Are you ready to meet with your advisor?

Choosing classes can be stressful for students but it doesn’t have to be!

There are several steps you can take to make your transition from first semester, to second semester more fluid, stress free and exciting!

1) Surf the UAlbany Site for Intel
Whether you have a direction or not, it is helpful it look at the major descriptions and check out their requirements. Click Here for a list of our majors and if you want more information, just type the major into the search box on the page. You could look at the schedule of classes to find classes that you find interesting and check out their course descriptions. The link to the schedule of classes is located under the academic’s tab of your MyUAlbany student account, specifically under Enrollment Tools. This can help give you an idea of classes that you would potentially like to take. Bring your findings to your advisement appointment. They will help to give your advisor a better idea of your interests.

2) Meet Your MAP
The second path you can take to become more aware of your pathway through a potential major, is to take a look at a “MAP“, or Major Academic Pathway. The MAPs can be extremely helpful in seeing what a semester by semester schedule would look like in each major.

3) Self-assess and Reflect
The third way any you can help prepare yourself for your appointment is to reflect on the classes that you are either taking this semester, or have taken before. Think about the classes that you truly enjoyed, or ones that were not for you! This can help narrow interests to what you enjoy, and in turn, can help you and your advisor pick classes that will suit your specific needs and academic interests.

Being prepared for your Advisement appointment will help both you and your advisor in narrowing your interests, and will give you more options and opportunities to go forward with in the future! Be open and honest about your likes and dislikes, for this will make your next semester even more productive than the last!

Written by Elizabeth Petroski

P.S. from Rachel Moody, Academic Advisor:

Some additional resources that you may find helpful:

• Review your Degree Audit to find out what requirements you need to fulfill for your major, minor, and general education requirements.
• What Can I Do With This Major (Awesome Website)
• The Career and Professional Development Office can help you to assess your strengths and talents, matching them with your aspirations and interests. Your advisor in ASC will use this information to help you map out an academic plan.
• The basics: How to schedule an appointment.
• If, after reading all of the above, you feel utterly unready, come anyway! We are here to help you.