1.3 ACADEMIC PLANNING
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Now that you have had some practice with goal setting, we’ll turn to the topic of academic planning, which will provide you with a roadmap to achieving your goals. Some students come to college with clear direction; they know what they want to study, what jobs and careers they would like to enter after college, or whether they want to transfer. Others enter college as undecided (sometimes also called “undeclared” or “exploratory”), understanding that their experience with different academic subjects will help them make an academic choice. Still others start a program of study but are uncertain how that program can help them find a job later. Each of these situations is normal.
Programs of Study
Even before you have figured out your own purpose for college, you might be required to select a program of study, sometimes referred to as a major, in an area of study like psychology, engineering, education, or nursing. Every program of study includes required courses and electives. Required courses are the ones directly related to the area of study as well as general education courses such as college-level math and English courses. Electives are courses that you get to choose because they interest you. An electrical engineering major, for example, would be required to take courses related to that area of study, like Circuits and Systems, and general education courses like English and world history. The student can also choose electives such as music appreciation and fine arts. Although it’s hard to see the direct connection between some of the required courses and what you want to do with the rest of your life, you may discover potential areas of interest that you have never considered before, discover a new career path, and find a new sense of purpose.
Many students change their majors or programs of study as they better understand their strengths and weaknesses, learn more about career options, and become interested in different areas of study. Some colleges allow you to be undecided for a while or to select liberal arts as your major until you make a decision about what to study. An early selection does allow you to better plan which courses you need to take and with which instructors and students within your program to connect. An academic adviser or counselor can provide you with proper information and guidance to help you make the right academic decisions.
Even if you are ready to select a major, it’s a good idea to keep an open mind and consider your options. You might learn that the career you always dreamed of isn’t what you thought it would be at all. Working part-time or participating in co-curricular activities such as joining a student organization can help you make decisions and learn more about yourself in the process.
Transfer Considerations
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If you are planning to transfer to another college or university, it makes sense to choose your major early and select your courses based on the requirements of the college or university of your choice for transfer. Completing courses that you can transfer will help you save time and money. Most colleges that award associate degrees have a transfer center or, at the very least, a transfer counselor whose job is to provide academic advisement and prepare students for a successful transfer to another institution. All two-year colleges have agreements with four-year colleges and universities to ensure that their students can transfer their credits without difficulty. Some of the four-year colleges or universities even offer their degrees on the two-year college campus.
When you begin college, if you know that you will need to transfer, make sure that the courses you take will be transferable—that is, will be accepted for credit at the new college or university. Good academic planning involves an awareness that your major and career ultimately have to fit your interests, life preferences, personality, and overall life goals.
Connecting Programs of Study with Careers
Earlier in the chapter, we asked questions about why you are in college. Many students would immediately respond, “So I can get a good job or education for a specific career.” Yet some academic programs or majors do not lead directly to a particular career path or job. You actually can enter most career paths from any number of academic majors. Only a few technical or professional fields—such as accounting, nursing, and engineering—are tied to specific majors.
Exploring your interests is the best first step to identifying an academic major as well as career paths or jobs that are right for you. Here are some helpful strategies:
Know your interests, skills, values, and personality. Assessing your skills and personality is particularly important if you have no idea what you are interested in studying or what career paths are related to your choice of major. For example, if you like science and helping sick people, you may want to consider a career in health care like nursing, physical therapy, or dental hygiene. If you like to talk, read, solve problems, and stand up for yourself and others, you may want to consider a career in the legal profession as a paralegal or a lawyer. If you like to work with computers and design games, you may want to think about computer science or game design. Your campus career center can help you discover your unique strengths—and weaknesses—that can influence your direction as you explore career choices.
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Pay attention to grades. Employers and four-year colleges and universities want candidates with good grades. Good grades show that you have the necessary knowledge and skills and a strong work ethic.
Explore career paths. Talking to or observing professionals in your areas of interest is an excellent way to try before you buy. Participation in “job shadowing” or “a-day-in-the-life” programs is time well spent. Many college graduates enjoy being career mentors for current students. This is also a great way to network with those working in your area of interest. Ask your career center about scheduling one of these opportunities.
Develop computer skills. Most of today’s college students are comfortable with technology; however, not all technology experience is equal. As you begin to make decisions about your career path, become familiar with technologies used in your field. Take advantage of the computer courses and workshops your college offers, or learn by experimenting with different software programs on your own.
Build communication skills. The ability to communicate verbally and in writing with people inside and outside an organization is one of the most important skills that employers look for in new graduates. Take every available opportunity to practice communicating, whether through classroom presentations or group work or on the job.
Take advantage of experiential learning. Experiential learning is learning by doing and from experience. Internships and service-learning courses are two common forms of experiential learning, but they are not the only ways to gain experience in your area of study. Find opportunities to apply what you learn in your courses to what you do outside the classroom.
YOUR TURN > STAY MOTIVATED
With two or three other students, discuss where you imagine working after college. Will you be employed in an office, a hospital, a studio, or a lab? Or will you be working outdoors? How can you use the environment in which you desire to work as motivation to get into the career of your choice? If any of your classmates already have careers, find out why and how they chose those careers. How do they feel about their work settings?
Working with an Academic Adviser
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Academic planning is a necessary step in your college career, and it should be an ongoing process that starts early in your first term. An academic plan lists the courses you need to take and complete in your program of study to graduate with a degree. Before you register for classes next term, meet with your academic adviser. Your academic adviser can help you choose courses that are required, weigh career possibilities, and map out your degree or certificate requirements. Advisers can also recommend instructors and help you simplify the different aspects of your academic life. Here are a few ways to make sure that your first meeting with your adviser is a valuable experience:
Look at your college course catalog and think about the available majors. If you haven’t already decided on a major, ask your adviser about opportunities for taking an aptitude test or a self-assessment to help you narrow down your options. Often these are administered free in your career center (Read more about self-assessments and self-exploration below).
Prepare materials to bring to the meeting. Even if you submitted your high school or other college transcripts with your college application, bring a copy of your transcripts to the meeting. The transcript—your complete academic record that shows your major, when you took particular courses, your grades for each course, and your overall GPA—is an important tool; it shows your academic adviser where you’ve been, your academic strengths, and your interests. At some colleges, your adviser may also have access to all this information online, but even so, it is still a good idea to bring your own copies along for such conversations.
Make a list of majors that appeal to you. Academic advisers love it when students come prepared—it shows that they’re passionate and are taking their future seriously. Being prepared will encourage advisers to remember you and invest more time in working with you.
Map out your timeframe and goals. Do you plan to enroll full-time or part-time? When do you plan to graduate, and with what degree? Do you plan to transfer to another college?
Know the right questions to ask. Once you’ve chosen a major, you’ll need to understand how to move forward in your academic program to meet the necessary requirements. You will have prerequisites—the basic courses you need to take before you can enroll in upper-level classes in your major. Your major may also have co-requisites—courses you have to take in conjunction with other courses during the same term (a chemistry lab alongside your chemistry class, for example). So, with this knowledge under your belt, here is what you need to find out:
How many credits must I take each term to graduate on time? (Note: If you are on financial aid, are doing work-study, or are a college athlete, you will have to take a minimum number of credits per term.)
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What are the prerequisites for my major? What are the co-requisites?
Can I use AP (Advance Placement) credits, CLEP (College-Level Examination Program) credits, or placement exams to fulfill some requirements of my major?
What career opportunities will I have once I graduate? What will the salary potential be?
Know what to take away from your meeting. When you leave the meeting, take with you a printout of your current course schedule and plans for classes you might take in the next term and beyond.
Know these rules of thumb about selecting your classes:
Decide which classes you want to take, find out which days and times they meet, and make sure they don’t overlap. Most full-time students take four or five courses a term.
Make sure to register as early as possible—in person or online.
Resist the temptation to cram all of your classes into one or two days. Aim for a manageable workload by spreading your classes throughout the week.
Leave time between courses so that on exam days you can study immediately before the exam.
Go for a mix of hard and easy courses. Especially at the beginning, you might not realize how challenging college courses can be or how much outside work they entail.
Know what to do if your academic adviser isn’t the right match for you. If you think you and your adviser are not a good match, go to the advising office or academic department office and ask to be assigned to a different adviser. Asking for alternative advising is one of your rights as a student. Academic planning is so critical to your success in college that it’s worth persevering until you find an adviser with whom you feel comfortable. If you don’t know where to start in finding a new adviser, talk to your college success instructor.
Set up subsequent meetings with your academic adviser. Check in with your adviser at least once a term, if not more often. It’s important to stay connected, especially if you plan to transfer or apply to graduate school. Programs change requirements occasionally, so it’s smart to touch base with your adviser periodically in case you need to make any necessary adjustments.
YOUR TURN > TRY IT
Have you explored your college’s career center? If you haven’t made a visit, what are you waiting for?