This advice is intended for 'rising sophomores' who have just designated a major program and selected or been assigned to an academic advisor in their new Departments. All MIT students may find it helpful, however. We hope it will make students think about establishing positive and valuable relationships with their academic advisors. We welcome comments and suggestions from all readers.

Some students only expect their advisors to sign forms for them, so they never visit their advisors or try to get to know them. Advisors usually respond to such disinterest with disinterest. Other students expect their advisors to become their mentors or close friends, and are disappointed when such relationships don't magically happen. The reality should lie somewhere in between. It's up to students to initiate the kinds of relationships they want and explicityly and repeatedly tell their advisor what kind of advising relationship they want and need..

Students should expect their academic advisors to do more than 'just sign'. Advisors should offer academic advice and counsel. This includes assistance in choosing which subjects to take together and when to take them, what electives to choose, and how to satisfy Department Requirements. Some administrative and research advice should be offered. This includes helping students determine their research interests and helping them select appropriate faculty and staff to approach for UROPs and other projects. Advisors should be able to direct students to the right place to find out about administrative procedures, but should not be expected to know the intricate details of such processes.

Students should not expect advisors to be their close friends, or to socialize with them (unless the student takes the initiative), or to offer a lot of personal, non-academic counseling about their emotional well-being. Some advisors may offer some of their students this more personal kind of relationship, but the student should not expect it, be disappointed or take it personally if it doesn't happen.

The student should expect the advisor to be available by appointment, during the regular term. The student should NOT expect to be able to drop by at random times and find the advisor in and willing to be interrupted. The advisor's assistant is usually the person to see to set up an appointment. If there is no assistant or the assistant does not keep the advisor's schedule, the student should learn from the advisor when office hours are held or when the advisor can be reached to make an appointment.

While some advisors respond promptly and consistently to email messages, some never respond at all and others seem to wait for days. If you really need to reach your advisor, email, call, and drop by. In many cases, it's key to email the assistant as well as the professor. Advisors will be out of town from time to time, even on Add and Drop dates. While we encourage advisors to be available at such times, students should never assume that their advisor will be in. Always make an appointment at least a week ahead of time. Students should not be overly upset at being 'stood up' occasionally. Professors really can be absent-minded, and plans do change. Keep making appointments. In our experience, students are prime offenders in this regard, no-showing or being very late as much as a third of the time. Try not to forget your appointments.

All advisors are very busy. In addition to teaching, advising and supervising student research, they have many other demands on their time: meetings, research deadlines, travel commitments, proposals and reports to write, etc. However advising is an important part of their job, and one they should take seriously. Some of our very best advisors are our very busiest. What is important is not how busy an advisor is, but what priority he or she gives to students. Occasionally an advisor will be out of town, or too busy to see advisees. But an advisor should make time, usually within a week, to see an advisee.

Students should not expect their advisors to take all the initiative. Advisors will not usually contact students just to see how their term is going. Students are actually much harder to reach than faculty. Voicemail and email often goes astray. Students often don't realize how hard they are to track down. At the beginning of the relationship, it is an excellent idea for students to make a special effort to reach out to their advisors, making an appointment or two to ask questions about the advisor's research area, the Department's major research areas, and the theory behind the major requirements, etc. Your advisor is a better person to ask about these sorts of things than your fellow students or even graduate students. If you get to know your advisor well at the beginning, there is more of a chance to start an excellent advising relationship. It would be nice if advisors would make the effort themselves, but most of them need to be encouraged. The student should take responsibility for initiating contact, and feel brave enough to be persistent. Even busy advisors will be flattered by your sincere interest in them and their advices.

Here are some examples of questions that might help you to break the ice and get into a conversation with your new advisor. Don't be embarrassed to sound like you don't know it all. Go ahead and ask lots of questions.

• I've heard of all these 'areas,' or 'sections' of the department. Can you explain the department's structure to me? How do these areas work and when are they important?

• It's clear to me why I have to take "Intro to X" and "Advanced X" and "X Lab," but why does Department X also require these other subjects, some of which aren't even in Department X, and have nothing to do with X, so far as I can see? What's the rationale behind the department's undergraduate program?

• Did you go to college at MIT? [If yes, 'What was it like then? How has it changed?'] [If no, 'What was your college like? How was it different from MIT?']

• I'm interested in computer theory, but I've heard that you need a Ph.D. to get a great job in it. Is that true? Are there other, maybe related, areas where you can do nifty things with a Bachelor's or Masters? Could you tell me about them, and who to go talk to for finding a UROP in one of these areas?

• What courses do you teach? Do you like teaching undergraduates or graduate students best? What kind of research are you doing? What is it really like doing that? Do you work alone, or with a group?

While advisors are encouraged to be familiar with Department and Institute administrative procedures, many of them are extremely impatient with bureaucracy and paperwork, a failing with which most students should sympathize. Advisors should be able to point students in a reasonable direction to find out about policies and procedures, but students should expect to do their own legwork. Similarly, advisors are not ultimately responsible for saving students from administrative disaster. Don't expect your advisor to warn you about every possible pitfall. Read all the guides to policies and procedures published by your department very carefully, and keep them handy. Each student must take responsibility for his or her own paperwork. Don't expect your advisor to save you, or blame him or her for failing to notify you about some petition or form you need to file. You, not your advisor, are responsible.

Students often expect to be able to drop off petitions, Add/Drop forms, etc. with the advisor or his or her assistant, and assume that the advisor will sign them and see that they are sent on to the appropriate office. This is asking for disaster. Always check back to see that the advisor signed your form, and take charge of getting forms where they belong. Otherwise papers will be mislaid and forgotten, or sent to the wrong place.

As many students underestimate the importance of the advisor as expect too much. This leads them to ignore their advisor, to assume that their advisor's roll is just signing forms. They take no initiative to see their advisor, and may see them for as little as five minutes a term. Your advisor can make your time in the Department easier and more fruitful, and help you get into graduate school, get jobs, etc.

1. Your advisor is your primary resource, your best 'entree' into the Department, the best person to explain to you the Department's structure, and the best person to help you solve serious problems, and refer you to other faculty for UROPs, etc. Your fellow students, even graduate students, will not always be able to help with these things. For details about choosing subjects, especially which ones to avoid taking together, peers may be more helpful, as will the Student Subject Evaluations, and any course guides for your department, like The Underground Guide to Course VI.

2. In the event of academic disaster, your advisor is the person who recommends what action (e.g. C.A.P. Warning, Department Warning, or Required Withdrawal) should be taken. While the C.A.P. may not follow the advisor's recommendation, they will listen and consider it seriously. Advisors are naturally more enthusiastic about 'defending' a student whom they know well, in whom they have invested some interest, and whose problems they know about. Therefore you should keep your advisor informed about any major problems you have during a term, such as illness, family difficulties, etc. If you are doing poorly, talk to your advisor about your situation early and often. If you end up having done badly [<= 3.0 term rating or <= 36 units completed] don't wait for communication from your advisor, the Department, or the C.A.P.; get in touch with your advisor as fast as you can and discuss your grades thoroughly. If you've already left the area, email or call. Advisors really want to know what happened so that they can represent you knowledgeably at the meetings. If you've established a good advisor relationship, this will come a lot more naturally.

3. Letters of Recommendation. To apply to various special outside, Institute, and Department programs you will need a letter of recommendation from your advisor. Selection for these programs starts early in the second term of the sophomore year, when your advisor has only known you for one term. If he or she only sees you on Registration Day for five minutes, the letter will be short and unenthusiastic, even if you are a good student. If you start out right away making a genuine effort to get to know your advisor, giving the advisor a chance to find out what kind of person you are, the letter will be more personal and helpful. You will need recommendations later, for graduate schools and jobs. If your advisor can only comment on your academic record, the letter does little but rehash your grade report. This won't be a very positive comment on your personality, which, since it includes important factors like drive, persistence, creativity, etc., is crucial to things like graduate school admissions and jobs.

4. Your advisor just might be an interesting person to know.

Most students don't realize how easy it is to change advisors in Course VI. Just come by 38-476.

Don't change advisors just because:

• Your advisor is late or stands you up once or twice when you had an appointment (you'll do it too);

• Your advisor is too busy to see you for a week (everybody is busy sometimes);

• Your advisor doesn't know or much care about the details of the Institute requirements (that's your job);

• Your advisor thinks you should have the pre-requisite for a subject you want to take now (you probably should);

• Your research interests change;

• Your advisor doesn't ever email you or invite you to dinner (you should invite your advisor);

• Your advisor flubs your name (lots of students can't remember their advisors' names);

• Your advisor suggests you cut down on your favorite activity and focus on your course work (get your priorities straight).

• You feel disliked or have a major disagreement, and never want to see your advisor again (but calm down first);

• Your advisor is clearly and consistently totally uninterested in you (despite lots of initiative on your part);

• You and your advisor never agree on anything;

• Your advisor makes you feel that you are unwelcome except on Registration Day;

• Your advisor consistently depresses you by undervaluing your abilities and potential;

• Your advisor displays signs of racial, gender, ethnic, or any other prejudice against you.

• You're interests are at the 'opposite end of the Department from your advisor's interests.

Some students stick with an advisor they can't talk to because they believe that all advisors are like that. They aren't. Other students thrash around changing advisors every term or so, and end up knowing nobody. It's not usually a good idea to change away from a good advisor to a UROP or thesis supervisor or a recitation instructor; lots of times you need three letters of recommendation. Also, if you have a major problem or choice to make it can be very helpful to collect several sets of advice from several faculty. On the other hand, don't settle for an advisor who just signs everything if you want more. (Some student don't.) Realize that involvement and advice tend to come hand-in-hand with a more authoritarian attitude. Advisors do have and do exercise the right to refuse to let you take or to refuse to let you drop a subject. But there are advisors in the middle of this continuum, who do much more than sign, but make suggestions rather than giving orders. Don't settle for an advisor who won't meet your realistic needs, despite your best and most persistent efforts. Don't change advisors lightly, but do change when you feel unsatisfied, despite your best efforts, over the course of a term or two. Remember that your relationship with your advisor is at least 50% your responsibility.

Anne Hunter 2008
anneh@mit.edu

Undergraduate Programs

page top