A Run-Down of A&O Sessions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Washington
1

<p>Hey everyone!</p>

<p>I just finished up my A&O session today! Woot woot! Before I went, I was frantically searching all over the internet, looking for some sort of information about what an A&O is like, so if you're having yours soon or are thinking about applying, this will help you out!</p>

<p>First off! If you don't know what an A&O Session is.... <a href="http://fyp.washington.edu/getting-started-at-the-university-of-washington/"&gt;http://fyp.washington.edu/getting-started-at-the-university-of-washington/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Now, onto the schedule. My orientation leader told me that almost all, if not all A&O sessions follow the same schedule. For Freshman, you'll go to a two-day orientation session with the option to stay overnight. (I highly recommend that you do, it really enhances the social experience.) </p>

<p>Now here's a copy of my agenda: </p>

<p>Day 1: </p>

<p>"Your Husky Experience Begins Now" 12:30pm-1:00pm in Kane Hall. This is essentially a welcome presentation. You sit in a typical lecture hall and socialize with your new class!</p>

<p>"Academics 101" 1:00pm-2:00pm in Kane Hall. For this hour, there's a member from the faculty and some academic advisors who give a presentation about... Well... Academics. It's not too interesting, but at least there's GREAT air conditioning in Kane.</p>

<p>"Orientation Leader Group" 2:10pm-2:55pm in Designated locations. So, you get split up into groups. (On your name tag, it tells you who your group leader is and you just follow them when they hold up their sign). After you find your groups, it's mainly an "ice breaker" session. Dumb little games, but it's easy to get to know people! </p>

<p>"Explore Your Own Husky Experience" 3:00pm-3:30pm in Designated locations. This is the first part of the program where you choose a presentation to attend. Our options were: </p>

<p>-Joining the UW Community
-Running Start, AP, & IB Credits
-Globalizing Your Education
-Fatten Your Wallet & Build Your Resume
-Enhancing the UW Experience: Fraternity & Sorority Life at the UW</p>

<p>I chose the Globalizing Your Education session and learned a lot!</p>

<p>"Campus Safety" 3:40pm-4:00pm in Kane Hall. This presentation ended up being one of the most interesting out of all of them! The officer that was presenting had great charisma and really spiced up what would've been a boring speech.</p>

<p>"Technology" 4:25pm-4:45pm in Kane Hall. Plain and simple presentation. Just information about techy stuff. </p>

<p>"Dinner, Dawg Daze, & Life at the UW" 5:00pm-6:40pm in the HUB. You get some okay food. The best part though is watching your orientation leaders perform skits! Some of them were so funny!</p>

<p>"Orientation Leader Group" 6:45pm-7:45pm in Designated Locations. Not gonna lie, this time was pretty boring. The friends I had made earlier that day and I just wanted to get out and explore the ave, but instead we were forced to sit and awkwardly socialize. It wasn't bad though.</p>

<p>At 8:00pm people can go home for the night or head on over to the resident halls.</p>

<p>DAY 2:</p>

<p>"OL Group Time" 8:00am-8:15am in designated locations. Here, you're just going to meet up with your group and review the days schedule. </p>

<p>I wish I could give more concrete information, but what you do this day depends on what group your in. BUT, here's a list of activities you'll participate in!</p>

<p>"Morning Sessions" 8:20am-8:50am in Mary Gates Hall. You have the options of choosing the following presentations:</p>

<p>Pre-Health Advising
Immunization Session (more of a mandatory thing if you need to get your shots in)
Navigating the 1st Year</p>

<p>After these morning sessions you'll return to your group and do the following activities throughout the day!</p>

<p>-Campus and Involvement Tour (You get your ID pics taken during this as well)
-First Year Health & Wellness
-Living On & Off Campus
-Lunch
-Academics 102 (This is when you'll register for classes!)
-Program Evaluation
-Program Closing</p>

<p>All in all, I had a great time and met some people who I'm sure will be my friends for a long time!</p>

<p>If you have any questions, let me know! I hope this was helpful!</p>

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<p>This is an incredible run down, thank you!!! </p>

<p>I am going to hazard a guess that transfer A&Os will be a little different… Was this session all Freshman or were there transfers intermingled? </p>

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<p>Yea this is great stuff, thanks for the heads up. i was wondering what went on those 2 days. </p>

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<p>@nornobalina The session I attended was for freshman. However, I’ve heard transfer orientation is quite similar. Except it’s only one day and you get to the point faster. (aka registering for classes quickly!)</p>

<p>@gr33nbottl3‌ I’m glad I could help you out! I hope you have fun if you’re going to one! :smiley: </p>

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<p>Yeah the transfer A&O is actually pretty relaxed in comparison to what freshman go through. I had mine in Winter of last year, but its basically a collective introduction, then you break into groups, have lunch, take a tour, and meet with someone in your prospective major to declare and register for classes. You also get your Husky ID. I’m doing research over the summer, so I’ve seen some of the freshman groups come through and they are fairly large. I can definitely see why it takes more than one day for orientation! </p>

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<p>@Jsmith210‌ Thanks for the info! That is comforting and good to know :slight_smile: </p>

<p>I do have another question for you… Will we have the opportunity to visit different departments? I am deciding between a few different options, and I specifically decided to change my A&O category major from Biology to Pre-Art and Sciences because the departments I am juggling between all fall within that college. </p>

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<p>That’s a good question. I think if you are interested in more than one department you may want to contact them and see if you can arrange to meet with a few on the day of your A&O. Honestly, one of the advisers from the department I intended to enter at the time of application scheduled me for a session on the day of my orientation and "helped " me register for classes that I ended up changing after I got home. I think it’s good that you want to check out multiple departments. That’s the one piece of advice I would give to any transfer student. I am a dual major, but ended up changing one of my majors early on as my research interests didn’t really coincide with the direction the department was going. Had I been more diligent and done my research on my prospective department, I could have spared myself a great deal of frustration. </p>

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<p>Great advice! I was thinking I was being flaky as I start to compile all this info and see my interests starting to shift… Glad I’m not the only one! What you said about your advisor is exactly what I was worried about; I don’t want to be pushed into anything that I am going to regret in the long run. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Thanks for this! I’m transferring to UW in the fall and was wondering about the A&O sessions. It’s good to here that the transfer ones are more relaxed because I remember my freshmen orientation at my current school being pretty chaotic and nerve-racking. </p>

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<p>Transfer A&O is actually pretty good. Very small group (around 10), so we can get to know everyone better. Also, the lunch is great . :)>- </p>

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<p>Great info but I have a quick question… when do incoming students take placement exams? Thanks!</p>

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<p>You can take placement exams 9:30am on the first day of your A&O. No appointment needed. Arrive by 9am at Room 440, Schmitz Hall: <a href=“Campus Maps”>Campus Maps;

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Your information was really helpful. Thank you! I know that the earlier I can sign up for the orientation, the more options I have. I wonder if attending the second or third orientation sessions instead of the first one is going to make any difference? Will I be able to register for some of most common classes such as Chemistry and Math? I just figure that I may not be able to attend the first orientation.