May 27 Weekly Update: June Advising and Academics

Bottom Line, Up Front

• Upcoming key dates or action items for families 
  • Ensure your student has what they need to complete and upload required medical forms by July 1
  • Verify your family record in Wake Network (so we have correct contact info for you)
• June Advising Sessions
• What does a typical first-year schedule look like?
• Best practices for parents and families re: class schedules

Dear parents and families of incoming students,

As June approaches, we are turning our full attention to the arrival of your students in August. This week we are going to focus on June advising sessions and academics.

Upcoming key dates or action items for families

• Immunization and Medical Records: According to North Carolina state law, Wake Forest University requires documentation of certain immunizations for students attending college. Forms must be completed inside the Deacon Health Portal, and all documentation must be uploaded by Tuesday, July 1st. Please allow sufficient time for your physician to provide the necessary paperwork and/or to schedule any needed vaccines.
  
• If you have not yet done so, please be sure to verify your family record in Wake Network (due June 1). This will ensure that we have correct contact information for your family in our alumni and family record system. It is critically important to have correct contact information for every family. Once we have your mailing address, we can also begin including you in local Wake Forest events happening in your area, including New Student Receptions if applicable. Learn more about our regional WAKE Communities. 

June Advising 

• During the month of June, new students in the Class of 2029 are encouraged to engage with the Office of Academic Advising for summer advising. 
• Students should review this website fully.
• Note that the University will be closed on Thursday, June 19 in observance of Juneteenth.
• If your student has a particular major in mind, they will want to consult our Departmental Course Guides as they consider their academic schedule. 
• HOWEVER, it is totally fine NOT to have a major in mind yet! Students will not declare their major until spring of their sophomore year. This allows for plenty of time for students to sample courses from many different departments and see where their interests are. As an advisor, I love it when my advisees don’t have a predetermined major. It’s fun to watch them discover a new academic passion over time.

What does a typical first-year student schedule look like?

• In a student’s first semester, they should register for no fewer than 12 and no more than 17 credit hours. Depending on how many credit hours each course carries, this is normally 4-5 courses.
• Students must complete a First-Year Seminar (FYS 100) and a Writing Seminar (WRI 111 or WRI 109 & WRI 110) in their first year. 
  • FYS 100 and WRI 111 cannot be taken together; however, FYS 100 can be taken with WRI 109 or WRI 110. 
• The OAA also recommends students consider taking HES 100 and starting to work on their Foreign Language requirement.
• Pre-business majors and students interested in health careers, engineering, or law should see the Advising FAQ website section on Pre-Professional tracks.

Best practices for parents and families re: class selection

• As tempting as it may be for parents and families to want to be involved in their student’s course selection plans (and believe me, I was in that boat when my ‘27 was first registering for classes), we encourage families to let their students make their own academic choices. There are many reasons for this:
  • Your student may feel pressure to please you by taking X or Y class, even if that subject does not interest them (or they don’t have a strong aptitude for it). 
  • It’s incredibly important for your students to get a good academic start, and typically that comes from taking classes in subjects they already like and/or are naturally good at vs. ones that might be a stretch.  
  • We want students to be practicing the skill of critically reading our academic requirements, doing deep thinking about their interests and talents, and making the best decisions they can. If parents or loved ones are helping guide academic choices, our students can be robbed of the opportunities to grow these very necessary skills. 
• When your students have academic questions, please direct them to the Office of Academic Advising (vs. trying to look up the answer yourself and advise your student). There are two reasons for this: 1) Students need to begin forming a relationship with OAA, so we want them to be the one to contact the office, and 2) the OAA staff fully understand the nuances of our curriculum requirements, so they are best positioned to give advice.

Parting thoughts

Please continue reviewing the Parents and Families section of the New Students website, and encouraging your student to be attentive to their action items. There is plenty to do this summer! As a reminder, we will archive this message – and all our summer weekly messages – here.

With best wishes,

Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. (‘92, MA ‘94)
Executive Director of Family Communications