General Engineering Advising Newsletter

Let’s Go Fall 2025!

This week’s to-do list 
1. Finalize your fall schedule by completing the checklist below

Classes start today. The last day to add a fall course is Friday August 29. Canvas course page changes will automatically occur within 24 to 48 hours of adding or dropping a course. Here is what you should do:

• View your schedule in Hokie Spa > Course Registration and Schedule Menu > Classic Student Schedule. 

• Check that you have at least 12 credits to be a full-time student. I recommend that students try to take between 15-17 credits in their first semester.

• Verify your transfer credits in Hokie Spa > Grades Menu > Transfer and Other Additional Credits. We do not recommend retaking a class you have credit for.

2. Check for and resolve holds 
Go to Hokie Spa > Course Registration and Schedule Menu > View Holds. Resolve any holds immediately. Holds affecting registration block your ability to view and adjust your schedule. Also, I cannot lift or bypass another department’s hold.

3. Review major university and academic dates and deadlines: Review our GE Virtual Advising Calendar in Canvas for important academic dates and deadlines. You’ll also find those dates at Dates & Deadlines | Office of the University Registrar. 

4. Thoroughly review the Canvas pages for each course
Most professors use Canvas so this is where you will find the syllabus, required assignments, due dates, attendance policy, grading policy, and more! 

Textbooks: You can look up textbooks on the Virginia Tech Bookstore Website:https://www.bkstr.com/virginiatechstore/shop/textbooks-and-course-materials. You do not have to buy the textbooks through the Virginia Tech Bookstore. Check if the Virginia Tech Library already has your textbook.

• Browse Virginia Tech's online eTextbooks: https://guides.lib.vt.edu/online-textbooks-fall-2025

• Search print Course Reserves (instructor or course abbreviation): https://bit.ly/VTcourse_reservesLinks to an external site.

• View the Library's Textbooks Too Expensive Guide for additional information: https://guides.lib.vt.edu/ld.php?content_id=72726489

CS 2104 and CS 2505: The Computer Science Department is now allowing General Engineering students who meet the pre-reqs to take either of these courses. Let me know if you have questions about if either of these courses are right for you.

General Engineering opportunities. We have a GE Student Opportunities site to share notices which may be of interest. Check for new opportunities every time you receive an advising news email. 

Need advising? Schedule an Appointment

📌This week’s to-do list 
1. Mark your calendar - Explore Engineering Week: September 8, 9, 10, and 12
One of your first opportunities to learn about the engineering majors. Students taking ENGE 1215 and ENGE 1414 are required to attend at least two of the four evenings in Burruss Hall Auditorium. However, all General Engineering students are welcome to attend. View the event schedule and details here.

2. Get ready for the 45th Annual Engineering Expo: September 9-11 
Employers are seeking to fill internships and co-ops, as well as full-time positions at one of the largeststudent-run career fairs in the country. Review the student resources page to discover everything necessary for a smooth and successful Expo, including preparation tips and day-of essentials. 

3. Reminder: complete the online programs. You should have received an email in mid-August regarding the required online programs. Due date for completion is today September 2. The Money Smarts program will show in Canvas sometime this week with a due date of December 1. Failure to complete any of these programs usually results in a hold which blocks adding, dropping, and requesting courses. 

Need advising? Feel free to email me or you can schedule an appointment with me by following these steps: Schedule an Appointment

General Engineering opportunities. Check the GE Student Opportunities site for any new opportunities to get involved on campus! Opportunities with upcoming deadline applications on our site include the Archimedes Design Teams, the Rocketry at Virginia Tech Design Team, NASA Student Launch, and opportunities to join the Virginia Tech Undergraduate Student Senate! 

Level Up Your Time Management

📌This week’s to-do list 
1. Create semester and weekly schedules to manage your time
If you haven’t already done so, now is a great time to create a semester schedule to capture all test, paper, and project due dates as well as a weekly schedule to outline your day-to-day tasks. To help with this the GE Advising Team created a series of Engineering Success Skills Modules you can use to learn about various college success skills - including how to make a semester schedule, a weekly schedule and task lists. The Student Success Center also offers an in-person Seminar Series on Academic Success on similar topics - including a Time Management Bootcamp!

Consistent study hours every week is the best practice whether you are currently understanding course concepts and scoring well on assignments, or you are having difficulty with course material. Outside of lectures, you should study around 3 hours for STEM courses and 1 to 2 hours for non-STEM courses every week. Study time includes completing and taking notes on readings, completing practice problems, attending office hours, review sessions, and tutoring. 

• Tutoring and Review Sessions

• Peer Mentoring and Academic Coaching

• Additional Study Skills Support

Need advising? Email your advisor or schedule an appointment by following these steps: Schedule an Appointment

General Engineering opportunities. Check the GE Student Opportunities site for any new opportunities to get involved on campus or in student organizations! Opportunities with upcoming dates or deadlines include: the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), NASA Student Launch, Mining Engineering Blast Day, and the Commodity Investing by Students (COINS) Club.

Self, Major, and Career Exploration

Explore Engineering Week is not the only way to explore Engineering majors and careers. There are three dimensions of exploration - self, major, and career. This exploration is a process and you do not have to complete all of it now. Remember, one of the purposes of General Engineering is to give you time to explore before making a major decision!

Here are some resources for your exploration process:

        • Self Exploration: It’s hard to know what you’re looking for in a major and thus a career if you don’t know yourself.

                o Do self-reflection on your values, goals, and aspirations. 

                o Ask for feedback from people who know you well - they may have other insights into your interests, skills, values, and strengths.

                o Take self-assessments: TypeFocus, TruTalent, Clifton Strengths - these are all free as a Virginia Tech student and can help you further understand yourself.

                o Get involved in clubs, organizations, design teams, professional societies, etc. These can help you discover more about yourself and build your network. You can                     use GobblerConnect to find many of these opportunities!

    • Major Exploration

                o Explore Engineering: is designed to assist you with engineering major exploration. 

                o Engineering Degrees At A Glance: provides a short description of the engineering programs and what they do. 

                o Minecraft Museum of Engineering: allows you to explore a variety of exhibits for every major right now. This is a student-built, ongoing project. It's all done in                     Minecraft Education Edition, which is free to all Virginia Tech students, so anyone can participate. Just log in to the software with your @vt.edu account. 

    • Career Exploration

                o First-Destination Survey: Review career destination information for Virginia Tech graduates from any Engineering major. 

                o Engineering Career Resources: provides details about career resources and ways to find internships, co-ops, and full-time jobs. 

                o Attend Career Fairs to network with employers and discover internship/job opportunities: https://career.vt.edu/resources/career-fairs/. 

                o Handshake at Virginia Tech: Apply for jobs, internships, schedule interviews, see events, schedule advising appointments, more. 

                o Career-related events for students: Events hosted by Career and Professional Development (CPD), other Virginia Tech departments, employers, and other                     services for students 

Would you like to talk about major and career exploration with an academic advisor? Feel free to email your advisor or you can schedule an appointment by following these steps: Schedule an Appointment

General Engineering opportunities. Check the GE Student Opportunities site for any new opportunities to get involved or to help explore Engineering majors! Upcoming opportunities include:

                • Chemical Engineering Mentorship Program (Wednesday September 17, 6:30 PM in Goodwin Hall Room 135)

                • The Nuclear Frontier (Friday September 19, 2-5)

                • Virginia Tech Majors and Minors Fair (Wednesday October 1)

Tutoring and Course Support: Week 5 Advising News

In college, it is normal to seek out resources which support learning of course material. In fact, data suggests that students who use campus resources to support their learning and improve their study skills have a higher average GPA than most students. We encourage you to use these resources to get additional help or improve your study skills:

Course Support

        • Visit office hours that your professor holds every week

• Student Success Center Tutoring

• Math Tutoring Lab

• MATH 1225 Help

• MATH 1214 Help

        • Chemistry Professional Fraternity Tutoring Sessions (Monday and Thursday from 5:30-7:30 in Davidson 201)

• Physics Common Office Hours

• English Writing Center

        •  View more tutoring and course support opportunities here

Study Skills

• General Engineering Success Skills Canvas Modules

• Student Success Center Academic Coaching

• Seminar Series on Academic Success

Pass/Fail (P/F). University policy states no required course for graduation including courses used for the Pathways General Education requirement can be taken in the P/F grade mode (unless it’s only offered P/F). Consult with me before making any changes to your class grade modes. If you already changed a grade mode, please email registrar@vt.edu with a request to revert the grade mode back to A-F.

General Engineering opportunities. Check the GE Student Opportunities site for any new opportunities to get involved or to help explore Engineering majors! Upcoming deadlines include internship presentations from Guidehouse Energy Providers and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a student entrepreneurship startup event, and an opportunity to visit the Materials Science and Engineering Department’s Metal Casting Foundry!

Information about Dropping a Class: Week 6 Advising News

Dropping a class. If you are concerned about a grade in a particular course or if you feel your overall course load is too heavy, the deadline to drop a course without penalty is Tuesday, October 7 at 11:59pm. Read all the information below about dropping a course and reach out to your advisor with any questions. Let your advisor know the subject and course number (e.g., MATH 1225) as well as why you want to drop in your email. 

A grade of D- or higher is considered passing in the A-F grade system; however, some courses have a higher grade requirement due to prerequisite or degree requirements. Refer to your major’s advising guide to check if there may be a minimum grade requirement higher than a D- for the course. Review the Repeated Course policy here.

Sometimes it isn’t clear what grade you have in a course in Canvas. If you are unsure about your grade, I recommend you talk with your professor and also use our gradebook calculator to help you estimate what grade you have in a class.

If you are an international student and are considering dropping a class, I recommend you talk with me prior to dropping a course. It is important that your schedule remain in compliance with the requirements to maintain your status: https://international.vt.edu/academics.html#maintain_f1. 

Watch 1:45 - 1:56 of our class registration video for instructions on how to drop a course. 

If you are experiencing difficulty which is preventing academic success in all your courses, you may consider resigning from the semester (dropping all registered courses). The last day to resign from all courses without grade penalty is October 27. However, tuition refunds are based on your official resignation date, you’ll find more information about that here.

Academic Planning and Reminder about Dropping a Course

Making an Academic Plan: An academic plan (also known as a plan of study) allows you to map out courses needed to fulfill graduation requirements of a specific degree across all of your semesters at Virginia Tech. If you are interested in creating a plan, here are the steps to follow to create a plan of study:

• Step 1: Download the COE Plan of Study Template (Excel Document)
• Step 2: Download the advising guide from Canvas for your desired major.
• Step 3: On the COE Plan of Study Template list any transfer credits you have, as well as the classes you’ve completed or are completing at Virginia Tech. Review your credits and classes on your unofficial transcript in Hokie Spa (Hokie Spa > Transcripts and Certifications Menu > View Unofficial Transcript).
• Step 4: Fill in remaining courses from the advising guide on your plan of study template. As you list them in every semester, cross those classes off of your advising guide. When listing a course in a term, always confirm pre-requisites and term offerings using the details on the advising guide. 
  • Tip on Electives: When you get to your future electives (like technical electives, track technical electives, etc.) you can leave them as generic Technical Electives on your plan. No need to pick the exact classes now, you can select them later.
• Step 5: Have an advisor review your plan of study by sending it to them via email or making an appointment. Schedule an appointment with your advisor by following these steps: Schedule an Appointment 
• Step 6: Use your plan of study as a guide to determine which courses to register for each semester. Continually update your plan of study to ensure you are making progress towards your degree.

GE Plan of Study Workshops. General Engineering will host two in-person plan of study workshops to help General Engineering students create an academic plan. Details on when and where these workshops will be are below, registration is not required:

• Monday October 6 from 4-5 PM in McBryde Hall Room 209
• Monday November 3, 4-5 PM in McBryde Hall Room 209

Reminder - Deadline to Drop a Class. The deadline to drop a course without grade penalty is Tuesday, October 7 at 11:59pm. Watch 1:45 - 1:56 of our class registration video for instructions on how to drop a course. Reach out to your advisor with any questions.

General Engineering opportunities. Check the GE Student Opportunities site for any new opportunities to get involved or to explore Engineering majors!