Keeping track of classes is confusing. Here at Grand Valley State University, every undergraduate must complete a minimum of 120 credits to graduate – that includes credits inside your major, your emphasis, your theme and your general education requirements. If you don’t keep a close eye on what you’ve complete and what you’ve yet you accomplish, it’s likely that you’ll find yourself off the four-year track when it’s too late to correct it.

Though changes in GVSU’s general education and theme requirements have made it easier for students to pull off a traditional four-year graduation, the nature of the beast makes many of these requirements (supplemental writing skills, for example) fall into a “nuanced and tricky to remember” subcategory and it’s easy to forget you need them until your need gets a lot more desperate and a lot more expensive.

Annual tuition is $5,039 for your average full-time student taking 12-15 credits – for only 1-11 credits, and for every credit over 15, its $420 extra. So, even if you find yourself one to two classes short, you’re going to find yourself $500-$1,000 in more financial ruin than you’re average degree-seeking undergrad.

And if this all seems a bit overwhelming – don’t worry, you’re not alone. So do yourself a favor right now, and visit www.gvsu.edu/advising, which is loaded with actually helpful resources for keeping you on track for graduation.

GVSU’s Academic Advising website includes links and contact information for a number of advising centers, a “Blueprint for Student Success,” information for both graduate and undergraduate students, video tutorials and for those fast and furious students with shorter attention spans – a tab for frequently asked questions.

Although you might be the only person who truly knows what’s best for you, it never hurts to get a second opinion. When it comes to your money, your time and your education, you’ve got to be open to aid if you don’t want to spend 10 years telling all of your classmates you’re a super-duper-quadruple senior on the first day of every semester.