First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school for the Class of 2015.  I took a minute to jot down my impressions of my six freshman advisees and I guess advising in general.  And yes, some of them are contradictory.

1. This is the first group I've ever had who weren't afraid to email a professor or go ask questions at the Advising Fair.  What a huge advantage to already know they need help and can ask for it.

2. And yet, they are overwhelmed by the amount of new information they have to absorb.  What is "R"? Answer: Thursday in the online schedule.

3. Like all my previous classes, they are already thinking about majors (double), minors (lots) and of course, jobs when they graduate.

4.  I periodically read through the 2015 Facebook page.  Where are my classes? How do I know what textbooks to buy?  I forget that in high school, i.e. 2 months ago, all their classes were in one building.  They were given their textbooks.  They worry if they'll have enough time to eat lunch.   Oh yeah, there was a lunch period in high school.

5. They're very excited to be choose classes that let them sleep in past 9 a.m.

 I love their unedited enthusiasm.   Advising definitely keeps me humble.  Every semester I learn some huge thing that I should have known.  I also have a view of the university I never had before.  I'm certainly not the best advisor there is, but I also know I'm not the worst.  As long as they'll have me, I'm going to keep doing it.

Advising

Advising goes in spurts. Weeks go by and I do nothing and feel guilty that I'm being paid (yes, that is correct) for doing it. Then I have a week where I think I'm not being paid enough.  Letters of academic probation??  Another steep and fast learning curve about that topic.  I've decided I need to go to some sessions on getting into medical school.  I have so many advisees who are "premed" and I don't think I'm giving them good or honest or realistic advice. And that's all I'm going to say on that topic.

Freshman Advising

I am doing freshman advising this fall. Six freshman. I have so much to so say about the experience, I hardly know where to start. It has made me remember back to when I was a freshman. I was often afraid, alone, lonely, uncertain. I spoke on the phone to my parents once a week. I communicated with my high school friends entirely by letters. We never even spoke on the phone. What a different experience my freshman year was these first year students. My advisees talk to their parents on their cell phone all the time. I know they had long discussions about what classes to sign up for. I made my choices entirely on my own, for better or for worse. They talk and text and facebook their high school friends. Even when they haven't made any friends at the UR, they are still very much in touch with their old friends. I'm guessing it's easier to be a freshman now than it 30 years ago. But maybe it's harder to make new connections when the old ones are never broken?