My older son had an overnight orientation in July, where he picked his classes and things like that. That was pretty stressful for him, as it took multiple professors and someone else to help fill his schedule. Then before school started his school had a 5ish day program with lots of activities. He also participated in a pre-orientation program, and went on a white water rafting over night trip (maybe 2 nights, I can’t remember). I thought it really helped the students get off to a good start. My other son had just a one night overnight orientation, and started school a little before the upper classmen. But his school’s program was less than stellar.
I think this is a great question to ask during the college search and selection process.
Ask admissions/housing staff about scheduling (summer required?; 2 days or 5 days before the semester begins?), and details (is welcome “week” structured around large or small group activities; etc). Perhaps more importantly, ask some current (freshman) students about what they liked the best and whether they the programs/activities offered helped them to get acquainted with peers, staff, and the campus in general.
Many schools have detailed orientation schedules on their web sites. Some, like D’s, adjust the program based on student feedback each year, keeping what worked and dropping what didn’t, but things don’t normally change a TON from year to year. If you google “[school name] orientation schedule” you can probably find a lot of this.
After having gone on so many college tours it is interesting to see if the orientation schedules and programs “walk the talk” I like how so many schedules say “Parents/Families leave Campus” : )
My son’s large public university is broken up into 6 colleges. Each college had 2 or 3 orientations over the summer, spaced out so that those coming from out of the area could potentially attend one right before school started. It was a 2-day orientation and parents could attend and also stay in on-campus apartments. The kids stayed in the regular dorms. It was well worth it- they got tours of the campus, found out more about available programs, counseling, medical plans, etc. They did a lot of activities to get to know people and had a barbecue/band at night. Parents pretty much did completely separate events so I rarely saw my son, but he had a great time and met a lot of people. The parent over-night was kind of nice. This is our 4th kid so I pretty much did it for the heck of it, but for those sending their first one off to college I think it made them feel better. I spent a lot of time with a parent who was going to be dumping her daughter off from out of state and was then moving out of the country with her military husband. Her daughter was pretty quiet and the Mom was very nervous about leaving her totally on her own. She got all of my information and I think felt much better knowing there was someone in-state that she could contact if needed to help out with any issues.
The first week of school they arrived a few days before school and did a lot of welcome activities. He had arrived on campus early as an athlete so by that time had already been at school a few weeks and was pretty well already indoctrinated. He was very comfortable with everything by the time school started.
So how do these summertime orientations work for kids who are trying to hold jobs over the summer to earn money for college? Like the scooper at the ice cream store can just announce he’s taking a weekend off? Sorry, I still find it presumptuous and obnoxious. None of this cant happen during some sort of welcome week right before classes start.
At my son’s school, there was an orientation just before school started, specifically for students who lived far away. I chose to send him to an earlier one for a couple of reasons. One was to get him an experience at the school, meet people, etc. Another was because I suspected he might have a hard time figuring out what to take (He had many AP credits and college credits before he started), and figuring things out earlier would give him one less thing to worry about right before school started.
@Pizzagirl, I hear you on that. My child’s school had about 8 different orientation dates to choose from, plus a last one right before school started. I would think that an ice cream shop worker could make their schedule around a 2-day orientation (whether to just schedule themselves off or switch with a co-worker).
The dates are listed months in advance.
I’m all for any activities that help the student 1) immediately learn his or her probable 4-year course sequence, 2) figure out a study schedule that makes time for good eating, enough and regular sleeping, and some playing, and 3) find some peers who might become friends. These are the biggies.
Best practices in freshman orientation include some kind of activity where the students go do one thing (with their new roommates / dormmates) and the parents go do something different. Northwestern had a reception for the parents on the beachfront, at a location that most parents wouldn’t have known about, with substantial hors d’oeuvres (enough to serve as dinner), drinks, etc. It was 72 degrees and beautiful out, the sun was setting, and you could see the Chicago skyline. Could not have been prettier and really showed off one of the school’s assets.
Texas A&M is a huge school that I think makes a good effort at orientation. There is a two day new student conference where math placement exams and class registration and advising occur. Later in the summer, there are multiple Fish Camps- optional 4 day camps where you go to a summer camp setting, socialize, learn traditions and learn about the school. The week before school starts is called Gig Em Week which is filled with activities to get students acclimated.