<p>I am currently a sophomore. What should be the criteria in selecting your advisor from the names of faculty members available for the current year?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Probably one you’ve had a class with before and can get along with, or one that teaches in the field of engineering you plan on going in to. Does your school not assign you one?</p>
<p>Thanks!
We were assigned an Advisor in freshman year but have been given the opportunity to change if we so want in sophomore year. This year after the application to affiliate with a particular major is approved, we may choose another Advisor from a panel of names. None of my classes is with the profs on the panel, hence my predicament.</p>
<p>Definitely choose somebody from your major. If you happen to know what specialty within your major you want to study and work in post-grad, go for the professor with that background. I’d be very surprised if anybody knows this early on though, and it’s not as important in undergrad. </p>
<p>This being said, choose someone who’s been at your school for a while. You want to have someone to go to who know’s the department and the school well, so you can go to him/her when you need to pick electives.</p>
<p>You may not even use them much. I’m a senior, and haven’t talked to my advisor about course selection. I talk to upperclassmen and work it out myself with the course schedule. But yeah, go with someone you have things in common with.</p>
<p>My advisor is a great guy to talk to about careers and I know him well enough that I asked him for a rec. letter for stuff.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>Use your advisor!</p>
<p>Maybe check their “rating” at ratemyprofessor.com, or other similar site. I’d think that if kids think a professor is a great teacher, he or she is probably a great advisor too.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I never really used my advisor in undergrad, except asking him to approve my course selection. Not saying that you won’t have to, but not everybody needs them.</p>