Transition with Purpose: Pathways from English Language to Academic Study

127 ACTIVITY 14: GETTING INVOLVED IN PSU: ADVISOR CONFERENCE OBJECTIVE: CLARIFY QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR DEGREE AND MAJOR. MEET YOUR MAJOR ADVISOR. TASK: SCHEDULE AND ATTEND AN ADVISING APPOINTMENT. Scheduling a meeting with your academic advisor should be planned in advance. While some advisors have drop-in advising times and can see students more or less immediately, others may see students by appointment only and may have a wait time of a month or more for an open appointment slot. Advisor availability depends on both the department and the time of the term when a student is trying to schedule an appointment, with the start of the term and the time around priority registration being the busiest. INSTRUCTIONS: You must meet with your academic advisor in your major (not your Pathways Advisor in the IELP) before registration opens the next term. Although you met with your major advisor through the Pathways Introduction Seminar in small groups, this meeting will be individual and at your advisor’s office. Your first meeting with your advisor was to cover general information about your major and degree. Now, you will want to discuss more specific questions relating to your academic plan. Following are some examples of questions that may be relevant to your situation: 1. Should I choose a BA or BS degree? 2. What UNST theme is recommended for me? What will be my first UNST class? When I will begin my UNST classes? 3. Does my major have an Opt-In to Major requirement? Is that different from just general admission to PSU? Does my major have specific GPA requirements for graduation? What if I have a low GPA? What should I be doing now to prepare for these requirements? 4. Does the college of engineering have an admission process for junior year? Do I need to have a certain GPA to be accepted into upper level engineering courses? What do I need to be doing now to prepare? 5. What is required to take upper-division architecture courses? What is a portfolio? What should I be doing now to prepare for this portfolio?