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Jump Start Your 3rd Year

Ready for Your Junior Year?

Students who entered UCM in 2015 (2nd-year students) are required to meet with their Academic Advisor in order to jump start their third year.  This meeting involves a discussion about the student's progress in their degree and supporting the student in the development of their educational goals.

What You Need To Do (Mandatory)

  1. Meet with your Undeclared Advisor during Advising Walk-in Hours. No appointments will be made regarding Jump Start.  Bring the required documents (see below) to your meeting with your advisor.
  2. REQUIRED DOCUMENT: Bring a printed copy of an audit (MyDegreePath) for your intended major; do not run an undeclared audit. REMINDER - you must select "Fall 2015" for your Catalog Year.
  3. REQUIRED DOCUMENT: Bring a completed two-year graduation plan, including all remaining classes for your degree.  Advisors will only meet with students who have completed plans. If your plan in incomplete, you will not be seen. For help with your plan, see a Peer Academic Advisor. Here are resources for building your plan:
    • OPTION A: Use the Plan Builder in MyDegreePath.  This option is strongly encouraged; use thesestep-by-step instructions. 
    • OPTION B: Utilize a paper plan, and complete it by hand.

What/Who Can Help

  1. Sample plans are a very useful guide for building a 2-Year Plan. When building a plan in MyDegreePath, these sample plans are already built into the Plan Builder.
  1. Minors:  If you plan to declare a minor, be sure to include those courses in your graduation plan. You can find minor course info here:
  1. Confused?  If you still need help completing your 2-Year Plan. Visit your Peer Academic Advisor to assist you today!  They are waiting to help you!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I schedule an appointment with you to assist me with my 2-Year Graduation Plan?

I'm still not sure about my major, so how can I make a 2-Year Graduation Plan?

Why do I need to select the "Fall 2015" Catalog Year when running an audit?

Why shouldn't I run an Undeclared audit?

What happens if I don't meet with you before the deadline?

I plan to transfer, do I still need to meet with you?

What errors do you see students make on their 2-Year Plans?

How do I know if the course I need are offered Fall or Spring?

Can I schedule an appointment with you to assist me with my 2-Year Graduation Plan?

No.  During our meeting, we have a series of questions to ask you and most of these questions involve asking you how you created your 2-Year Plan and what resources you found helpful.  Assisting you defeats the purpose of our questions.  We want to know how students are helping themselves.  Getting assistance from a Peer Academic Advisor would be best in helping you create an accurate 2-Year Graduation Plan.  You can find your Peer Academic Advisor hours here. Walk-ins are the prefered method as we want to meet with students on a first-come, first-serve basis.

I'm still not sure about my major, so how can I make a 2-Year Graduation Plan?

Many students are still considering a few majors.  We strongly recommend you create a 2-Year Graduation Plan for ALL the majors you're thinking about, BUT we will only review/talk about the major with the most rigorous course work. You have the option to create multiple plan using Plan Builder in MyDegreePath.

Why do I need to select the "Fall 2015" Catalog Year when running an audit?

The semester you started at UC Merced is your accurate Catalog year.  If you select another Catalog year other than Fall 2015, you may not get all the accurate courses you need in order to graduate.

Why shouldn't I run an Undeclared audit?

The Undeclared audit only lists General Education courses.  You need to run an audit for your intended major (the major you're thinking about declaring), so you can get the entire list of courses you need in order to graduate. You can run an audit for your intended major by clicking "Select a Different Program."

What happens if I don't meet with you before the deadline?

Students who do not meet with an advisor for Jump Start advising by the deadline will have a hold placed on their registration, which will prevent them from making changes to their summer and fall classes.

I plan to transfer, do I still need to meet with you?

Yes! Acutally, students who plan on transfering found this meeting the most helpful as it gave them information to consider for their future plans.

What errors do you see students make on their 2-Year Plans?

  • Selecting the correct "Catalog year" is important.  Because we're meeting with the entering class of Fall 2015, this is the catalog year you must enter to give you an accurate graduation course list.  Be sure to select "Fall 2015" for the cataglog year.  
  • When students do not know the prerequisites for classes, they have issues planning the sequence in which they should take classes. Students can look up prerequisites using Plan Builder in MyDegreePath or by using the Online Course Schedule, just click on the CRN for a course.
  • Some classes tend to be offered only in the fall or only in the spring. Students can make a more accurate plan by checking the Online Course Schedule to get a sense of when their classes are usually offered, fall or spring. The schedule will also allow students to see which classes are usually offered in summer session.
  • Some students' 2-Year Plans are lacking units, because they do not pay attention to the total units required to graduate. Every student must complete 120 total units in order to graduate, and most majors and GE will not add up to 120 units. This results in the need to take elective classes, which could be a minor or other classes that interest you.
  • Students intending SSHA majors sometimes miss the requirement for 60 Upper Division Units on MyAudit. All SSHA students must complete 60 upper division units, which will likely not be fulfilled by major requirements alone. This may involve taking elective classes or choosing a minor. 

How do I know if the course I need are offered Fall or Spring?

Some classes tend to be offered only in the fall or only in the spring. Students can make a more accurate plan by checking the Online Course Schedule to get a sense of when their classes are usually offered, fall or spring. The schedule will also allow students to see which classes are usually offered in summer session.

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