Junior Year – Focus and Consolidate

Adapted with permission from Beloit College's Advising Manual

Students should have declared a major and had an opportunity to experience more directly the field of study they are pursuing.  Many students will take advantage of study abroad and off-campus opportunities. With all the amazing opportunities open to them, at times they may forget to account for the requirements which they yet must meet before they graduate.  Moreover, they need to consider what types of experiences they should have on their resume to set them apart from others, and that now is the time to begin to consider where they want to be when leaving Monmouth College – and how to get there.

Guiding Principles

• Academic Success

• Satisfying co-curricular involvement

• Pursuit of worthwhile opportunities

• Development of purpose, confidence, identity, values, etc.

Discussion Points: Personal and Social

• Are you happy at Monmouth College?

• Where are you living?  How is it working out?

• Tell me about your internship? Study abroad experience? Volunteer activities? Co-curricular activities?  What impact have they had on you?

• How are things with your family?

• What do you want to accomplish in the rest of your time at Monmouth?

• How might I help you with any of these things?

 Discussion Points: Academic

• Are you happy with your major?

• What faculty do you know well?

• Do you feel you belong in your academic department?

• Am I the best person to be your advisor, or is there another member of the department you know better or whose interests are more similar to yours?

• What other subjects/courses fascinate you?

• Are you satisfied with your GPA?

• What else do you need to do to complete the general requirements and major requirements?

• Are you completing the goals you set out in your goal sheet?  How are your plans changing?  Give the student a new goal sheet to fill out and place in the folder.

• What academic skills do you need to develop?

• Check the student’s four year plan (New Old) to see if s/he is on track.

• Have you filled out your Application for Degree?  It is due during the spring of the Junior Year

• How do your current general education courses tie in with your general education courses from your first year?  What is the mission of the college?  How is Monmouth College fulfilling this mission in your college career?

Discussion Points: The Future

• Have you started the process for applying to an internship/summer job?

• Are you checking out possible careers?  How? Have you been visiting The Wackerle Center?

• Are you thinking about graduate school?  Are you preparing for graduate school exams?

Additional Advice to Give to the Junior Advisee

• Assess your choice of major. Does it fit? This may be a good time to make sure.

• Update your resume.  Show it to Wackerle Center and your advisors for polishing.

• Consider doing an off-campus or study abroad program in your senior year (especially those who previously rejected the idea of a semester away from Monmouth; additionally, some students may choose to do a second program).

• File the Application for Degree form and review the Degree Audit the Registrar’s Office sends in the spring semester to see what else you need to do to graduate.

• Develop your leadership/group membership/communication skills.

• Do worthwhile activities within and outside the classroom: for instance, write for the Courier or other publications;  do a Special Project; be a TA; volunteer and do community work; become a club president; do a work-study job involving  initiative and responsibility (e.g. RA, Career Advisor, Hales Gallery curator, Learning Assistant, Upward Bound tutor, departmental assistant , etc.).

• Do worthwhile activities during the summer vacation e.g. research, volunteer and community work, summer employment.

• Continue getting to know one of your faculty well each semester.

• Explore choices available to you after graduation, including graduate study, employment, travel, or community service.

• Do a career-related internship over the summer, or instead of a course during the semester.

• Make professional contacts. Do this through your major department, advisors, family, professional organizations, the Alumni Career Network and Wackerle Center

Thinking About Graduate School

• Talk with your advisors about possible graduate school plans.

• Make sure to review The Wackerle Center's useful Graduate School page.

• Read and research generally about how to get into graduate school

• Prepare for graduate school exams and take them over the spring and summer before the senior year.

• Remember that many graduate programs have application deadlines as early as November the year before you would attend; therefore, start your search process by at least the summer between your Junior and Senior year.

• Check out scholarships you can apply for as a junior, either for your senior year or for graduate school e.g. Truman, Marshall, Rhodes, Beinecke, Goldwater, and Udall.