How does everyone feel about their advisor? Do you feel they are helpful or a waste of time?


I was just wondering cause I feel like they don't always know what to tell you. I also feel that they are giving us half the truth all the time. I was just wonderinf if I was the only one feeling like that.

As I have said to Abby in previous discussions about the advising process at APP, It’s a joke!! I have had to take summer hours to catch up after the Department Head misadvised me on a proper course sequence. He had me take a lower math class that put me behind. I didn’t even need that stupid class; he said that it would help to boost my GPA, which was just fine in the low 3s. I would suggest that you make copies of your folders and checksheets, and get everything they tell you in writing!! (Because you know that they would never go back on their word or anything like that.)

I've had negative and positive experiences with my advisors. As a freshman and sophomore, my advisor let me take and advised I explore my class options which included a year's worth of classes, that are now electives at best, and not one being anything in my major. However, once I declared, I got a really good advisor in my major and she was very helpful in telling me what sequence of classes I should take and about the professors' teaching style. She also allows enough time to go through your folder each time and keep all your stuff up to date.

I don’t think our advisors always have the extra training they need to be extremely helpful. As long as a student follows the typical track and chain of events, everything works out well, but any time an exception comes up, no one knows what to do. At times, I’ve spent all day on the phone just trying to find someone who can answer a simple question. Days like that make this university seem huge and somewhat unfriendly.

I did not like my general advisor. She let me take extra classes that I did not need (though I thought I did). My advisor in the education department is really good, but I'm always prepared. I have a list of classes I have taken(check sheet) and everything until graduation that I need to take. I have heard bad things about the advisors up here. They aren't trained properly.

My advisor in the Education department hasn't really helped me much. The only way I know what is going on is from other people. They have never mentioned the community service.service learning hours that I have to complete. Other than that, my advisor is really nice and I like her. But overall, I think most advisors on campus have no clue on what is going on. I have heard so many students getting behind because of their advisor.

My major is Family and Consumer Sciences Secondary Education and my academic advisor has been excellent to me. She is always willing to help me in any way she can. It bothers me that you guys don't have the same kind of academic advising. So to say that academic advising is a joke...it is not the case for everybody maybe just for your department.

Im sure that there might be good advisors out there but i have yet to come across one. All my advisors usually have had NO clue about what to tell me. They would usually call someone else if i had a question about something and half the time the people that they would call wouldnt know the answer either. Its gotten to the point that if i have a question about something i search it out myself because i consider advisors useless. An example of this is that next semester is my last semester of classes then i student teach in the fall and then graduate, i just found out like last week that as a secondary edu/history major i half to have a technology portofilo. No one had ever even mentioned this to me and i only found out through a peer of mine who just found out from another student. I have emailed my advisor about this and he said that he wasnt sure that he would get back to me and still hasent. I get a new advisor this sememster because of student teaching so maybe she will know something about advising. I hope

My academic advisor is great. She is always available if I need to meet with her. I've been with her for a year now and she has always known what classes I need and should take next. She checks everything for me to make sure that I stay on track and don't get messed up and fall behind. She is excellent.

My advisor is a wing-nut. Scattered, funny, writes emails like: "Well, well. Yep. Great. See you then." He has helped me with what I needed, but only becuase I was learning to ask the right questions. I don't think anyone who is a responsible student should assume that it is their advisor's responsiblity to give them every bit of info they need. It's our education, our choice, and our turn to drive-- so, to me, college is a time to buck up and help myself, while my advisor is just a fellow busy being I meet with every half year.

Luckily I have a handful of college years under my belt because I'm here at App just to get my teaching cert. and I was never assigned an advisor. If I have a question Dr. Jacobson is the person I see but other than that....

My experience with the advisors in the education department has been very good. My advisor messed up my schedule for this semester because she forgot to put something in the computer that she was supposed to. She never knows what she is doing and unless I go in with my classes written out that I need to take she doesn't know where to start. I always feel like i know more that she does. It's very frustrating!

I agree with what everyone is saying. My general advisor messed me up bad. I could be graduating this semester but she didn't know they major I am and had me taking classess that messed my whole block up. I got everything out of order and so everything got pushed back when I meet with my advisor now. But she thinks her way is the right way and believes in no simpathy in what you want to do. I think it just all ends up with the luck of the draw in who you get. I wish that in smaller majors such as mine that their was more of a option on who your advisor is.

Some advisors are very knowledgeable while others are not. When I first signed up for classes, the advisor during Phase 1 signed me up for a class that I did not take. That was a big waste of my time and money. I am an out-of-state student so I do not have money to waste taking classes that I do not need or would not benefit me as an elementary school teacher. My advisor know is very knowledgeable and helpful. It just depends on your advisor and the amount of help that they provide you when scheduling. I really like mine because she is always willing to help me when I have a question regarding my schedule.

I have had both positive and negative experiences. My general advisor was really good. She had me come in to plan my 4 years of college, so I knew exactly what I should take when. When I declared my major I had a really bad advisor. She didn't even have enough sign up spots for the number of students she had to advise, and only had about 2 hours each day availible. I don't think she really had any idea what I should take, just agreed with what ever I said I wanted to take. Then they changed my advisor in the education department again. My advisor now is great. He is able to answer all of my questions, and is there for anything I may have problems with.

My experiences with my advisor in the college of ed. has not been that great. She is hardly available, and when I go in to speak with her so does not even know who I am. I know she only seems me once a semester, but she should atleast remember my face.
I am also the type of person that needs things layed out for when to take them and get done on time. During summer orientation I was told I could take all kinds of electives, but now I am a semester behind because of them. I did find them rewarding yes, but I would also like to have gotten out of school on time. I guess a semester more never hurt anyone...
So now when I go to my meeting, I have a list of what I have taken and the list for Elementary Education of things I still need to take. She pretty much just sits there and listens to me tell her what I need and she agrees and sends me on my way.

I have had a decent experience with my advisor in the Eduation Dept. I had bad expereinces before, so now I always go in with a list and checksheet of my own. She tries to answer my questions, and if she doesn't know something, she makes a phone call while I'm there to try to find the answer I need. I do feel bad for people who need more direction from their advisors though, because I feel like if I didn't already have my plan, things would not go as smoothly!