Happy Almost Halloween Everyone! I feel like I say this every post, but where has the time gone? It feels like just yesterday I began my work here in CAP and you all began your first years. But yet here we are, knocking on the door of Spring registration! I've met with many of you to discuss your classes this semester, how they're going, and what you're considering for majors (if any) and classes for next semester. Here's some information you might want to consider when you're thinking about registration:

-Spring 2016 class enrollment days for First Year students are Tuesday, November 10 and Wednesday, November 11 with enrollment times spread throughout the day. Open enrollment then opens on Thursday, November 12 at 12:01 AM. You can look at the "Enrollment Dates Section" in your MyMadison account to see your date, but you'll have to click "details" and then select "Spring Semester 2016" to see the actual time during your designated day that you'll be able to begin registering.

- If you haven't completed Cluster One: Skills for the 21st Century yet, you've got to by the end of your first year. And if you're curious about that MREST requirement you might keep hearing about, don't worry! You fulfill that in your SCOM class!

- Also, if there are majors that you're considering, my recommendation would be to look at the catalog (either your copy from orientation or online) and determine if any of the introductory courses for that major (the lower level courses) overlap with any remaining GenEds. That way you can take one class that will count for two requirements! 

NOTE: Some majors are tricky in that you have to declare the major before you can begin taking any of the required major courses, so just be aware of this when you go to register. Pay special attention to courses that have pre-requisites (courses you have to take before taking another) or co-requisites (courses that must be taken at the same time).

- Check out the Major Snapshot page, here's what it looks like! Also, reading about some of the GenEds could help you decide which you want to register for! Find their descriptions here.

- Have more than one schedule created or list of options for courses. Classes fill up quickly, and so its important to have multiple options of courses that you would be happy to take next semester. And if you've got your heart set on one course, keep your eyes on MyMadison. There is always adding, dropping, and swapping that happens!

- View the tutorial for the Schedule Planner and see if you're interested in using it. It's a great new tool on MyMadison that will do some pretty helpful things like...

                      - Block  unavailable times due to practices, work schedules, or other time commitments                         you might need to work around

                      - Produce all available combinations of selected classes for preview and comparison,                             taking into account the reserved periods of time

                      - Lock in favorite selections of courses when generating schedules

                      - Move preferred courses into the shopping cart when ready for enrollment

NOTE: Be careful with the shopping cart feature! Just because you put a course in your shopping cart doesn't reserve you a spot. Others can still register for a spot in that class and by the time you go to register, it could be full...so just be aware of the capacity and if a class in your cart is full before you try and hit that register button!

- Clear any holds you might have with the University. You can't register for the Spring until all holds have been resolved. You can do this by logging into MyMadison, going into your Student Center, and checking the "Holds" box. If there is something other than "No Holds" listed, click on "details," which will give you instructions for contacting the appropriate office to clear the hold(s).

 - Submit any previously earned credit 

- Identify your foreign language placement. If you're interested in continuing a language you took in high school, you can take the Foreign Language placement exam online to understand your score, click here. If you've already taken the test, you can view your scores by clicking on the drop down menu in your MyMadison Student Center and clicking "View Test Scores." Finally, if you're interested in taking a language that does not offer a placement exam, talk to the head professor in that language. To learn more you can can visit the Modern Foreign Language Department's Placement Exam website.

- I'd love to meet with you, but if you really want to chat with someone and don't have time to make an appointment, the Madison Advising Peers (MAPS) are a student group dedicated to helping other JMU students map out their time here, navigate MyMadison, declare or change a major, and tackle those GenEds. They operate from 10AM-5PM Monday-Thursday and from 10AM-3PM on Fridays. Their offices are: Roop 201, RoopG24 (Pre-Professional Health programs), Showker 205 (College of Business office), and Phys.Chem 1216 & 3348 (Chemistry office). No appointments necessary, you can just drop on in!

Now, for some of the events happening on campus during this very exciting time of year!

• Interested in living off-campus next year but have some questions? The Off-Campus Life Office, located in the Festival (Room 1130) on the first floor, will be providing free candy and housing information to those who knock on their door anytime between 1-4 PM tomorrow, Friday October 30th!

• I've posted about Study Abroad before, but if you're interested in studying at one of JMU's partner institutions abroad, you might consider applying for an exchange program. Not sure what that's all about? Learn about the different opportunities related to exchanges, application processes, and the overall benefits of studying abroad here or at any of the following information sessions:
• Tuesday, November 3 @ 4PM in Madison Union 404
• Tuesday, November 17 @ 4PM in Madison Union 404
• Tuesday, January 19 @ 4PM in Madison Union 304
• Wednesday, January 20 @ 4PM in Madison Union 304

The application deadline for the upcoming academic year (Fall 2016, Spring 2017, or AY 2016-2017) is February 1, 2016.

• Want to study abroad, but not sure how to finance it? The Office of International Programs is promoting several scholarship opportunities for JMU semester and short-term programs, with awards ranging from $1,000-$5,000. To be considered, you must have a JMU study abroad program application and scholarship application completed by November 1, 2015 (just a couple days away!) Apply now!

So whether you're dressing up or not, putting on some classic Halloween flicks and hanging out, or checking out some of the festivities downtown I hope you have a fun and safe Halloween!  

It's mid-October and that means that for a lot of you, you're probably taking or facing midterm time. That also means that a lot of you may be feeling run down from studying and maybe even overwhelmed. College just isn't high school- classes and professors are different and daily schedules look wildly different than the structured day of high school. Maybe how you have to study has changed entirely- needing to dedicate more time than you once did or learn how to utilize resources that you never even knew existed before JMU. Perhaps you used to always study at home in your room, but now studying in the residence hall seems challenging and full of distractions (Netflix, roommates, etc.). So I challenge you to ask yourself:

How am I doing? Am I taking care of myself and doing what I need to do for me on a daily basis so that I am successful in classes but also have a balance and healthy lifestyle?

As you think about these things, take note of what your day-to-day looks like and don't forget about some of the following things:

1) Eating throughout the day will keep you mentally focused in class. If you have a tight schedule, plan ahead so that you're not starving in the middle of the day and unable to concentrate on class material.

2) Take time to study...I mean really study. It's a good rule of thumb for college students to dedicate 2 hours of out-of-class studying per credit hour. So if you're in 15 credits worth of classes this semester (5, 3-credit classes), you are looking at 30 out-of-class hours studying. There are so many resources on-campus for you to utilize that will make these 30 hours incredibly productive. In the Student Success Center it's a one stop shop for the following Learning Centers:

Study Spaces in Carrier 

3) Learn about yourself, know your study style, embrace it. If you study alone, but need no distractions, there are some great spots on campus. Carrier Library, as well as Rose Library, have some quiet spaces as you move up the floors. The 4th floor of Rose is particularly beautiful. Before you get into the stacks for the books, the elevator lets you out into a pretty expansive space with a variety of options- tabletops if you need them, comfy chairs if you're looking to do some reading...check it out! If you need group study spaces, you can always request study rooms at either library, and there are also 2 study rooms on the 1st floor of the SSC, with flat panel displays for pulling up a PowerPoint or other media, whiteboard walls, and blinds to pull down over the windows that enclose the space. There are some guidelines for booking the rooms and you can find those here.

Rose Library (East Campus)

4) Manage your time. With such a variety of opportunities for you to get involved with on-campus, it can be easy to race around from event to event or club to club and be so exhausted that it's hard to find the time or energy to study after. By mapping out your day in a planner or on a schedule template where you can see each hour before you, you can discover the empty blocks of time you have that you maybe didn't realize before. Make sure to put mealtimes in there, class times, gym time, and any other commitments you may have. Then you'll be able to clearly see the free blocks of time! Learning Strategies Instruction, also located on the 1st floor of the SSC in the Office of Disability Services, is a free service for students that provides individualized academic coaching, and also may be interested in learning some time management skills/ They can work with you to create a planner/schedule that accommodates your syllabi, buy also including dates for papers, exams, projects, etc.

5) Create a healthy balance for yourself. Let's face it, there are some really cool things happening on campus! Take some time to explore Community-Service Learning, discover all that Student Activities & Involvement has to offer (like Madison Meditates, Open Mic Night, and Tea Time) or take your adventure off-campus and participate in a local 5K. Plus, there's always the upcoming events section...

Upcoming Events

• Fall Service Fair: CS-L's fall service fair is an opportunity for you to learn about different local and national service opportunities with organizations like City Year, Teach for America, and Boys & Girls Club. Come check it out tomorrow, Wednesday October 14 from 10AM-2PM in SSC Room 1075!
• GetDown at SunDown: Held every Friday at 5:30 PM on the Festival Lawn, this weekly event put on by MAD4U programming hosts music, games, treats, and performance.
• Alternative Spring Break Information Sessions are being held next week for those interested in spending their spring break in service to those around us. The session for flying trips is Wednesday, October 21 from 7-9 PM in the Festival Highlands room. The session for driving trips is on Wednesday October 27 from 7:00-8:30PM in the Festival Ballroom.

Finally, some words of optimism as you continue on in the semester and face the midterm crunch...

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started."

~Mark Twain~

Happy October! I hope you were somewhere dry for the JMU Flood of 2015! It doesn't look like we're going to be out of the rain anytime soon, so I wish you all a safe and dry weekend!

In CAP, it's officially Decision-Making month, meaning that we have a ton of programming going on to help you get more acquainted with the idea of that certain major you've been thinking about, to help you decide between the two that keep pulling you in two different directions, or just allow you to explore more about yourself and your future path. Something you might be asking is...

What if I declare this major? 
                                    Can I complete my degree in four years? 

   What if I want to double major or add a minor?

Luckily, in addition to having the advisors at CAP to bounce ideas off of, MyMadison has a really neat feature called the "What If Report." By using this tool, you can choose potential majors, minors, degrees, etc. and see, based on your past and current credits, what you are fulfilling and what you still need to fulfill in order to graduate. For example, if you want to double major you can see what courses would fulfill both majors. As an advisor, I do not have access to running the "What If Report" for you- only you are able to do this, so I've included a tutorial below for you to refer to should you want to try this out: How to Run a "What If Report" on MyMadison.

Hopefully, this helps you answer some of those "What If...?" questions, but you also have meetings with me coming up in the next month as a way to determine what path you think you might want to head down. In preparation for our meetings, I ask that you think about some courses that you think you might like to take in the spring (keeping in mind what GenEds you still have to complete, especially Cluster 1 courses, and also if you're interested in UNST 102), and bring a list of these with you. Thanks in advance! Now, for this week's upcoming events...

Upcoming Events:

• Are you interested in learning about another culture? How about continuing your foreign language skills or even helping others to improve their English? If so, the office of International Student and Scholar Services, in the Office of International Programs, has an opportunity for you! The Conversation Partner Program is designed to:
• Pair international and U.S. individuals
• Engage in weekly conversations and activities/events
• Share and learn about each other's culture
• Practice conversational skills in English or a foreign language

For more information and to complete an application, check out their website!

• The DUX Center -the Leadership Resource Center at JMU- is putting on "Dine & Learn," a program to help you learn how to increase productivity, be a more effective communicator, and build stronger relationships. This workshop series is meant to help you gain valuable communication skills in order to positively impact your personal and professional life- it's also a great resume booster! If you are looking for an opportunity to develop leadership skills, register here by October 4th at Midnight!

There is no cost to participate, and FREE dinner is provided each week, but you must be able to commit to all 5 weeks. The time is from 5-7 PM on the following Wednesday nights: October 14, 21, 28 & November 4, 11. Questions? Email dux@jmu.edu, call 540-569-5901, or drop into Madison Union 330.

• Speaking of an international experience, the Office of International Programs is now accepting applications for all JMU short-term and semester Summer 2016, Fall 2016, and Spring 2017 study abroad programs! The deadline to apply is November 1, 2015. If you've declared your major, be sure to check out your individual program page for additional information and requirements.

• For those of you who love service opportunities, the office of Community Service-Learning offers some amazing opportunities- both longer and shorter trips- that are student-led experiences that give you a chance to travel and address numerous social issues, such as homelessness, disability services, and animal welfare. Alternative Weekend Breaks connect students with local agencies within 200 miles of JMU and are $25 to participate (this helps pay for travel, food, and housing). Check out their trip descriptions here! There two October trips that focus on animal welfare:
• October 9-11th: Rude Ranch in Maryland
• October 16-18: Homeward Trails in Virginia

Also, it's Family Weekend! Whether you're spending it with family from home or your JMU family, I wish you a happy, safe, and dry time together. And remember...

"Family's more than just DNA. It's about people who care and take care of each other."

~ Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs; NCIS ~