The Academic Advising Office is the gateway to your academic success. Meet with an advisor to explore, declare, or change your major or to modify classes to your abilities and needs. Your advisor will assist you with referrals to other student services as needed. Schedule an appointment now to ensure you are on the right track to success.

AAO has Student Support Fellowship Program where sophomore, junior and senior students are willing to help first-year students during their studies at NU. Fellows will contribute to the intellectual and personal growth of students by offering their insights into academic issues. There are 3 events that SSF offers:

• Individual and Group Consultations, where well-trained junior and senior students are ready to assist students with academic requirements, course selection, study skills and help students navigate university resources. You can read more about Consultations here.
• Freshman Marathon Challenge is a great opportunity for students to help advance them academic and life skills, while challenging themselves to learn new material and strategies for self-management. The SSF Team and Freshman Experience Program Coordinators are here to support and encourage students in their first-year journey at NU, while they do their best for personal development. You can read more about Freshman Marathon Challenge here.
• Tutoring sessions where tutors help students engage their own active learning and critical thinking skills, learn how to find the answers on their own, and assist students with academic skills outside course content. You can read more about tutoring sessions here.

Research shows that break plays a huge role in productivity. It helps to be refreshed and focused. There are some tips for making productive breaks.   

• Keep It Moving. Try to combine your movement with studying, it helps to improve your memory, motivation and attention. Also, it is highly recommended to have breaks at least 5, 10 or 15 minutes, it is enough to get active.   
• Avoid Social Media. There are a lot of distractions when it comes to social media, because social media is designed to catch users’ attention, try to avoid it during breaks. Your brain cannot fully relax if you are using your social media during breaks. Try to mute your phone and put it somewhere you can’t see it; close your laptop, try to use tools like Control or Freedom which will block you from distracting websites and social media. Enjoy the moment and find screen-free entertainment.   

Stay Energized. Pushing your brain with a high workload is not an effective way to retrain information. Take care of yourself, don’t be too hard on yourself. Also, you can make your study enjoyable by using study break playlist, stay hydrated, refuel with a snack break. 

Use these steps

When facing a problem in our lives we sometimes cannot find a proper solution on our own. We might feel lost and anxious from being stuck and not able to move forward. In this situation you can seek professional help. 
Specialists of Health and Wellness Center provide 

• information on mental health issues if psychological help is not required
• a consultation from a psychologist/ a psychotherapist
• certain instructions in case of a difficult mental state

Read more about Health and Wellness Center here.

Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health.
These benefits don't end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day and may help you manage symptoms of certain medical conditions.
When you meditate, you may clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.
The emotional benefits of meditation can include:

• Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
• Building skills to manage your stress
• Increasing self-awareness
• Focusing on the present
• Reducing negative emotions
• Increasing imagination and creativity
• Increasing patience and tolerance

Download worksheet. Meditation

Your mindset plays a critical role in how you cope with challenges. A growth mindset is associated with a strive for learning and a desire to work hard and discover new things. This often translates into academic achievement. On the other hand, a fixed mindset forces us to give up in the face of challenging circumstances.
While people with a fixed mindset might not agree, Carol Dweck suggests that people are capable of changing their mindsets. Here's how.

• Focus on the journey. An important factor when building a growth mindset is seeing the value in your journey. When you're fixated on the end result, you miss out on all the things you could be learning along the way.
• Incorporate "yet." If you're struggling with a task, remind yourself that you just haven’t mastered it “yet.” Integrating this word into your vocabulary signals that despite any struggles, you can overcome anything. 
• Pay attention to your words and thoughts. Replace negative thoughts with more positive ones to build a growth mindset.
• Take on challenges. Making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn. So, instead of shying away from challenges, embrace them.

Download worksheet. Mindset matters

At NU you can be involved in various activities such as students clubs, short-term and long-term projects or be part of any social event. 
Department of Student Services (DSS) helps students adapt to student life and develop leadership skills 
Check the list of student clubs here. 

Group advising sessions are created for first-year students who would like to meet new friends and familiarize themselves with NU resources. The aim of group advising is to discuss specific topics with students, advisors and share their common concerns, opinions and experiences. You can read more about Group Advising here. 

NU provides Athletic and Sport centers where students can find a swimming pool, rock climbing, basketball, volleyball, futsal, dance room and other sports fields.
For questions, please contact sportcomplexmanagement@nu.edu.kz 

Research shows that a physically active student is good as a student. Being a young student means you have a lot of potentials to be able to develop new hobbies that can benefit your fitness. It can be anything like skipping, running or going to the gym. Exercising at least 3-4 times a week reduces the risk of health issues and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Being physically fit doesn't mean to have a strict schedule, it is enough to exercise at least 30 minutes per day. We recommend to use apps where you can find training videos, set your goals and track your progress. There are Runtastic, FitOn and Daily Workouts. You can also find exercises here.