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Q:

Are students given personally assigned advisors or is advising conducted by an advisement center?

A: Student smiling for photo holding Dartmouth pennant over head

Students are personally assigned advisors!

As a New Jerseyan, many of my friends went to Rutgers, our state school, with 36,000+ undergraduates. My friends were shocked when they learned I had a personal faculty advisor. Dartmouth is a small college with about 4,400 undergraduates, which means each student gets individualized attention. The summer before freshman year, I filled out a brief advising questionnaire that asked about my interests, potential majors, and concerns. Since I am a prospective economics major, it made sense that I matched with Professor Staiger in the economics department. However, your advisor won't always line up with your major. One of my friends is a math major, but he has an African American Studies professor as his advisor. Don't worry, though! During your freshman year, you will spend most of your time completing distributive requirements and exploring different fields. Your advisor will correspond more closely to your major in your sophomore year. 

After orientation, Professor Staiger reached out to me and scheduled a 30-minute appointment to select classes. He showed me how to use the Timetable (which shows course offerings and times for the term), create a balanced schedule, and register for classes on Darthub. Even during this virtual Spring term, Professor Staiger answered my many frantic emails about the class waitlist and adding a fourth course. 

Students are also assigned an Undergraduate Dean, who you can consult for academic, personal, and social issues. If you need a second opinion on courses, are feeling overwhelmed by schoolwork, or are struggling to pick a major, your Dean is a great starting point. Other great resources include your Undergraduate Advisor (an upperclassman that lives on your residential floor) and your House Advisor. In addition, Dartmouth offers career advising through the Center for Professional Development (CPD) and pre-professional clubs such as the Dartmouth Consulting Group and Women in Computer Science. Best of all, the upperclassmen are beyond helpful—willing to grab a meal with you, give you their phone number, or offer advice. I'm lucky to say that I have always felt supported by the resounding number of resources Dartmouth provides. 

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