When Clare K. Golden '95 moved into Mather House two years ago, she suddenly found herself without the academic and personal support she enjoyed during her days as a first-year in Grays Hall.

"Freshman year, our advisor was always there, always calling us up," she says. "After freshman year there was nothing. There's a huge difference; once you move out of the Yard, it's like, forget it, you don't exist."

Many upperclass students agree that first-year advising was better structured and more accessible. Once they move into the houses, students must learn how to use entry-way tutors, sophomore advisers, departmental advisers and senior tutors to meet their advising needs.

Currently, there is no formal or College-mandated structure for advising in the houses, according to Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57.

While some students say this decentralized advising system is adequate, other students and house tutors say the College should do more to structure and facilitate the advising process after the first-year.

Many students say their experience with advising in the houses has depended on the initiative they have taken on their own to find a tutor suited for their needs.

Although some have had luck in finding a tutor, others say they have never even met their assigned advisor.

"I couldn't give you his name if you asked me," says Jesse J. Szeto '94, a resident of Leverett House.

The First Year

Unlike some upperclass students, all first-year students know the name of their advisers because they are required to meet with them several times a year. First-year advising consists of a residential system in which each proctor is assigned between 20 and 30 students, the majority of which are his or her academic advisees. Non-residential advisors also hold mandatory meetings with their students during the year.

The entire system is monitored by the Freshman Dean's Office which checks in regularly with all proctors, according to Dean of Freshmen Elizabeth S. Nathans.

The proctor offers social and academic advisingin a series of formal interviews with the studentsas well as informal interaction in the dorm. Theproctor is also responsible for signing thestudents' study cards each semester.

"We tell proctors to expect seventeen to twentyhours of availability per week," Nathans says."But at the opening of the semester and duringimportant periods, they should be availabletwenty-four hours a day."

Because students solicit the proctor's adviceon a variety of academic and personal issues, theadvisers often act as referral services ratherthan experts. Helping students learn how to findfurther advice from other sources is a crucialfunction of the proctor, says Adam Siegel, aWigglesworth Hall proctor.

"We're trained to recognize we can't solveeveryone's problems," he says. "We need to helpthem to find the resources. I'm not a dean of thecollege and I'm not a psychotherapist."

Students offer mixed reviews of the first-yearadvising experience. While most agree there is asufficient amount of advising available somequestion the quality and necessity of thatadvising.