<p>Is it good for meeting people and making friends considering its only like 1-2 days? I am from new england so it will be a 700$+ investment. Is it the best time to meet new friends or do most people forget about it by school?</p>
<p>I recommend attending orientation, although I know it can be pricey for out of state folks. This is a good time to get familiar with campus, where you’ll be living, and the services on campus. You can also sign up for clubs and other organizations during this time.</p>
<p>While I didn’t really make “best friends” at orientation, it did prep me for those first few weeks of school where socializing is awkward and scary. I met some people who I hung out with during the first few days of living on campus and I found those connections to be helpful. </p>
<p>Orientation generally tends to be pretty beneficial for parents who are weary of sending their kids away for school. My dad was not sold on USC until he went to orientation; it really showed him the school was safe and worth attending.</p>
<p>I felt that orientation does a great job of selling USC to the parents attending. Nothing for students is absolutely essential other than meeting with your advisor and registering for classes for the first time.</p>
<p>As for meeting people, it is possible to make friends. However, you won’t see them until school starts and if they don’t live in the same dorm, you will have to make an effort to maintain that friendship considering you will have only known them for less than 36 hours by the end of orientation. People do attempt to make friends through the Class of 20XX/ Orientation session X groups on Facebook and plan to meet up on the first day.</p>
<p>I would DEFINITELy go to orientation, but hurry! There are only one or two sessions open still.</p>
<p>I don’t know about the making friends part (although you could try to coordinate with roommates and people on the facebook page) but if you look at a sample schedule for orientation you’ll see that this is where you’ll be registering for classes, being placed in the classes you should be taking, attending informational sessions, speaking with academic advisers, touring the campus and the dorms, etc. I think it’s a really important part of being properly prepared for life at USC, and I would say an overwhelming majority of students are attending a session. </p>
<p>Also, I know it’s a huge commitment financially, but I think it is definitely worth it. Your parents don’t have to go (mine aren’t–save the travel expenses for move-in) and you can try to meet up with other people who are attending the same session to split cab fees or whatever. Also, try checking out STA travel for student discounts on flights. </p>
<p>Fight on! :)</p>
<p>My D is attending on her own (we live in IL) mostly to register for classes but since she is going away for most of the summer she can only go to the last one so I don’t know how good her schedule will be anyway. Considering she was originally a spring admit, it has to beat cc! Her airfare was $391, the orientation and extra night $255 and the one way supper shuttle $16 (family in OC picking her up). Pretty pricey for 2 days but I wouldnt want her to miss it. Dad and I are passing because we’ve visited USC before and 2 more airfares and missed work would be really pricey.</p>
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<p>I disagree (almost) entirely. The student program at orientation is nothing but fluff to pass the time as your parents are being convinced that spending thousands of dollars for your education is worth it. You have already committed to the university and a campus tour/tour of dorms is not going to do anything to change that. The most meaningful part is when your advisor hands you the classes required for your degree and tells you to go pick available classes that fit nicely into your schedule. Most of the events at orientation will have similar programs during welcome week and are not crammed into such tight schedule. </p>
<p>As for advisement, many people do not attend orientation and turn out just fine. They eventually speak to an advisor on the phone and will basically get the same advice that you will at orientation. Also, if you think that classes will get full, people add and drop every day and even if you don’t get exactly what you want, chances are that it will open up eventually. You can even go on now, go to your [departments</a> website](<a href=“http://academics.usc.edu/]departments”>http://academics.usc.edu/) and find a sample course schedule/list of requirements for degree, check the [fall</a> list of classes](<a href=“http://web-app.usc.edu/soc/20123]fall”>302 Found), and attempt to plan out your schedule ahead of time. I believe you can even go to your my.usc.edu and go to web registration, add classes to your course bin and see them on a calendar even before you step foot on campus at orientation. The process isn’t very hard and honestly if you’re smart enough to get into USC, you have the means to advise yourself. </p>
<p>I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go and I think that if you have the means to go, you should go. I’m just stating that you are suggesting that they go for all the wrong reasons. If you haven’t been to USC before or if your parents are questioning your decision, its a great way to see the campus, environment, etc. But if they are gonna drop you off later in August, I’d say save the money and go alone or perhaps not even at all. You will have 4 years to see it all and 36 hours really won’t matter much in the grand scheme of things.</p>
<p>so it not a primarily excellent times to make friends, but rather go throguh wtih the registration of classes correct?</p>
<p>any usc students still friends with orientation buddies?</p>
<p>You’ll make friends at your dorm. We are from the northeast and there is no way I would spend almost $1k for a separate trip to CA. My daughter had no problem registering for the one on August 20-21 (right before move in). Orientation is encouraged but not required.</p>
<p>I dunno, maybe it was because my UG degree was in a smaller, specialized program — but I met a majority of my classmates at orientation and the registration/advisement process for me was way more in depth than it seems most other degree programs are. Out of the 26 who enrolled, half of us ended up being at the same orientation. (Also, there’s a thing called Facebook that I hear people use to stay in touch…so if you meet anyone at orientation it’s not like they’ll vanish from your life forever.)</p>
<p>If you’re in a smaller program, you’ll definitely “meet friends” at orientation and I think the registration segment will be beneficial. For me, my entire four years were laid out for my parents and I that day, and that was when I was finally able to figure how how/when I would be able to pick up my minor, etc. I was in the film school, so I think that and any other similar programs will have this same structure to orientation.</p>