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First Year Advising

At MIT every undergraduate student has an advisor. As a first-year student, your advisor depends on your advising option. Review this section for details on the available advising options.

Students must submit their advising preferences via our online advising application (available May 19 – June 13).

All first year advisors work with an Associate Advisor (academic peer mentor), an upper-level student, who brings an undergraduate’s perspective to the advising process. You and the other first-years matched with your advisor will form an advising group with an Associate Advisor. As an advising group, you will have the opportunity to participate in at least a couple of social events a year.

Deciding on which advising option is best for you depends on how you plan to “spend” the 54 units, plus 6 discovery-focused units, of academic credit you are limited to in the first-term of your first year. 

Advising options with a CREDIT component:

  • A First Year Advising Seminar (FAS). Most seminars are 3 units.
    • Seminars are special academic classes that combines advising and learning. Your seminar leader not only teaches the 3-unit seminar but also serves as your advisor for your entire first year. This unique combination of teaching/advising enables you to really get to know your advisor and advising group during regular two hour weekly meetings during the Fall semester.
  • Participation in a Learning Community:
    • Terrascope involves taking the special 9-unit subject 12.000 – Solving Complex Problems.
    • Concourse has a specific, required seminar for their participants.
    • DesignPlus has a specific, required seminar for their participants.
    • ESG participants have the option to choose a First Year Advising Seminar (for-credit) or traditional (non-credit) advising.

NOTE: You are expected to remain committed and enrolled/participating in the seminar/learning community for the entire fall semester. These groups are “teams” just like a varsity team, so dropping out affects the quality of the experience for your fellow advisees and advisor just as it would teammates or a coach.

Advising options WITHOUT a credit component:

  • Traditional Advising provides you the opportunity to develop a relationship with your faculty advisor, Associate Advisor, and advising group. You will meet with your traditional advisor two to three times in both semesters.
  • Participation in some Learning Communities:
    • Terrascope students are automatically registered for the class 12.000 – Solving Complex Problems. They cannot register for a First Year Advising Seminar.
    • Participants in the ESG learning community have the option to participate in a First Year Advising Seminar, or be advised by a traditional advisor, if non-credit advising is preferred.