Academic Advising and Course Selection for Incoming Students

YOUR GOAL: CHOOSE COURSES THAT FIT YOUR INTERESTS FOR A SCHEDULE THAT TOTALS 4 - 4.5 CREDITS

Before your new student advising call (which will take place between July 8-12), you should identify 4-6 courses in which you are interested. During your new student advising call, you will consult with a member of Dickinson's new student advising staff on those courses. You will use Banner, our online course selection system, to request *three* courses as soon as you finish your advising session. (Your fourth course will be your First-Year Seminar.) Four one-credit courses represent a standard, full-time schedule at Dickinson. (Some students choose to take an extra quarter (music) or half-credit (dance) course, but those are optional.)  

In any case, your priority is to think carefully about your interests and goals. You’ll also decide whether to take a foreign language in your first semester (about 95% of students who aren’t already fluent in a second language choose to do so) and/or natural science (about 50% of students choose to do so). All students interested in pursuing a natural science should take a lab science course in their first semester. Double check the 'Lab Science Advising Guide' to help you decide. Foreign language and natural science study are required at Dickinson, and these are probably the only college requirements with which you need to concern yourself now. Instead, you should focus on your sense of intellectual purpose: what do you want to learn about in college and why?

Please plan to invest a reasonable amount of time in preparing for your new student advising call. Choosing your courses is important. Because these choices represent decisions about your interests, the process of making them should be fun! We’ll be available to answer questions by Zoom, email, or phone. You can have confidence in your new student advising experience: 99% of new students arrive on campus with full course schedules.  

NEXT UP: HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR NEW STUDENT ADVISING CALL

• Step #2 Evaluate your interests
• Step #3 Identify courses that fit your interests and priorities
• Step #4 Organize a possible schedule and any questions you may have