Students give advice on how to prepare for their advising appointment

Students with questions concerning their majors and/or classes for the winter and spring semesters can schedule an appointment with their advisors starting today.

On Nov. 5, students will begin scheduling for their winter and spring semesters. During an advising appointment, students will be able to work with their advisor to create a schedule.

The Academic Advising Center, located in 234 Elkins Hall, is dedicated to helping students along their educational journey. According to the Academic Advising Center page on the Nicholls website, students may make appointments by calling (985) 448-4117. Students who have a quick question are more than welcomed to stop by as a walk in.

On the website, there are a few tips on how to be prepared for an advising session. The overall message is that students should to be prepared for their appointment. Advisors know that college can be daunting, so it’s important that students know beforehand the questions he or she may need answered. Whether it be related to career possibilities, interest in taking certain courses or worries about a certain class, students are asked to be proactive in planning his or her educational journey.

It is also important for students to keep in mind that advisors are there to help students. Openness to new ideas and paying attention to what is discussed during a student’s appointment will help them be successful.

“I try to figure out my schedule ahead of time so I’m prepared and have a plan,” said Haley Breaux, a pre-med sophomore from Thibodaux.

Breaux also said that students ask about taking summer or winter classes. Sometimes taking one or two classes during break can greatly help course progress. However, sometimes, these extra hours over summer and Christmas might be useless depending on the student.

“It’s important to keep my GPA up and making progress at the same time,” Breaux said.

Freshman students usually have their university prep professor as their advisor, but if students aren’t sure who their advisor is, the list is as follows: Dr. Amy Hebert, culinary arts and interdisciplinary studies majors; Rebecca Picou, petroleum services and safety technology majors; Cambria Bouziguard, nursing, allied health, communicative disorders, athletic training and dietetics majors; Liz Folse, biological sciences, physical sciences, geomatics and pre-engineering majors; and Brittany Rhodes, education, psychology and family and consumer sciences majors.

“Advisors are there to help you,” said Taylor Meyer, a business management senior from Gramercy. “Work with your advisors throughout your years at Nicholls; you’ll be just fine.”

Being open to different minors could help a student’s career journey. After meeting with an advisor, students might realize their career path is far wider than originally thought.

“I want to know what are minors I can easily accomplish with my current major,” said Selena LeBeouf, a pre-med sophomore from Houma. “Being a pre-med major, classes are already tough, so I don’t want to have to go out of my way to take other classes if I don’t have too. I don’t have to stress about worrying what class I have to take next semester because I have the help of advisors.”

Freshman Victoria Battaglia also wants to know how she can easily obtain a minor.

“I’m hoping, with the help of advisors, I’ll be able to figure out a schedule that works for me,” said Battaglia, a nursing student from Houma. “I already have a busy schedule so being able to work on a major and minor at the same time that would benefit my career would be a total plus.”

Typically, appointments on last an hour, so being prepared makes the appointment move along swiftly and effectively.

Some students are concerned on how to calculate their grade point average. Although there are many websites that help students figure out their GPA, these websites are not always reliable.

“I really would like to know what’s my overall GPA” Colby Bergeron, allied health freshman from Gray, said. “It changes from college to high school and over the semesters it’s hard to keep track of.”