Arts and Science Orientation Weekends-Worthwhile?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington University in St. Louis
1

<p>My D was accepted ED and is trying to decide whether to attend one of the Arts & Science orientation weekends over the summer. The school says that about half of the incoming freshman attend. We live far from WashU, so it would mean a plane trip. Is the weekend worth the airfare?</p>

2

<p>Very worth while. It gives the student to adapt to the campus and meet classmates before school begins. The first day of school is a lot easier if you know a lot of the kids when you arrive on campus. Also a good opportunity to get to know the campus - where things are located etc.</p>

3

<p>ST2, are these ArtSci weekends more worthwhile than the pre-orientation program that takes place right before regular orientation in August?</p>

4

<p>Both are worthwhile in a different way. The ArtSci weekends encompase a larger number and variety of students. The weekend also takes place on campus, thus giving the students a chance to get used to the campus. For example where their classes might be, the library, food facilities how things work etc. From what I remember students were also able to register for classes at that time. The pre orientation groups tend to be smaller and more specialized. Many of those programs take place off campus. They are quite worthwhile but the student does not get to meet as many or as divergent of a group of classmates as at the Art Sci weekend. If possible, I would recomend doing both. PM me if you have more specific questions.</p>

5

<p>You may also wish to consider the Freshman Summer Academic Program (FSAP), which is a five-week summer program on campus at Washington University. Students who attend this will take two 3-hour classes for credit, live in a dorm with 90 other freshmen and make a lot of friends, and become almost completely familiarized with life at WashU. I did FSAP, and I really enjoyed it. When I came on campus in the fall, I was already very well adjusted to WashU life and I already had several friends.</p>

<p>And you also get to register for classes at FSAP as well, earlier than most freshmen get to do it. Here's the URL:</p>

<p><a href="http://artsci.wustl.edu/%7Ecollege/First_Year/FSAP.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://artsci.wustl.edu/~college/First_Year/FSAP.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>