How to be a Standout Advisee
Recently, a student claimed to be my favorite advisee. While I refuse to confirm or deny that fact, I feel like it may be helpful to share what actions and qualities would easily make someone a standout student for an academic advisor.
1) Check Your Emails Frequently
As a college student, you are expected to check your emails regularly. While most schools expressly require this in the student code of conduct or student policies, I suggest checking your emails at least once per day, but a minimum of two is much better.
Advisors are going to email you about deadlines like registration, the last day to withdraw from a course, or rescheduling a final exam. These deadlines are crucial to be aware of, as exceptions to rules you were hoping to take advantage of might be denied and oftentimes are difficult to obtain due to the various requirements. Missing a deadline can have a huge impact on your end-of-semester outcomes. Consider what might happen if you miss the course withdrawal deadline and fail a course or miss your timeslot to register for courses for the subsequent semester.
Checking your email frequently is also an essential skill, not just in your future career, but throughout the rest of your time in college. Your email is the avenue other offices (including professors and other university officials) will use to contact you.
2) Be Responsive to Outreach
Advisors are going to reach out to you a lot during the semester. Your role is to be responsive and take action based on their communications. Your response could include answering a question, applying for graduation, or signing up for an appointment to meet. Advisors do not want to have to chase you and send multiple reminders to take action.
3) Keep in Touch
Although it is easy to fall into a cycle of only reaching out to your advisor to remove a registration hold and discuss potential upcoming courses, your advisor can do much more. Make sure you check in with your advisor for reasons other than registration. Some example conversation topics to have with your academic advisor include discussing your involvement in extracurricular activities, deciding whether to participate in student government, exploring research opportunities, joining student organizations, applying for internships, and engaging in activities outside of the classroom. This information can help you select courses that align with your preferences and help you achieve your post-college career and life goals.
4) Reach Out (or Respond) If You Need Support
While most students want to manage their challenges independently, advisors want to hear from you when you need assistance. While they may not be the best point of contact to resolve the issue, they have a wealth of knowledge about campus resources to help you. Their job is to help students. Do not feel bad about asking your advisor for help; let them help you.
5) Meeting Etiquette/Cancellations
This is an easy rule to follow: show up on time for your meetings with your advisor. Better yet, show up early for your appointments. This also means that you need to sign up for appointments that align with your schedule and that you have reminders for the calendar event.
If you can’t make it to your advising meeting, it is your responsibility to cancel at least 24 hours before. If you signed up on your own, you may be able to cancel on your own. If you scheduled the appointment via email, send your advisor an email to cancel. No matter how you do it, communicate with your advisor that you are no longer able to make it to the appointment at least 24 hours before the appointment.
If you happen to have an emergency and can’t make your appointment anymore, say something ASAP. If there is a medical emergency and you are not able to communicate prior to the meeting time, I suggest that you send an email explaining that you had an unforeseen medical emergency and are only now able to communicate.
6) Come Prepared
When you have a meeting, have some agenda items that you want to discuss with your advisor. Having questions is important because you can use the limited time with your advisor to gain the information you may need to make decisions either on your own or before a follow-up meeting. Also, having questions prepared can guide the conversation with your advisor to provide policies or additional information based on what you want to know in the meeting.
Discussion topics with your advisor can include potential classes for the upcoming semester, asking about opportunities that align with your major, changing or adding a major or minor, your post-graduation plans, faculty mentorship, research, extracurricular options, and a wide range of other options.
7) Thank Them
Being an academic advisor is almost entirely a thankless job. Most students do not express their gratitude for their support throughout their educational experience. I know most advisors save all the instances students thank them and review them when they are having a particularly rough day. If you want to be a favorite advisee who is heads and shoulders above others, make sure to CC your advisor’s supervisor when you send your amazingly positive email.
Then, after you graduate, if you want to hold your top 10 advisee ranking in perpetuity, update your advisor as you move forward in your career and life. I know whenever I find out about an advisee being admitted to graduate school, getting engaged, getting a new job, or moving forward in their career, it brings a smile to my face.
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