Will You Stick to Your Degree Plan?

By Allison Johnson
Blog Content Contributor 

Something to consider before starting school this August is to meet with an academic advisor. I know some of you might think you are a junior, but there is a possibility you are still considered a sophomore. I am sure even though no one truly wants to leave San Marcos, we want to be done with college in four years – I know I do. The real world is going to be tough, but the routine of an undergrad student can get tedious when you fall behind.

Although it’s not the case for everyone, I recently met with my advisor and thankfully I am still sticking to a degree program that allows me to graduate within four years. Not only is it important to check your audit to figure out which classes you need to take, but also understanding how many elective credits you need in order to reach the minimum number of hours to graduate. You might not notice this if you are only looking at your audit – It might just tell you that you need 24 credits left in your major and a few in your minor. Sounds like your set for only a year left, right? If you do not want to stick around for a victory lap, you should meet with your advisor before the semester begins to verify those credits.

I know at the end of the day all that matter is that you did it, whether it took four years, five years, or even more, you should be proud regardless. I just do not want anyone’s plans to be stunted right in the middle of junior year, or possibly even what you thought was your senior year. Take care of this now before you are signing another lease to stay in San Marcos when you could be moving off to Houston, Los Angeles or somewhere else for your dream job. Doing a full year of 18 hour semesters, summer classes in between, and an internship, does not sound fun at all. Not to mention, crazy expensive. Plan accordingly for what is best for you.

Featured illustration by Erin Garrigan.