By Josh Williams
New college students have a lot to think about. They have to move into their new dorms, meet tons of new people, and get involved with the numerous student clubs and organizations on campus. However, incoming freshmen often overlook one item on their long list of migration into the college environment, one that is arguably the most important: their academics.
Many freshmen don’t understand exactly how to plan their academic careers. Sometimes they don’t know where to go to get the help that they need to plan appropriately. Poor preparation of such an important aspect of college life can have devastating results, such as wasted hours on unnecessary classes. Even worse, new students may find that they missed required classes they did not even know they needed. Both of these situations can delay graduation and result in more schooling.
Fortunately, for anyone scratching his or her head at the headache that is maneuvering through the multiple bureaucratic loops, fear not. There is a place that contains all of the answers to any questions about academic futures – a magical place where professionals work with the primary goal of helping students graduate. The best part is it’s completely free. Academic advisers are here to help. With their assistance, the faraway fantasy of graduating college jumps a little bit closer.
To enlist their help, all students have to do is call to make an appointment. Each student’s academic program determines which adviser he or she will see. The system is constructed like this because the numerous majors have different degree requirements. It is more efficient to have specialized advisers for each college. To find out which adviser is assigned to each college, just surf over to louisville.edu, where the university offers an entire page devoted to academic advising. At the advising website, the e-mail addresses and phone numbers will be listed for the academic advisers who are assigned to each program. For example, an English major would fall under the College of Arts and Sciences and, as a result, would have to call that specific advising office to make an appointment.
The university attempts to aid the younger class by requiring students to attend at least one advising appointment a year, in hopes of assisting pupils who require academic advice. However, there is a common misconception that a student should only go to this one mandatory meeting, and never again. These advisers are here all year, ready to answer any and all questions from students.
While that one meeting is extremely useful to get the academic journey started, it is recommended that students go to advising for any questions or concerns. The service is helpful and free. Plus, the appointments only take around 30 minutes. Nothing can be lost by attending these advising appointments, and a ton can be gained. The benefits outweigh the negatives by a long shot. Why would you not want to go?
