ZACH TENNENT 

Opinions Editor 

Academic advisors have much to offer university students new and old when it comes to advice, support and information. In other words, we should really be going to see them more often.

It’s easy as a university student to do everything you can to avoid advisors like the plague. Throughout high school, students are often forced to see their guidance counselors multiple times per semester. Then, come university and the greater degree of autonomy we usually associate with it, the idea of needing advice or assistance becomes even less appealing.

However, this mentality steers us the wrong way by suggesting that once we enter university, we have to be able to manage our own affairs without anyone else’s council and without second thoughts — obviously, neither is the case.

Oddly enough, this fear of outsider influence and desire to figure out your degree or major on your own more often than not seems to drive students to be almost laughably flippant or uninformed when it comes to managing and monitoring their school progress.

Students can be unsure of what classes their degrees require. They can miss out on potential scholarships. I’ve even heard secondhand horror stories about students spending years misinformed about what college they’re even enrolled in. While this last one is undoubtedly a stretch, these kinds of oversights indicate a need for guidance and assistance.

This spring, after three years of fully intentional avoidance, I had my first appointment with an academic advisor to discuss confusion over my apparent progress on PAWS Degree Works. To my surprise, it didn’t kill me. It wasn’t the nerve wracking, uncomfortable, stressful experience I had foreseen it to be and I came out of the whole thing with nothing but good feelings.

This wasn’t a miracle, but it sure felt like one. I’d simply built up the idea that if you were seeing an advisor, it meant you had done something wrong or you were incapable of figuring everything out for yourself.

Once I got over this idea, I was happy to learn that my fears had been completely unnecessary and I found myself regretting that I had waited so long to talk to somebody.

This leads to the most important takeaway I can offer: there is nothing wrong with seeing advisors and once you do, I doubt you’ll regret it.

They don’t just help with picking programs and sorting out degrees either. When you’re stressed or feeling uncomfortable in your classes, it can be nice to speak to someone used to helping with what you’re going through; you can enjoy your major but hate your classes or the way you’re feeling because of them. In those kinds of situations, advisors can help.

Not only this, but the College of Arts and Science academic advising webpage suggests difficulty transitioning into university life, difficulty transitioning into a new culture and unexpected health issues as being among several possible reasons to justify seeing an advisor.

In other words, they can be helpful in a number of areas where students may be struggling. Although this webpage refers to a particular college, it’s worth clarifying that there are academic advisors available to students in all programs and colleges.

As we can see, meeting with an advisor has plenty to offer students of all levels. However, we can still benefit without even getting off the computer.

The Arts and Science advising website also offers academic strategies for success, a miscellaneous list of tips, recommendations, answers to frequently asked questions and more that can put any student’s unease to rest. This page can either provide you with the quick answers you need or act as a catalyst for you to set up a more in-depth appointment.

While I would stop before arguing that all students need to see advisors at the U of S, I would certainly contend that the benefits in doing so would far outweigh the initial hesitance one might feel before making an appointment. They’re here to help — why not let them?