Hang around a Calvin student in the next few days and it’s likely the conversation will turn to the topic of advising. This is because advising can be an ordeal at Calvin and it can be a long, confusing and frustrating process even for students who know their major. The stakes are fairly high since, in just a couple of days, students are expected to plan their courses for the next semester and determine if their program of study is still right for them.

The rigmarole of advising starts over every semester with lots of meetings. At a minimum you are required to get your primary advisor’s sign off on your semester plan. This usually involves a trip to their office and a lengthy conversation about vocation and graduation plans. After this has been accomplished, if you have a second major or minor, you may have to meet with another professor to discuss your continued studies in that discipline. Once your “regular” advising is out of the way you may also have to check in with the academic counselors in the Student Academic Services office and/or the registrar’s office to work through accommodations and scheduling conflicts. Complete this grocery list of meetings and you might just have time to meet with your mentor, and/or if you are a person of color, to meet with AHANA, MSDO or ISDO leaders.

Along the journey through all of these meetings, it is important to keep a few things in mind, such as your “four-year plan” for graduation, the open categories on your AER, the courses you would like to take and the professors you would prefer to take them with. Failure to answer any of these questions could result in the need to schedule another meeting in order to finalize your plans before registration. If you have any time left it might be good to think about an alternative plan, as we all know that one professor’s course is probably going to fill up before your registration time.

Despite all of the hassle of preparing for a new semester at Calvin, after studying abroad three times I have come to appreciate Calvin’s advising process. At many other universities, their size and scale make personal one-on-one advising impossible. You can often end up flying blind and wading through course catalogs by yourself. When you finally do get ready to register for courses, you might get as little as an unfamiliar computer program and an email address or be left in a room with 20 other students and never meet your assigned advisor. It’s true that many of these systems are, as a result, much more flexible when it comes to adding and dropping courses, but the change in peers week-to-week can also make coursework and building friendships more difficult.

At Calvin things are different. You get to meet with people who care about you, meet with you personally and know you by name. Not only are our advisors and counselors at Calvin leaders in their fields, but they can also provide insights into the particulars of courses in their disciplines and interdisciplinary areas across campus. Through the opportunity to build consistent relationships, Calvin’s advisors are able to help you find creative solutions to scheduling difficulties and help improve your academic experiences. Sometimes if you’re lucky they even become mentors and guides in areas of life beyond the academic arena.

I encourage you to go into this advising week with an open mind, to ask questions and be engaged. There may be a lot of hoops to go through in Calvin’s advising process, but most of the system’s “weaknesses” are also its most valuable strengths. And if you still aren’t convinced, at least we get two days off of school.