Routine Maintenance
Ever notice how failing to deal with those routine things usually means a much bigger mess to clean up later. Whether it is plumbing, automotive, a personal relationship, sooner or later there is a price (often much higher) to pay. Laziness, avoidance, procrastination, I’ll get around to it…all are reasons why we ignore the routine maintenance. When was the last time you took your academic program in for routine maintenance? Have you talked to your academic advisor about your path to graduation, satisfying all those requirements, next semester’s courses, that internship, a summer course? I didn’t think so. That’s okay, I am sure you have spent plenty of time figuring out how you will solve the mess avoiding the advisor visit will create. You might also want to give your parents a heads up as well, I suspect they are interested in how this bigger mess will go away.
As an Art History major, I sometimes feel overwhelmed with all of the classes I need to take before graduation. I know how to run a degree evaluation, but how can I be sure not to miss out on a prereq I should be taking now for a higher-level course I’ll need down the road? How can I better map out what courses I should be taking each semester?
Three things you can do. First, check with your advisor who should be familiar with the prepreqs and the proper sequencing of courses within your major. Second, many departments have a two-year sequence of intended course offerings so you can plan out a reasonable order in which to complete your course of study. Third, see if the department has a block schedule either online or in a hard copy. Numbers 2 and 3 may require a trip to the department and a conversation with the department secretary, another excellent source of information. A little bit of planning can avoid a lot of headaches later.