Advising
Degree Flow Chart
Why should you see an advisor?
- Advisors help you to choose appropriate courses to take. Many biology courses have prerequisites, and it is important to get started on those courses early. Certain courses may be most appropriate for a person interested in a particular field.
- Advisors can help you find internships. Internships are an important way to learn new skills. Internships are also important in helping you to know whether or not you really want to pursue a particular career path. Although an advisor can provide suggestions as to possible internship opportunities, it is important to realize that it is the student’s responsibility to actually go out, make the contact, and arrange the internship experience. Your advisor can then help you to sign up so that you can receive college credit for your internship experience.
- Advisors can help with preparation of applications for professional school and graduate school. Such applications are much more complex than applications to attend as an undergraduate, and an advisor can help you to navigate that complexity.
- Advisors often help by writing letters of reference for jobs, for applications, for academic appeals, etc. However, don’t expect an advisor to write a letter of any substance unless you’ve invested the time to let your advisor get to know you: your ambitions, your qualifications, your history, etc.
- An advisor can help a transfer student determine which courses from the previous institution count towards a degree at Boise State.
Who should you see for advising?
Go to the faculty web page to see the interests of our faculty members or see the list at the bottom of this page. It is often helpful to choose someone with interests similar to yours. Alternatively, you may think that one of your teachers would make a good advisor. If you have a particular career path in mind or if you don’t really know what areas of biology interest you, click here to see a list of appropriate advisors. If you meet with an advisor and don’t really get along, then try someone else! If you are undecided as to your area of interest, meet with one of the advisors listed in the “undecided” section or talk to your biology instructor or to other students.
When should you see your advisor?
It is very important to see an advisor as early in your college career as possible. Students who wait often don’t take key courses, and therefore end up delaying their progress towards a biology degree. It is a good idea to meet with your advisor every semester to get help with selecting courses for the next semester. Don’t wait until the last minute before your registration appointment to seek out your advisor; he/she may not be able to see you promptly and then either you’d need to register without the advise of your advisor or you’d need to delay your registration until later, potentially missing out on open courses.
How do you contact an advisor to set up an appointment?
There are several ways. During the period just before registration begins each semester, many faculty members hang schedules outside their office doors on which students can sign up for a time slot. Alternatively, you may email or phone your advisor and set up an appointment. As you get to know your advisor, you’ll probably end up feeling comfortable just dropping by for a quick bit of advice now and again. It is very important that if you make an appointment, you keep it. Your advisor will not be impressed by a person who doesn’t take appointments seriously.
Where do you meet with your advisor?
Typically you’d meet in your advisor’s office. You can get office numbers off the faculty website or from the directory next to the elevator on the second floor of science nursing building. If you are fortunate enough to have your advisor as an instructor for a semester, after a lab period is often a good time to seek a bit of advice.
What should you bring to your advising appointment?
If you are a transfer student, make sure you bring transcripts from your previous institutions and the external credit report that Boise State University has sent you. Whoever you are, bring any checklists that you’ve been keeping and bring a tentative list of courses that you think you should take.