A&S Academic Advising: Make the most of your advising appointment!
Meeting with your academic advisor is a great way to learn more about your degree, explore other fields of study, get connected to other campus resources and discover co-curricular and extracurricular involvement opportunities. Here are some things to consider as you access academic advising services in the College of Arts and Sciences.
What type of appointment do I need?
Check out this Quick Links page, and when possible, come to your academic advisor’s drop-in advising or same-day 15-minute appointments! In many cases, drop-in advising and same-day 15-minute appointments may be faster than emailing your academic advisor. Email advising may take up to 3 business days for a response, particularly during registration periods. For long-term planning and complex questions, drop-in advising, same-day 15-minute appointments and email advising may require a follow-up individual appointment to get the full support for your personal academic advising needs.
Schedule a 30-45 minute individual advising appointment. Your academic advisor will help you explore and create a comprehensive personalized academic plan during your individual appointment(s).
Once you have a sense of what type of appointment would best suit your needs, you can reserve an individual appointment in Buff Portal Advising or view your advisor’s drop-in hours and plan to attend drop-ins.
Don't know how to make an appointment? Read OIT's Buff Portal Advising Student User Guide. You can also find your advisor’s email address in Buff Portal Advising if you plan to reach out via email.
Try looking a week or two ahead in your academic advisor’s calendar. You can also email your academic advisor with non-urgent questions.
Drop-in advising and individual appointments are likely the quickest ways to find answers to an urgent question. Check drop-in advising and/or academic advising appointment availability via Buff Portal Advising.
First and foremost, check your academic advisor’s appointment availability in Buff Portal Advising. Meeting in-person, over Zoom, or by phone is ideal! If there is no appointment or drop-in advising availability that works with your schedule, emailing your advisor can be a good option. Keep in mind during registration periods, when expanded availability is provided for individual appointments, drop-in advising and same-day 15-minute appointments, it can take up to 3 business days for a response.
If you are not able to connect with your academic advisor before your enrollment date, be sure to register as soon as you can – don’t wait! Register for the classes you think you need, and then meet with your academic advisor at a later time to review that schedule.
I’ve made an advising appointment! What’s next?
Here are some things you might want to do to prepare for your advising meeting:
1. Have a list of questions for your advisor that you want to focus on, and prioritize the questions if possible.
2. Run a new degree audit before your advising meeting to get a sense of your remaining degree requirements. Learn more about running degree audits.
3. Share your goals with your advisor! Academic advisors can help with so much more than course selection. Learn more from one of our advisors and see how advising can support you.
What students say about advising.
“[My advisor] was very friendly and supportive! Knew lots of great resources and made sure I understood all of the options I have!”
- Reagan M., Art Practices Major
“It was great! [My advisor] is super understanding and helpful! I was worried about messing up my timeline and being behind but she was able to calm me down and make me feel like I wasn’t ruining things. I’m glad I talked to her because I feel much better now and I have an understanding of what my options are.”
- Anjali M., Neuroscience Major
Current student with a general question? Check out our Quick Links page!
Academic Advising's Mission
We create space for students to develop meaningful educational goals and a strong sense of belonging. We are uniquely positioned to:
Advise students in maximizing their degree plan through curricular and co-curricular exploration.
Engage students in their journey of self-discovery and growth, balancing challenge and support.
Serve as a catalyst for academic success and enhance student wellbeing by innovating our professional practice.