sense of her incoming 15 credits, and offered no wisdom, insight, or confidence. My d has classes that make little sense. I am very upset. We spent thousands and days to get there. Yet, we got no help.
Should I call the permanent advisor and share our frustration, should I have my reluctant d who might be unwilling do nothing, or should I send an email. I am upset. Thoughts? perspective? wisdom?</p>
<p>So sorry to hear this. Is DD equally upset about her classes? If so, I would have her email her advisor. Coach her if necessary. There is still time.</p>
<p>I think it’s definitely worth a call to either the permanent advisor or the head of the dapartment in which she’ll be enrolled. Express your frustration and concern and they can either make changes if the classes are inappropriate or reassure you if they are appropriate. Even if your D is happy, you don’t want to begin this journey with misgivings. Good luck and let us know how the university responds.</p>
<p>I am also very sorry to hear about the snafu your D had with the substitute advisor. I would agree with LINYMOM that your D herself needs to take the lead here and if she is upset with what happened she should email/contact her permanent advisor and discuss her concerns about what happened. She still has plenty of time to make changes in her schedule (they aren’t finalized until early August). If your D is in General Studies (no identified major) I suspect she was just placed in classes to help satisfy her General Ed requirements. If she is coming in with 15 approved credits (AP/IB/CC courses) and takes a full course load (15 credits) her first semester she will be in a great position to schedule great classes the second semester of her freshman year (she would be considered a sophomore for scheduling purposes if she has amassed 30 or more credits and would be able to choose classes before anyone still considered a freshman). She would want to make sure that she is not placed in courses her first semester that would be covered by any of the 15 credits she is coming in with (at least those that would satisfy any of UD’s General Ed requirements, where this is allowed). IMO at this point in your D’s life she needs to begin to assume more responibility herself (with our support and general guidance) for making decisions and taking actions on them. This is also part of the college experience. Will she always be correct?, probably not, but this is also part of life’s learning curve. Obviously we as parents would want to intercede (as appropriate) with any catastrophically bad decisions, but otherwise we just need to help our children begin to mature and adapt to life as it really is; with our support, advice, and love. This is just my perspective, others might feel differently. Best wishes to your D. I’m sure everything will turn out fine.</p>
<p>You are right. I will have her email, and Follow up with a call. While I am not happy, I think she can use this experience to grow a little. I. Will back off, and see if she gets a good result. I will let you know…</p>
<p>ugh… please let us know how it all goes! myself and DD are leaving this evening for her NSO tomorrow and I’m praying ours goes better. I’ve been a bit concerned with her course selections. As of now she is an undecided business major but may chose to switch to education or even a pre pharm style track. We were told her advisor would be in the business realm and were hoping they could help her choose some courses for her to discover her true calling. Plus she has some credits already but he AP credits have not been transferred over yet. I have her bringing the test sheets over so her advisor can see exactly what she has but the AP score center is closed for the month of june to tabulate new scores… (can’t figure this one out at all since her scores are two years old but I digress…) Luckily her credits from Seton Hall from high school course are in their system already. </p>
<p>I’m so sorry to hear you had to travel all this way and invest in this trip to feel unfulfilled. I would make sure your daughter stresses that in her email! As a student that traveled 3k miles she should have at least had the chance to meet with her real advisor!</p>
<p>Have you reviewed the catalog information for her major, as well as any advising information on her departmental website? My D’s major has a four year plan listed and there isn’t much wiggle room in there. Which is a good thing. After you have a sense of what she should be taking, you should have her contact the advisor and/or the department head. I’m very sorry you are going through this, but remember that it’s very early in the summer and none of the schedules are yet set in stone.</p>
<p>Socaldad, does your D have an intended major? If she does and left feeling that she was poorly advised, then I would recommend that she contact someone in the department.</p>
<p>If she doesn’t have a major, then I wouldn’t be as concerned. It’s a lot more difficult to come up with a course schedule for undecided kids (as my D was). Even after talking to a skilled advisor, as my D did, it really came down ultimately to picking courses which sounded like they might lead to an area she would be interested in and give them a shot. </p>
<p>As DWallenmd implied, I suspect that the <em>worst</em> that could really have happened - in either case- is just that your D was directed into signing up for courses which will meet general requirements that she’d need to fulfil anyway. So while she might not be further on the road to deciding what she wants to study, at least she will be fulfilling requirements and courses in areas she’d need to take anyway. Nothing lost and maybe something gained. In the course of that she might actually find an area she likes (or be able to rule out one she thought she might like but realize is not a good choice).</p>
<p>As to who should do what, while we might all agree that in the best of all possible worlds, your D should take the initiative, the truth is, many kids, especially at this juncture in their lives, won’t or will be very very reluctant to, for a variety of reasons. I don’t think you’d be remiss to call her permanent advisor to satisfy yourself and if still concerned after that talk, then tell your D why and nudge her into doing something about it on her own.</p>
<p>Socaldad - definitely agree that your dd should call her permanent advisor. I would have her ask for a time that works for the advisor for them to have a call and discuss her courses. She can always consult with you after the call and get back to her permanent advisor. My dd had NSO last week and while she also did not meet with her permanent advisor it went well. The advisor filling in was not from her dept but the schedule is quite tight so very few options for my dd. </p>
<p>Good luck and please keep us posted. From our first visit Sophomore summer, I have found UD to be dead on, very helpful, courteous and willing to help. I’m sure this will work out but can certainly understand the stress level!</p>
<p>socaldad- sorry to hear about this experience. You are paying a lot of money for out of state tuition and you want to make sure you get your money’s worth. My own fear at large public schools was always about the advising. I think to some degree you need to do self help in figuring out the appropriate courses. Have your D go to the departmental webpage and find the requirements for major and/or suggested four year plan. Compare that to what courses your D was given. If the courses are not meeting major requirements and pre-requisites for upper level courses, she should consider which course(s) she wants to switch from/to and then email the advisor to see whether it is possible to make the change. Also- an advisor should be able to tell your D how her credits will be applied to gen eds and/or other requirements.</p>
<p>Today, her schedule was posted online. While she is fine with three courses, two of them are not at all what she wanted. She sent an email to her real advisor. If she does not hear back in the next few days, I will call. I will keep you posted…</p>
<p>If she does not get a response, I suggest your daughter do the calling back to follow up … she has to handle this on her own, if at all possible. I would only intervene if repeated efforts get her nowhere.</p>
<p>I agree with momof2giants they really stressed today at NSO that students take the reigns first. </p>
<p>My Daughter is business undecided. Luckily she had a wonderful advisor today but was told she would not be assigned a permanent advisor until her specific business major is chosen, most likely the start of Jr year. She was given all the info of the advisor she used and was told she could contact her directly or go into the pool of advisors. SoCal what is your daughter’s major? </p>
<p>All in all the day went very well. We were pleased.</p>
<p>M D is undeclared. She sent email yesterday, and got no response. She is working, and with time difference, reaching them is not easy. I will have her call Thursday if she does not hear anything tomorrow.<br>
Lefty, glad you had a good day.</p>
<p>ok. D got an email back. Thanked her for writing and expressing her concern. Asked if they can speak after July 19th. NSO will be over by then. All the classes will be filled. We were on top of signing up and going early so that my D would have class choices. If they don’t speak to the end of NSO, she will have less options. I am less than thrilled with the response. How do you all suggest I handle…</p>
<p>Zoosermom, the problem is she did not ask for two of the assigned classes. She has little interest. While I understand that she has to get requirements done, it would be nice if she took one class that explored a potential major. She wanted to take a class that explored communication as a field of study. i think it would be good to take one exploratory class each semester. She has none. She is entering with 15 credits.</p>
<p>I could be wrong, but I don’t think they actually assign any classes during NSO, but do it after all first year students have had a chance to attend NSO, which would mean that if you call as soon as NSO ends, classes won’t be filled.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, you are wrong. My d can already see her schedule on udsis. They gave it to her the next day. Hence, my upset. What should be the next step and by whom…</p>