Plugging the Holes

With an advising system that can be difficult to navigate, students are often the most accessible and informative source of advice.

"Peer counseling is certainly very necessary in the sciences due to both the rigorous nature of its requirements and also due to the demands which women in science place upon themselves," Bi said.

Bi said the large introductory classes in mathematics and laboratory science concentrations sometimes make it difficult for students to orient themselves without help from peers.

Others echo the belief that the advice of peers can fill in the gaps left by an often less-than-adequate advising system.

"The psychology department is huge--which can be great if you want to explore a lot of options, but terrible when you're trying to find someone who reallly knows about the specific options you're looking into," said Cheng.

Moreover, Cheng said, the graduate students and House tutors responsible for advising psychology concentrators may not study the same area of psychology as the advisee.

"I'd probably talk most to my adviser about my thesis and post graduate plans and look to other students for advice on classes," she said.