Conversation Starters for Spring One-on-One Advisee Meetings

How was your winter break?
Did you go somewhere?
Did you see family? High school friends? What was it like to see them again?
(For advisees from warmer climes) How are you dealing with the cold winter weather?
How did last semester go?
Were your fall-semester grades what you expected? Were you pleased with your grades and, if not, why not?
Which course(s) did you look forward to attending, and why?
Which course(s) were your least favorites, and why?
What did you learn last semester about Yale? Academics? College life? Yourself?
How did it go in your suite last semester? Do you and your roommate get along? Suitemates?
What are your goals for this semester?
Are you still interested in ________________?
What is your thinking, after one term, about fields of interest?
Do you have ideas about a potential major?
How do you plan to approach shopping this spring? Will you do anything differently, as opposed to last fall?
How many courses do you plan to shop?
Which courses are you thinking about taking this semester? Why?
How many credits will you take?
Do you have a mix of large and small courses? Seminars and lectures? Graded assignments, with a variety of due dates?
Let’s take a look at your distributional requirements: those that you fulfilled in the fall, and those you’ll potentially fulfill this spring. Do you need to begin fulfilling any requirements this term?