Your Role in Advising

Academic Advising is a collaborative process. It’s about connecting, forming a relationship, and working together. Like any relationship, an advising relationship takes effort on both sides.

Take time to seek out your advisor regularly—to celebrate accomplishments, to solve problems, or to explore questions—and be sure to respond when your advisor reaches out to you.

There may be a class or an activity on campus that would be a perfect fit for you, but you just don’t know about it. However, if your advisor knows you well, they can connect you with the right opportunities. So share your interests with your advisor, and talk with them about the experience you are having at BU.

As you and your advisor learn together about what you do and don’t enjoy, your advisor can help you imagine new possibilities for yourself.

“My advisor has been a great advisor throughout my undergraduate career… I am grateful that our advising meetings are more than checking off the class requirements boxes. I am always eager to hear his perspective and also appreciate that I am given a chance to tell my stories and ask questions. While I am not one-hundred percent certain which career path I want to follow, he has given me a lot of tools and stepping stones to put the pieces together.”

– Tiffany Yang-Tran, ENG’20

Another important aspect of your role is to reach out to your advisor if you encounter academic or personal difficulties. We all encounter challenges at some point, and your advisor can provide support and connect you with helpful resources. But only if they know what is happening.

Here are a few secrets to success:

  • Stay in touch with your advisor and schedule regular meetings.
  • Share your interests and goals as they evolve.
  • Know your requirements and make sure you understand academic policies.
  • Keep your advisor apprised of changes in your academic progress.
  • Ask questions and be open to different perspectives.

It all comes back to connecting, communicating, and collaborating.