of 5— Create a free ChatGPT account (if you don't have one)

What you'll accomplish

Configure ChatGPT as a persistent advising assistant that already knows your typical advising scenarios, communication style, and common institutional context. Instead of re-explaining yourself every time, you'll open ChatGPT and get useful output immediately: session notes, outreach emails, policy explanations, and more.

What you'll need

A ChatGPT account (free account works; ChatGPT Plus at $20/mo is better for longer sessions)
20–30 minutes to write your setup instructions the first time
Cost: Free (basic) or $20/month (ChatGPT Plus for longer memory)
Time needed: 30–45 minutes initial setup; 2 minutes per use after that

Set Up a Personal Advising Assistant

Step 1: Create a free ChatGPT account (if you don't have one)

Go to chat.openai.com
Click "Sign up" and create an account with your email or Google login
You'll land on the main chat interface, a white text box in the center of the screen

What you should see: A clean chat interface with a "Message ChatGPT" text box at the bottom. No login errors. Troubleshooting: If you see a "service unavailable" message, try again after a few minutes. It's usually a temporary load issue.

Tools:ChatGPT