Just like that, it is already that time of semester again! This being my first blog of the year, it is surreal to think that the second half of the fall semester is already well underway. As a sophomore, this means thinking about what major I want to declare and narrowing down the scope of classes that I need to sign up for. Reminders have begun to flood into our emails from the Advising Center that advising week is the first week of November and that registration for Spring 2017 classes is the week of November 7th. For those of you who were like me and did not have their life planned out or knew what you wanted to major in, you probably experimented with classes as a first-year, but always kept in the back of your mind that you needed to start narrowing down your options by sophomore year. While I am still undeclared, I have gotten a better idea about what I want to study by taking a wide variety of classes. With class registration for second semester nearing, I need to figure out what my next best course of action is. I know that many students here on campus may be facing the same situations as me, so I figured I could share some resources and some of the steps I am going to take leading up to advising week.
Oxy has a number of resources available to students all throughout the year in regards to majors, minors, class-schedule planning, and career planning. One of the most helpful resources is making an appointment with the Advising Center in the Johnson Student Center. By setting up an advising appointment, advisors can help you decide what the best plan of action is when it comes to signing up for classes, especially for those of us who are yet to declare. Another helpful resource on campus is the Hameetman Career Center. Appointments there are a great way to work one on one with an advisor to look at what your interests are and where these could potentially lead you. Advising week can be stressful, especially with the looming decision of declaring a major, but these sources on campus can help make this process much easier and less nerve-wracking.