Academic Advising may be a new concept for many parents and students. Both students and their parents are obviously familiar with high school guidance counselors and may not realize that most college advising systems are significantly different from those in high school. A student who is not aware of the ways these systems differ can be at a distinct disadvantage.

Talking to your student about the differences they should expect can help them to make the most of this new relationship and take advantage of all that the advising system has to offer.

What is college advising and why is it important for students to understand how it works?

College is going to be different from high school. Any student can tell you that. But many students don’t know how college is going to differ from high school. The more that your student understands what to expect, the better your student will be able to work within this new system. One big difference is likely to be how they are academically guided and advised.

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Most students will agree that the junior year of high school is the hardest.  Junior grades are important for college applications.  Students are taking difficult courses this year, perhaps upper level math and science, AP or Honors courses.  Students are also busy considering and visiting colleges, working on admission essays, interviewing, and beginning to get busy on college applications.  It can be exhausting for students — and their families.

But what about the junior year of college? Although junior year of high school may be legend, many students find themselves unprepared for a parallel experience in college.

Much attention is given to the first year of college, the transition, and sometimes the mistakes, that students make. There is growing interest in the second year of college as students settle in and choose a major and/or career path.  But after the year of Freshman Folly and the potential Sophomore Slump, there is less often attention paid to the junior year of college, the year of the potential Junior Jitters.  But this is an important time in your student’s journey through college.

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Many high school students spend time volunteering or participating in community service activities as part of their high school graduation requirements.  Those who are not required to participate by their school often participate in order to bolster their college applications.

Volunteering, or participating in activities to help others, is always a good thing, whatever the motivation.  However, one negative outcome of this requirement is that many students, once they get to college, feel they no longer ”need” to volunteer since the school no longer requires participation and their college applications are done.  Like participation in extracurricular activities, some students see these activities as a means to an end (college admission) and may not realize many of the other benefits.

Talk about giving back

Help your student think about why volunteering or donating his time to a worthy cause might be a good thing to do.  Aside from the benefit to the organization, he will gain much himself.

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