Todd says he believes that resources areavailable for students who wish to take advantageof them and that departments are doing their part.

"I recently met with [Dean of the College HarryR.] Lewis ['68] and with the head tutors from manydepartments to discuss advising. They all seemedto have something in place to ensure that freshmanare given the information they need," he says.

Nathans says she recognizes the College'sresponsibility to reach out to students but alsoemphasizes the individual student's role inactively seeking out advice.

"Advising is equally about students'willingness and commitment to gather and reflecton the information offered to them," she says.

Justin E. Howell '01, who is consideringconcentrating in psychology, says he believes theadvising system at the College leaves something tobe desired. The availability of information maynot be enough for students who don't know what toexpect.

"Info passes you by and its hard to keep upwith things. I had been interested in [visual andenvironmental studies], but then I found out youhad to take a course first year. By that time itwas too late and I would have been a year behind.Advising just isn't very good," he says.

But Todd says the quality of students atHarvard is such that it is not unreasonable toexpect them to make this decision earlier thanstudents at other schools.

He also notes that first-years are expected touse some of their electives to exploreconcentrations and says he believes this allowsstudents to choose their fields wisely.

"On average, students have seven electives.Freshmen can shop concentrations and gain exposureto the courses offered in the departments they areconsidering," he says.

But some question the validity of judging anentire department based on one or two courses.

According to Todd, 40 percent of Harvardstudents change their concentrations some timeduring their undergraduate careers. Opinions varyas to how this figure reflects on the advisingsystem.

Todd says he sees how some might interpret thatnumber as evidence that a significant number ofstudents chose concentrations without fullyunderstanding what they were getting into.

But another way to interpret the relativelyhigh transfer rate, according to Todd, involvesunderstanding that choosing a concentration is notan irreversible decision.

"By committing early to a concentration, and bytaking the sophomore tutorial, students getfirst-hand experience in the department and thencan re-evaluate their desire to remain in thatconcentration," he says.

The sophomore tutorial is another part of theinformation students gather in making their finaldecision, he says.