Summer Advising Sessions Letter

A Persona · 05-15-2008, 06:25 PM

I got the Summer Advising Sessions letter a couple of days ago and it mentioned that we'd be getting a "guide to Your First Semester at Barnard College" soon. Has anyone gotten it yet?

Also, while on the topic of the letter, do any current students remember the advising session and whether or not it was helpful in choosing their academic program?

mythmom · 05-15-2008, 07:09 PM

I don't quite remember. Yeah, my daughter probably found it a little helpful, but mostly, she couldn't stay away from Barnard and was happy to have an excuse to go. She met a friend and that made moving in a lot less stressful.

Snivellus · 05-17-2008, 11:12 AM

I'm going to go because I already know that I'm going to have conflicts with my schedule.. I think any advice we could get would be helpful.

panda2 · 05-17-2008, 06:26 PM

i found it helpful, because i learn something better if i hear it. it made making a first schedule/all that pre-semester stuff less stressful. also, if i remember correctly, the first year dean, Lisa Hollibaugh, runs it, so it's nice to meet her. and meet other students as well.

i recommend going if you live near/will be in the area.

Rachlovesyou · 05-18-2008, 04:07 PM

I want to go - I'd be going to the Chicago one. But it's about 5 hour drive to Chi-town from my house, and i'd probably have to spend the night there or something - is it worth it?

peace. · 05-18-2008, 10:36 PM

^^luckily, i live really close to the NY one, but it seems like you'd have to travel pretty far to get to the chicago one. if i were in your situation, i'm not so sure it's worth it. unless you really, really think so.

mardad · 05-18-2008, 10:58 PM

My daughter missed the planning session in LA because of a conflict with a HS function. She was able to plan for the first semester using the mailing that Barnard sends. I looked over the abbreviated catalogue for the first year classes. It seemed difficult to chose, but the difficulty was the broad array of classes offered. I'm not sure it is worth a long drive.

churchmusicmom · 05-19-2008, 04:09 AM

It's been a while, but I do recall that my daughter could not attend any of the sessions due to scheduling and the fact that we live far away from any of the locations. She would definitely have loved to attend, though, just to get to Barnard one more time and to get more info. Schedule planning remains one of her more intense activities each semester! We have long and involved conversations about each class she is planning to take, etc.

At least when she was preparing to attend her first semester, we did as Mardad described and used the book they sent. She also had some time on the phone with her advisor. It all ended up changing, though, during the first week or so of classes anyway!

calmom · 05-19-2008, 06:01 PM

I did attend a local advising session with my daughter. It was definitely worth attending, but would not have been worth driving 5 hours each way for. I'd say if it takes more than 2 hours travel time at the outside, to forget it -- If it is less than 1 hour travel time, definitely go. Between 1-2 hours.... well, that's iffy & depends on how much you enjoy driving and/or riding public transit

aube88 · 05-19-2008, 10:06 PM

It wasn't that helpful - most of the info is already in the packet. So, if it's a pain for you to get there, don't worry about it, it's not going to change anything. But if you can go, you might as well - you might meet some incoming students, which can never hurt