By Noelle Friedberg

Opinion Editor 

The myth has been spread around campus that walking over the seal on the ground in front of the coffee cart in Founders Plaza will keep you from graduating in four years.

But what actually holds you back from graduating on time is failing to make an education plan with your academic advisor.

The importance of an education plan is something I learned while attending a local community college. I met with my academic advisor before the start of each new semester to ensure that the classes I was enrolled in would transfer over to CSUSM.

This is a good habit to adopt no matter how far along you are in your degree. The reason is that creating an education plan allows you to make sure that each class you take counts towards graduation.

We want to finish our degrees in the least amount of time as possible. We also don’t want to waste any money on classes we don’t actually need. Meeting with my academic advisor has actually saved me money on a class that I was able to take at MiraCosta instead of taking the same class for a much higher price here at CSUSM. I would not have even known that I needed that class until it would have been too late. This serves as just one example of the importance of meeting with your academic adviser.

I am now in the habit of meeting with them before I enroll in classes for each new semester. This might sound like a hassle, but it actually ends up saving you time – and money – in the end because it ensures you’re only taking the classes you actually need to graduate.

So no matter how far along you are in obtaining your degree, or even if you haven’t declared your major yet and still don’t know what you want study, I encourage you to make an appointment with your academic adviser by the end of this semester to guarantee that you don’t waste any of your valuable time or money.

Go to http://www.csusm.edu/academicadvising/ to schedule an appointment.