A new walk-in career exploration program at Iowa State has already received a considerable response as compared to similar services in past years.

Patricia Andersen, coordinator of Career Exploration Services, said she is pleased with the response that the program has received.

“In the past, we would see 15 to 20 people a semester,” she said. “Now, we’re going to see that in two weeks.”

This new service, designed to help students choose a career path, is called “Walk-In Career Counseling.” Andersen said this counseling, which is completely confidential, separates itself from previous career-selection processes by focusing more on students’ needs.

“Our goal is to make [Walk-In Career Counseling] extremely accessible,” Andersen said.

Sandy Jensen, graduate student in psychology, works with the Student Counseling Service as a walk-in career counselor. She said the program usually lasts around 20 minutes, and students are free to come and go as they please.

“The service is quick,” Jensen said. “Students can get right in and get their needs met without having to wait for a scheduled meeting with a counselor.”

Andersen said that although the program was primarily designed for freshmen and sophomores who are deciding on a major, the service is not exclusive to any age group.

“It’s a good starting point for students,” Andersen said, “but it’s really meant for any student who wants to touch base [with a particular career path] and see what the next step is. Quite often, a small amount of information is all a junior or senior needs.”

Andersen said the program that Walk-In Career Counseling replaced was called Career Assessment Through Self-Exploration (CATS).

“For a while, [CATS] was working fine, but the idea of being readily available seems to be very popular now,” she said.

Yvette Nelson, freshman in pre-architecture, works at the Student Counseling Service’s office as a peer adviser.

Nelson said she had noticed an increase in the number of students coming in since the new addition.

“I think it’s because they can just walk in and talk to a counselor,” she said.

Both Andersen and Jensen said students like the new service more than similar services offered in the past.

“It seems as though the people who come in leave very happy,” Jensen said.

The Student Counseling Service office is temporarily located in Room 16 in the basement of Pearson Hall. It will move back to its original location on the third floor of the Student Services Building in August.