Frequently Asked Questions about Pre-Major Advising

1. Who will be my pre-major advisor?
   All entering students are assigned a faculty or professional staff member as their pre-major advisor. This person has been trained to answer any questions you may have about your program of study. As importantly, if your adviser doesn’t know the answer to a particular question, he or she knows how to find it.
    
2. When will I meet my faculty advisor?
   If you are a student in Arts & Sciences, on Thursday, August 30th, the day after you move in, you will have a late afternoon meeting with your advising group and then go to dinner together. Your advisor will join the group for the meeting and for dinner. Students in Engineering will meet with their advisors on the evening of Wednesday, August 29th.
    
3. When can I sign up for courses?
   If you are a student in Arts & Sciences, on Friday, August 31st, you will work with your Orientation Leaders to prepare a tentative program of study and then meet with your academic advisor to finalize things. Registration, when you actually "sign up" for the courses you want, takes place the next day, Saturday, September 1st. Engineering students will have their individual advising meetings on Thursday, August 30th and register on Friday, August 31st .
   Please click here for a guide on how to use SIS online to register for classes. This process will be reviewed during Orientation and help will be available during registration.
    
4. What can I expect from my advisor?
   First and foremost, your pre-major academic advisor has made a commitment to be available to you on an ongoing basis. He or she is ready and willing to talk with you about a range of important decisions: which courses to take, how best to fulfill the foundation and distribution requirements, which majors might work well for you, whether or not studying overseas in your junior year makes sense for you, and even what career goals you may be entertaining.
    
5. What can I expect from my Orientation Leaders?
   Orientation Leaders will guide your advising group through Orientation Week and will play a key role in helping you understand factors in your decision making about a program of study (foundation and distribution requirements, for example), how to manage your time efficiently, how to integrate extracurricular activities, and so on.
    
6. What should my advisor expect from me?
   By far the most important responsibility you have toward your pre-major adviser is to stay in touch. Find out when your adviser has office hours (times that you can either drop by to talk or sign up for an appointment.) In addition, make sure you know your adviser’s e-mail address and phone number. In turn, make sure your adviser has up-to-date contact information for you (address, phones, e-mail). The more you talk with your adviser, the easier it will become and the more you will gain from the relationship.