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Ask Deanie
| SMU Parent Liaison Deanie Kepler offers advice on helping your student. |
 |
Fall Breakout: An End-of-Term Checklist
Yikes! It is November already and the Fall semester is more than half over. Continuing enrollment is nearing; many upperclassmen have already re-registered.
Meeting and talking with one’s adviser is a very important step in the registration process. Students should “go prepared” to the meeting with their adviser – do not expect that he or she can read a student’s mind. A student should have a list of classes they are interested in taking, and they should have early thoughts about potential majors. If a student is interested in SMU study abroad, questions about classes offered at the various venues should be discussed with the adviser as well.
Choose wisely
Students need to be their own advocates and should not register for classes they do not want or need to take. On that note, please remember that an SMU education should involve exploration from among the many disciplines and classes we offer. Having a broad-based classroom experience can benefit any student in their future career and life choices, regardless of their major.
Also, your student should be sure that all “holds” are off their SMU account – it can impede the registration process.
Work, play, enjoy
My other suggestions for your students include:
- Getting a flu shot.
- Going to the ALEC (Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center)...it is not too late to “save the semester!”
- Drinking lots of juice and trying to eat more vegetables and fewer French fries.
- Exercising regularly at the Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports.
- Getting out of their residence hall to study. (There is just something about studying at the library or study room that enhances retention vs. lying on one’s bed with the TV on and telephone ringing trying to focus on economic theory, the history of art in the Middle Ages, or that lengthy calculus equation.) HINT: The main library is now open 24 hours a day to fit students’ schedules.
- Encourage your student to attend SMU’s two remaining home football games – the team is doing great and the student body’s support is important to their success.
- Homecoming 2006 activities begin this week. Your student can enjoy a typical college weekend full of festivities – float building, homecoming parade, Boulevard activities, king and queen candidates, performances by the Mustang Band, and lots of alumni back on campus.
Stop and smell the flowers
Finally, I hope your students will take a moment on a crisp Dallas morning to take in the blue sky and the beautiful fall colors that have engulfed the campus, and to realize how fortunate they are to have the support of a loving family and the opportunity to pursue an education at a place like SMU. Many in this world are not so lucky.
Question for Deanie? Ask Deanie at gkepler@smu.edu or 214-768-4797.
