Flickr user University of Central Arkansas
Attending freshman orientation is one of the biggest steps forward towards your college career. It’s an exciting time that really gets you hyped up for your school and the time you’ll be spending there. Having a good orientation is key—both for amping you up, but also for getting the necessary information that will help make your higher education run smoothly. So here are our top freshman orientation tips to help you out:
Attend the Welcome / Ice-Breaker Events
Going to college is a big change, and it always helps to have friends help you through it. Many of orientation’s welcome events center around making new friends with your soon-to-be fellow classmates. There can be games and ice-breakers to help you get to know different people—sure, it might be corny or a little awkward, but it’s helpful to meet people that you may have in class down the road. Some people even find life-long friends at welcome events!
If that doesn’t interest you, welcome events typically have free food / stuff. So attend just for the swag.
Come Prepared with Questions
You probably got a lot of your questions answered during your college visit, but now that you’ve actually accepted an offer and have chosen to attend this school, you may have a whole host of new questions—and you should! We’ve created a handy, printable checklist of good questions to ask. (And it also includes what questions parents should ask as well).
Opt for an Overnight Stay in the Dorms
Dorm-room life is very different than what you’re probably used to. Even if you share a room with a sibling now, it’s probably a bit bigger than your typical dorm room. Doing an overnight stay in a dorm during orientation is a great way to gauge the size/arrangement of your upcoming room situation. This can help you plan your college packing as well as starting to think about roommate rules and guidelines.
Explore Clubs, Orgs, Groups, and Intramural Sports
Joining an on-campus group of some sort is always a great idea in terms of becoming part of the school’s community. Whether it’s in the form of joining an ultimate frisbee team, or a student organization about animal rights, or knitting club, putting yourself out there and making friends interested in similar things can help you out in the long run. So check out the opportunities available!
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