Worksheet for Educational & Career Goals & Pre-Registration for Academic Advising with Advisor Amy Dounay

Block 2, 2013
Advisor Contact Information: Prof. Amy Dounay Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Barnes 320 719-389-6438 amy.dounay@coloradocollege.edu
NOTE: Email is the most efficient form of communication with me. Use email to set appointments and ask simple questions. Meet with me in person for more involved questions, problems, discussion, and pre-registration.

Students, complete this worksheet prior to meeting with your advisor during Block 2 Pre-Registration, and bring the completed worksheet to the meeting with your advisor. You will have the opportunity to discuss your responses, and your advisor will keep a copy in your academic advising file. This worksheet is intended as a tool to help you design your academic program of study. It will be specific in some areas and general in others. It will change over time. It is individual to you and your education. The questions are designed to help you think about your goals in an organized way. You will most likely need to do some research in order to figure out the answers to some of the questions. You will also need to do some serious self-reflection about your past experiences, your present activities, and your future plans. Step 1: Introspection Start with some introspective thought. What do you want to be when you grow up? The answer to this question is likely not static, not easy, and not simple, and it does not have to be. As with the majority of people today, it is likely you may spend your post-collegiate professional life in more than one career. Your time spent at The Colorado College should not only prepare you for graduate education and/or meeting your professional goals, but should also prepare you to be an active member of a community. Consider the following questions and jot down your thoughtful answers. 1. What does it mean to you to be an educated person?

2. There can be an exciting interplay between aspects of your life and academic opportunities. Comment on the interplay of the following areas of your life with possible academic interests indicated in parentheses. a. Professional life (college major and/or minor):

b. Family life (psychology, education):

c. Citizenship (history, politics):

d. Environmental life (biology, chemistry, anthropology, economics):

e. Recreation (sports, outdoor activities):

f.

Creative/expressive life (art, music, dance, drama, poetry, film):

g. Spiritual life (philosophy, religious studies, arts, natural sciences):

h. International (language, study abroad):

i.

Other aspects of your life:

3. What are your current specific goals, and what is your path to achieve these goals?

4. What is missing from your base of knowledge that you will need to meet your goals?

5. Do you have academic or experiential gaps that you want to fill? How will you fill these gaps?

6. What will you do to provide yourself with academic breadth (exposure to a wide range of subject areas and skills)?

7. What will you do to provide yourself with academic depth (specialized and/or advanced level academic work in a single area or series of areas of studies)?

8. How will you transition to life beyond The Colorado College?

Step 2: Programs of Study Look through the Bulletin & Catalog of Courses for the entire College offerings, not just the upcoming year schedule, for courses of interest and consider College-approved study abroad, off-campus programs, and independent research with a faculty mentor. Sketch out at least two or three four-year programs of study that would include a major and important courses that satisfy the introspection described in Step 1. Do you have anything left over that does not fit into 32 blocks? How do you plan on learning those things? Year/School First year Program A Program B Program C

Sophomore

Junior

Major:

Major:

Major:

Senior

Internship?

Graduate or professional school?

Step 3: Requirements Check for signs that any of your choices from Step 2 fulfill the Colleges curriculum requirements. What still remains of these requirements? When do you want to tackle that? Requirement Program A Program B Program C FYE (2 credit units)

CP: Global Cultures (1 credit unit)

CP: Social Inequality (1 credit unit) CP: Quantitative Reasoning (1 credit unit) CP: The West in Time (2 credit units) CP: Scientific Investigation in the Natural World (2 credit units with one in lab or field) Foreign Language (College level class, AP, IB scores dont fulfill) (2 credit units) Major (8-14 credit units, depending on major) Total Credit Units (32 required)

Step 4: 2012-2013 Schedule Work up a couple of course plans for next year to get you on the way toward developing in as many of the ways you want from Step 1, finishing the College requirements from Step 2, getting one years worth of your major or majors out of the way, getting one quarter of the way through the curriculum you laid out in Step 2, and doing all of this within the 60 points youll have to spend when you sign up. Block 1 Plan A
Course: FYE

Block 2
Course: FYE

Block 3
Course:

Block 4
Course:

Block 5
Course:

Block 6
Course:

Block 7
Course:

Block 8
Course:

Points:

Points: Course:

Points: Course:

Points: Course:

Points: Course:

Points: Course:

Plan B

Course:

Course:

Course:

Points:

Points:

Points:

Points:

Points:

Points:

Points:

Points:

Now, you are ready to meet with your advisor to talk about your schedule!