Counseling and Advising Appointments

 

MCC counselors are here to help you with any issues or concerns related to your education at MCC. In order to help you as much as possible, it is important that you follow the following steps to get the most out of your counseling appointment.

Scheduling an Appointment

Before you schedule an appointment

• Apply to MCC.
• Complete orientation.
• Complete ACCUPLACER assessment testing. Test results are good for 5 years.  If you plan to retake the ACCUPLACER, please complete it before meeting with a counselor.

Scheduling an appointment

Counselor appointments fill quickly. If possible, please schedule your appointment a few weeks in advance. To schedule an appointment:

• Call the Student Success Center at 989-328-1264.
• Login into MyMontcalm and click on the Starfish application.  Select "My Success Network" from the left drop-down menu.  Locate the Counseling tab and click on "Schedule Appointment".

Documented Disabilities

If you have a documented disability, please read the Accessibility Services information and follow these additional steps:

• Request an appointment with Student Success Counselor Tore Skogseth when you call for an appointment.
• Bring documentation of your disability to your counseling appointment. For more information on the necessary documentation, please call 989-328-1277.
• Bring information about any Michigan Works program you might be going through, including case worker.
• Bring information about any outside agency that is involved with your education.

Preparing for an Appointment

The more preparation you do before your appointment with your counselor or advisor, the more productive your advising meeting will be. These are suggestions to enhance your counseling or advising appointment and not all of them will apply to you and your situation.

• Come to your appointment on time.
• Write down any questions you want to ask your advisor.
• Bring a pencil and paper to the appointment.
• Think ahead – begin your research and planning early and schedule an appointment with a counselor a few weeks before you intend to meet.
• Do not wait until the registration period or the beginning of the semester is near to look into programs, future schools or a meeting with a counselor/advisor.
• If you are transferring to MCC, please request that an official transcript from your previous school is sent to MCC well in advance of your appointment, if possible. The counselors are not able to evaluate the transcript and it can take several weeks to complete this process. If you are not able to do this ahead of time, bringing an unofficial transcript to the appointment may help, but this is not guaranteed.
• Investigate majors if you are undecided or exploring. There are several helpful career resources on our Career Services page.
• Review the MCC program(s) you are considering in order to discuss schedule planning. View programs
• Review the MCC course descriptions to get a feel for specific classes you may want to take.
• If you intend to transfer after MCC, please explore the future schools website and program options. It is best if you contact the future school and ask questions that may impact your school and program decisions. Specifically, you may want to talk to them about programs, scholarships, application deadlines, tuition and courses you should take at MCC prior to transfer. While your MCC counselor will help you on your transfer path, the MCC counselor is not able to speak on the future school’s behalf. Details about the transfer program and what courses will transfer from MCC and apply to your degree must be answered by the future institution. All transfer information presented by the MCC counselor/advisor is tentative and must be verified by the future institution. Some specific transfer information such as a link to a schools webpage, program guides and equivalents and contact information (if applicable) can be found here.

When you come to your appointment, please bring a list of questions you have created, any major(s) you are interested in discussing, any exploration activities you have completed, and expect to discuss your goals.