Advising During SOAR

You will start by choosing a SOAR Program. For Fall 2026 students, the reservation system opened on March 9. To make a reservation, students need to have paid their acceptance fee and answered their health insurance question in the Admissions Profile on MyUI.  

Information about your SOAR Program:  

  • You must complete your SOAR Page at least one week prior to the first day of your SOAR Program. This should take a couple of hours, including any placement tests. You also need to put courses into your Course Cart to start building schedules in preparation to meet with your academic advisor.  

  • Once you have completed your SOAR Page, one week before your SOAR Program, you will receive an email in your Iowa account inviting you to schedule your SOAR Appointment. 

  • SOAR Appointments are one-on-one between you and your academic advisor, take about 30-45 minutes, and are in Zoom.  

  • You must ensure you will be ready to use Zoom for your SOAR Appointment. Please take all the necessary steps to download Zoom to your device and test sharing your screen.  

Advising During the Academic Year

It is important to meet on a regular basis with your academic advisor. Academic advisors help students create a path to reach their goals while a student at the University of Iowa. Academic advising is an interactive process between both a student and their advisor. 

Academic advisors teach students how to: 

  • explore possible majors 

  • plan their academic programs of study  

  • select courses each semester 

  • make viable academic decisions 

  • seek information on- and off-campus  

  • solve academic problems 

Determining Your Academic Advisor

Determining Your Academic Advisor

Your advisor’s name is at the top of your degree audit and in Programs of Study in MyUI. 

 

Many first-year students are advised in the Academic Advising Center. Transfer students with fewer than 30 semester hours are also advised at the Academic Advising Center.  

 

Transfer students with 30 semester and more are advising in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.  

 

Entering students who were admitted directly to a college are assigned to an academic advisor in their college: