July 2, 2021

Dear Class of 2025,

This week’s message contains an introduction to advising resources on campus from the Undergraduate Education Office. At Yale, you will often hear that you have access to a constellation of advisors. You will have many people looking out for you and offering guidance during your time here. When you arrive on campus, reach out to your advisors, get to know them, and always feel free to ask questions.

Warmly,
Dean Peck


Dear Yale College Class of 2025,

In our previous messages , we explained Yale’s approach to undergraduate education and invited you to begin to explore Yale’s academic programs and courses. This week, we provide an overview of the extensive advising resources and introduce you to the people who will be your  primary points of contact  for advice in your first year. Use them! They are all ready to help you as you decide how you will go through your first year at Yale.

Now that you know your residential college, you also know one of your principal academic advisers: your residential college dean. Your dean lives and has an office in your residential college and is someone to whom you may turn for academic and personal advice throughout your time at Yale. You will meet your dean in your first days at Yale and will hear from your dean frequently. The residential college dean also oversees your residential college’s advising networks, which includes first-year counselors and college advisers. 

First-year counselors, known colloquially as “FroCos,” are seniors from your residential college who live among the first-year students in your college. They can provide practical assistance and give firsthand advice on how best to use the academic and other resources of your residential college and of Yale College in general. Other peer advisers, such as the peer liaisons affiliated with the eight campus centers and peer mentors affiliated with many of the academic departments, can also provide valuable advice from a student perspective.

College advisers are faculty or staff members affiliated with your residential college who have volunteered to advise incoming students about their academic and extracurricular interests and aspirations. You will have an opportunity to meet your college adviser shortly before the fall term begins to discuss your academic goals and plans for the coming year, but your college adviser is available to meet with you throughout the term. 

Lastly, every academic department and program has a director of undergraduate studies (DUS) who oversees that department’s or program’s undergraduate curriculum and advising resources. A DUS will become your primary academic adviser after you declare a major, but you may find yourself consulting a DUS in your first year about placement matters or first-year course sequences.

Additional information about Yale’s advising resources may be found on the Advising Resources website 

Our next message later this month will describe campus resources that provide academic support or guidance. Until then, please note the July 30 deadline, listed below, for completing the High School Math and Science Survey and any relevant placement tests.

Sincerely, 
The Office of Undergraduate Education