Princeton offers tremendous opportunities for learning and personal growth, but you may need help finding them and figuring out which ones are right for you. That's where advising comes in. There are a wide range of advising resources to help you identify these opportunities, understand requirements, weigh your options and, ultimately, set your path.
As a general rule, your residential college staff will be a good place to start when you need advice. The college dean, assistant dean and director of student life work together as an advising team to address academic and nonacademic issues across all four years of your undergraduate career. They can also connect you with faculty advisers and peer academic advisers.
Choosing a major, or area of concentration, typically raises a whole host of questions as you consider your options. Your advising network stands ready to help you make an informed choice.
Once you have entered an academic department, the bulk of your advising is handled by a departmental adviser. To be sure, you still have the advising resources of your residential college staff, despite (in many cases) no longer actually residing in the college. In your junior and senior years, your dean and assistant dean are primarily concerned with making sure you are on track to complete your degree requirements.
Along the way, you may need specialized advising for the health professions, pre-law, teaching, postgraduate fellowships or study abroad. Or you might look for support finding jobs, internships and fellowships.
At any stage, you can also find a lot on your own — through this website, Princeton Preview, Path to Princeton, Freshman Orientation, the Undergraduate Announcement, departmental and program websites, and the websites of specialized advising offices. Year-by-year action plans can help you develop an individualized timeline to guide you through your four years at Princeton.