A List of Advisor and Student Expectations

A list of Advisor and Student expectations.

Students should:

• Make sure your advisor is aware of your academic, personal, and career goals.
•  Know who your advisor is and their contact information
•  Schedule advising appointments early before registration begins, don’t wait until the last minute.
•  Come prepared for your appointment – course ideas, question, etc.
•  Not hesitate to ask questions – take the initiative
•  Check to be sure you've met course pre-requisites before registering
•  Take responsibility for your learning by reviewing the Catalog, the course offerings, your major/degree requirements and by becoming fully aware of college policies, procedures and requirements
• Ask instructors and advisors for help when you need it

Academic Advisors should: 

• Be accessible and tell you their preferred method of contact (e.g. e-mail, phone, etc.)
• Be available, understanding, approachable, and demonstrate interest in the student
• Help you determine your progress toward graduation 
•  Help you explore your interests, goals and abilities, and relate them to academic majors
• Understand the college policies
•  Refer you to support systems on campus
•  Maintain confidentiality and understand the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)      

         

Remember you are the one responsible for your growth and learning during your college career. You have to be proactive and assertive. Advisors are there to guide you but in the end you make all the decisions.

I Want to Study in the USA!

If you are interested in studying in the US, here is some advice for you. 

I started as an international student ten years ago. When I moved to the US, all I knew was that I wanted to learn English and be able to speak it fluently, mainly because that was going to improve my opportunities when I went back to my country. However, instead of going back I decided to stay and pursue a whole education in the US. It has been a wonderful experience and today, I am sharing my experience with you so that you can succeed like I did.

Things you want to consider:

1. Research your options

In the US, you have many options when it comes to education. You can go to school for a short-term program such as an associate's degree, a certificate, a technical degree, or an internship; the length of these programs varies from 6 months to 2 years. You can also go for a long-term program such as a bachelor's degree, master's or Ph.D., or a post-graduate program.

Whatever you choose, make sure that you learn about the different programs and the schools that offer those programs in which you are interested.

2. Define you priorities

Why do you want to study in the US? Examples: academic goals, professional goals, it is being offered by your employer.
How long do you plan to study in the US? 6 months, 12 months, 2 years, 4 years, etc.
How will you pay for your education? family support, personal savings, your employer will cover you, scholarships, grants, loans, etc.

3. Housing

Will you live on-campus or off-campus?

4. Language proficiency

How good is your English? This question may seem obvious (and unnecessary) since most international students come to the US to study English, just like I did. However, it is important to consider this because you need to know at least the basics in order to communicate with others on a daily basis, and specially to communicate your needs and in case of an emergency.

Once you narrow down your options, you can actually start contacting the schools to start your application process.

In my opinion, these are the main things to consider before you actually apply for an exchange program, and this is base on my own experience as an international student. Studying abroad is a wonderful experience that I highly recommend whether you go back to your country or end up staying in the US.

If you guys have more suggestions and advice that should be added to this list, please feel free to share it in the comment box!

How to Survive Your First Semester in College...Away from Home!

Ok, ok...I know some of this will sound a little silly and maybe some of you will think "ha! it's not that easy!" and my response would be "you're right. It is not." It is not that easy but it is easier than you think. If it was "that" easy, there would not be so many books, blogs, and websites about "How To Survive Your Freshman Year."

Your student life in college might not be easy but it is doable and, better yet, it could be a lot of fun!

5 things you can do to survive your 1st semester in college...away from home!

Join a club

Clubs in college are much cooler than clubs in high-school. You can find all kinds of clubs from sports, to service based, to careers, to languages, and even culture based clubs. You can even create your own club, just show your passion and you will meet people with similar interests.

Participate in a College Tradition

Most of the traditions are pretty fun. Get to learn about your schools tradition and participate. Participating will make you feel as a true part of your school and its history.

Volunteer

There are tons of volunteer opportunities in college. If you have never participated in a volunteer activity, you have not experienced how rewarding it could be. Volunteer experience is as important as professional experience when you mention it on your resume. It will show your potential employer how involved you are in helping your community and giving back. Volunteering provides you with valuable skills and knowledge that you might need later on when you apply for a job that you really, really want.

When you volunteer you are not only giving back to your community but you are also giving yourself the opportunity to explore different career options and opportunities. This is a safe way for you to see if you really like something, if you are good at it, if you are willing to do it every day for the next 30 years, or if you definitely need to change your career.   

Find Awesome Study Spots....other than the library and learning lab

It could be really exciting to try to find the perfect study spots...at least the perfect ones for you. Remember, if a place is perfect for someone it does not mean that you will be able to study effectively there too. So, find the spots that you like, how do you know? well, if you can stay there for hours, it's comfy, not too pricey, convenient, and you have everything you need, then it is the right place for you.

You can find more than one perfect study spot if you really spend some time exploring your surroundings. Some of the neatest places are not the most popular ones. Trust me.

Find Your Favorite Restaurants

Ah, food! Yes, college students need to eat and eat well, especially if you are away from home and don't

cook much. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on food, but you will if you are not careful. Find places that serve good portions, who doesn't love Thai food restaurants? Look for places that offer student discounts, and that give you a good variety of meals, such as a salad bar and/or soup of the day included with your main dish. If you can afford it, try a new place every week, or every two weeks. Most students live on under a budget, so you can easily find other students like you and look together for the best deals on food. Be careful not to visit the all-you-can-eat pizza restaurant or not-so-fresh Chinese buffet too often...you don't want to spend most of your first semester away from home and sick of your stomach.

From High School to College: 7 Things You Need To Know

You don't have to pick a major in your 1st year

If you know what you want to study, and you even have a 4-year plan such as going to med-school, nursing, or law-school then, yes, go ahead and declare a major. However, if you are not sure what you want to do in life, wait until you take a few classes, maybe a couple of semesters, and then choose your major.

If you have to declare a major at the time you apply for college, or during orientation, go ahead and pick something "general" so if you are into sciences but haven't decided a specific field, choose General Science as your temporary major. If you are totally not into sciences but rather into humanities or art, then choose something like Liberal Arts or Arts as your major. By doing this, you will be taking care of your core and pre-requisites for the final major you really want.

College papers are not the same as "reports"

Right. In college you will be expected to do some research to support your paper. You will have to read not only texts but also research articles, newspaper articles, etc.

There is nothing to worry about, trust me. If you take the time to gather your information and, most importantly, start working on your paper as soon as it is assigned, you will be ok.

You might also have to do some reports, such as book reports or article reports, but this is not very common in college.

You are expected to be more independent and do a lot on your own

Definitely. You will be expected to keep a good schedule and manage your time. If there is something that needs to be taken care of with any of the administrative departments, you will be expected to go in person to the department and address the issue. For example, if a hold is put on your records because you have to meet with an advisor, or because you have to submit a waiver, you will need to make arrangements in order to take care of this issue without missing class.

I've seen this happen so many times and students usually let it go for weeks and months, and then they panic when the holds are keeping them from registering for classes. If you wait until the last minute to take care of this, guess what? many students will do the same and then you will have to wait in long lines for hours until you get to see someone to lift the hold.

Make sure that you submit all the documentation required. If you need to talk to one of your instructors, make sure you contact them to set up an appointment.

Note: In college, you do not need to bring your parents with you to take care of all these responsibilities. Many parents get concerned about their children not getting the support they need, but in college you will get all the support you need if you are proactive and take the initiative to gather information, ask questions, and become familiar with this new environment.

You can choose your courses every semester

In college, you are able to choose the classes that you want to take. You can decide whether you like your instructors or not, and change them during the add/drop days in your first week of classes.

Make sure that you choose classes at your right level. Having a good combination of classes is key to success. For example, during your first semester you can choose History I, English Composition I, Speech, and College Algebra (if you are college ready). If you need to take some remedial classes, be happy about it! Remedials are not a waste of time or money. If you need some college-prep then it's great that you have the option to do so. Imagine that you are not ready for college but are thrown into college English (which is writing intensive), college math, and a science class with a lab, can you imagine that? In college level courses, the instructors do not go back to teach the basics/foundation, but they assume that you are "college ready" so they teach the level appropriate content. If you do not have a good foundation in math and English, you do not want to start with college level courses. 

College-prep classes (remedials) are not a waste of time and/or money 

As I mentioned in the previous point, college-prep classes are a strategy for success. I have seen so many students feel disappointed, upset, mad, and cry over the fact that they are not college ready. Some students try so hard to test out of these classes, and I want you to be aware of the consequences of doing this. If you decide to test out of remedials, for example math, you can prepare all you want for the test and take it and get the score that places you in college math. However, does getting the score means that you have the required math skills to pass college algebra? Big no-no. Most likely, you will not have the skills, you will feel that the class is going too fast and it will be very difficult to catch up. You will need to spend several hours a week in the tutoring lab trying to learn the foundation in order to catch up with your college level class. So, in short, let's look at the advantages of taking college-prep classes:

Advantages

1. They prepare you for college level courses.
2. The provide a good foundation for the rest of your courses
3. If you don't pass them, you can take them again and again
4. Sure you pay the same for these courses, but if you drop them or fail them, they do not count against you.
5. Sure it takes longer to finish your degree but, what do you prefer? to fail a college-level course, which affects your GPA, appears on your transcript, and keeps you from taking other classes or even graduating? or, fail a college-prep (remedial) class, take it again, while taking other college-level classes, and learn the foundation that you know will help you succeed in the courses to come?

Attendance is very important

Every class counts. You want to take your classes seriously. Nobody will be telling you that "you need to go to class," but you have to make it a habit to go to your classroom and be in class. Attendance is not the only issue to be concerned with; some instructors are very strict about attendance and they might take points off from your final grade if you miss more than three sessions; some of them might even drop you from the class. But you also have to be concerned with missing the lectures! If you are not there to listen to the lectures, you will have to learn it on your own. Even if you get the notes from a classmate, it is not the same as being there, taking you own notes and asking your own questions during class. 

You have more resources. Use them!

Maybe in high-school there is one office that takes care of all the student services, and your teachers do a lot of the work for you, but in college you have different academic departments, advisors, counselors, and administrative staff to take care of different student services. You have access to tutors and learning labs, clubs and organizations, academic advising, personal and career counseling, student life, honors societies, fitness and recreation centers, health clinic, and more!

Become familiar with your Student Life office. Get involved with groups, organizations, and on-campus activities, and make use of these resources. A lot of these services were added to your tuition, so you are paying for them, and some of them are completely free!