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All too many times I've been told by one of my fellow classmates that they're taking only one class this semester because their adviser screwed up by telling them they were ready for graduation, then at the last minute, the student finds out that they really weren't ready. Why does this happen? Shouldn't college advisers be people we can trust? I think not.

The college requires that you meet with your adviser at least once a semester to "go over things," and "make sure you're on the right track." However, the amount of times I caught mistakes my adviser would have made that would have kept me in college longer is ridiculous. For instance, my adviser gave me a list of all the classes I had to take. One of these was a three credit course in "Arts." So, I go on-line, found an Arts class that sounded good and registered. After this, I met with my adviser for our every semester check-up only to find out that my Arts class was not what I needed to be taking. I was supposed to take three credits in "Fine Arts," though that's not what the sheet said. If I hadn't double checked with my adviser, I would have wasted that time and money on the wrong class.

My adviser almost made me take three lab courses, when my major only required two. She approved me taking one of my classes in the Pass/Fail option, only to tell me (after the semester had ended no less) that I shouldn't have taken that class Pass/Fail.

The amount of headaches I endured because of the incompetence of my counselor is too many to count. Thus, I submit that one must take charge of their own college experience.

Don't get stuck in college a semester longer than you should have been because you relied on your advisor's adviser.

My tips:

1) When you begin college, pick about three majors that you think could possibly be what you want to get your degree in. Then go through the on-line lists of courses for these degrees, find the classes that coincide and take those to begin with. Always double-check the online list of classes with the lists in the advising office though.

2) Once you've chosen your major, look at the future schedules of classes being offered and create a schedule for yourself (Yes, I mean schedule your classes for the rest of your college experience ahead of time). Then, type of this schedule and take it in to you adviser, have then check it over, confirm it, and SIGN IT. This way, in the end of your college experience your adviser will have no grounds to tell you that you made a mistake because they

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