Welcome

You got the call, the letter came, and you’re in!  It’s official:  you’re an Eagle.  This is one of the most exciting times of your life and we want you to enjoy it.  But, after the celebration ends the big question comes:  now what?

Well, that’s where the New Student Advising Center comes in.  We are a team of academic advisors dedicated to helping you transition from high school to college and through your freshman year.  The first way we are going to help you is by providing you with a “next steps” list.  Please take a moment to review this list and familiarize yourself with these important steps as you will need to

Contact your Admission Counselor – It is important that you let the admission office know that you have made your decision as they will provide the advising office with all of your important information

Take your Placement Tests – These tests help us place you into the correct math, writing, and foreign language courses so that you may begin your academic career on the correct path according to your academic strengths and future goals.

Make sure your Financial Aid is in order – Continue to work with your admission counselor and the Office of Financial Aid to ensure that you and your family have completed all of the necessary steps in this process.  Unfortunately, we in the New Student Advising Center are not well equipped to answer financial questions but if you are confused as to whom you should turn let us know and we will be sure to point you in the right direction. 

Pay your Tuition Deposit – Your admission counselor will give you more specifics about both the amount and method of payment but this step must be completed before you meet with your advisor.

Wait for our Call – It’s not often you’re advisor tells you to do nothing but that’s exactly what we want you to do.  Why?  Once you’ve been admitted, taken your placement tests and paid your deposit it’s time to meet with your advisor and rest assured once it’s time for that we’ll call you and we’ll call you fast! 

Your Advising Meeting
Now that your advisor called you and you have made an appointment you may be wondering what exactly is going to happen in this meeting.  Are you going to get your schedule?  Will we map out a 4-year plan?  Will we go through your major?  Will there be a lot amount of information?  The answer to these questions:  yes.  We will get a great deal accomplished in your advising meeting but we try to make it as stress free and enjoyable as possible.  To make that possible, it is important that you do a little bit of work before you come to campus.  Some tips to be prepared for your meeting are below.  We’ll see you soon! 

What You Should Do Before Your Advising Appointment

Know What you Can Take - This is your education and you should be willing and able to take control of it.  We’ll give you some guidelines and we may even tell you have to take some courses but you may have some choices too.  So take a look at what classes are available and come to our meeting with some of your favorite options.

Current Class Schedule

Explore Your Major – You will be spending a lot of time in your major over the next four years so you should know what you’re getting into.  We will give you all the information you need when we meet but it never hurts to be prepared.  And if you don’t know what your major is, bring a list of possibilities and we’ll go through each and every one of them to give you a better understanding of your choices.

Major Checklist

University Catalog

Prepare Questions for your Advisor – Our goal is to help you, the student, perform to the best of your ability.  One of the best ways we can do this is by working together with you as a team.  Though we will give you all of the information we can, we still may not cover everything.  That is why it is important to bring a list of questions with you to our meeting.  Put everything you have a question about, big or small, on your list and we will cover it all.  The more you ask, the better prepared you will be when school starts.  Besides, we like a good challenge!

Bring Completed Forms with you – These forms include Unofficial AP/College Credit Report, FERPA form, health form, residential life application, etc.  It can be overwhelming to fill out form after form but it’s important that you bring us as many of these as possible as these are important pieces of information that we must have before the start of the school year.

The most important thing to remember about the New Student Advising Center is that we are here to help.  No question is too small, too difficult, or too silly.  We enjoy seeing students and their families grow through the transition from high to college and through your first year.  Please never forget that we are a place for you to go for help, information, comfort, or just for a little bit of fun (yes, advisors know how to have fun too).  We can’t wait to meet you and please never become a stranger.