Freshman College Orientation: What's it really like?!
Freshman College Orientation, that one thing that's been marked on your calendar for months now. Some people look forward to it, others not so much. College orientation just goes to show you that this whole college thing is actually happening and in just a few short months. Reality check- High School really is over. Orientation brings may emotions excitement, scared, and overwhelming all at the same time. You want to learn about your university but may not know anyone there or where anything is. Here is my freshman college orientation experience and some tips and tricks to help you with your college orientation!
My Experience: If I'm being totally honest I was one of those people who didn't want to go to orientation at all. I would have been totally fine with just showing up on move-in day. I really had no choice considering all incoming freshman are required to go but I worked up the courage to go anyway. My orientation was over a two day period so we had to room with someone and spend the night in the dorms on campus. Luckily I was paired with a super sweet girl, and we weren't in our room except for sleeping so. We sat through hours and I do mean hours of presentations from university faculty members. Most of them where semi-informative but it was the most boring thing ever. We had a few small group sessions to get to know some people and to discuss any of the presentations. Of course we had to do some ice breakers and those are always awkward but it wasn't that bad. Honestly I just went up to a few people in my small group and just started talking to them and over the course of orientation we got to be good friends! We did a ton of walking from one building to the next listening to presentations. It was the longest day of my life, in fact I was tired by 3 in the afternoon. We got to go around to tables and meet with a few of the student organizations on campus and sign up for them. It was really nice to be able to feel like you're already a part of campus life. There was a traditions rally where each small group got to do a skit of one of the schools traditions and perform for all the groups. There were judges and at the end the winning got the spirit stick and free shirts... my team won by the way! Also there are people who hand out free stuff literally everywhere on campus, take it! I walked away with three free shirts and so much more! Overall yes it was boring but, I had more fun than I thought! I'm glad I went and I feel better prepared for the fall semester!
7 Orientation Tips:
1. Make Friends- as cheesy as it sounds just go up to someone and start talking. Yea it's awkward but they want to make friends too.
2. Ask Questions- Now is the time to ask any questions you may have, and more than likely someone has the same questions
3. Be Open Minded- Take it all in at your own pace and be open to everything on campus
4. Join Clubs- Join clubs to feel more involved on campus and make friends
5. Bring Walking Shoes and Water- You'll be walking literally everywhere and at least for me hydration was limited
6. Bring your Parents- Orientation is a lot to handle so having your parents help is huge and not so overwhelming
7. Have fun!- Some stuff seems cheesy and lame but get out of your comfort zone and just go for it, it's way more fun than you think
My Experience: If I'm being totally honest I was one of those people who didn't want to go to orientation at all. I would have been totally fine with just showing up on move-in day. I really had no choice considering all incoming freshman are required to go but I worked up the courage to go anyway. My orientation was over a two day period so we had to room with someone and spend the night in the dorms on campus. Luckily I was paired with a super sweet girl, and we weren't in our room except for sleeping so. We sat through hours and I do mean hours of presentations from university faculty members. Most of them where semi-informative but it was the most boring thing ever. We had a few small group sessions to get to know some people and to discuss any of the presentations. Of course we had to do some ice breakers and those are always awkward but it wasn't that bad. Honestly I just went up to a few people in my small group and just started talking to them and over the course of orientation we got to be good friends! We did a ton of walking from one building to the next listening to presentations. It was the longest day of my life, in fact I was tired by 3 in the afternoon. We got to go around to tables and meet with a few of the student organizations on campus and sign up for them. It was really nice to be able to feel like you're already a part of campus life. There was a traditions rally where each small group got to do a skit of one of the schools traditions and perform for all the groups. There were judges and at the end the winning got the spirit stick and free shirts... my team won by the way! Also there are people who hand out free stuff literally everywhere on campus, take it! I walked away with three free shirts and so much more! Overall yes it was boring but, I had more fun than I thought! I'm glad I went and I feel better prepared for the fall semester!
7 Orientation Tips:
1. Make Friends- as cheesy as it sounds just go up to someone and start talking. Yea it's awkward but they want to make friends too.
2. Ask Questions- Now is the time to ask any questions you may have, and more than likely someone has the same questions
3. Be Open Minded- Take it all in at your own pace and be open to everything on campus
4. Join Clubs- Join clubs to feel more involved on campus and make friends
5. Bring Walking Shoes and Water- You'll be walking literally everywhere and at least for me hydration was limited
6. Bring your Parents- Orientation is a lot to handle so having your parents help is huge and not so overwhelming
7. Have fun!- Some stuff seems cheesy and lame but get out of your comfort zone and just go for it, it's way more fun than you think
Great tips!
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