<p>Which college or university has the best new student orientation? What makes that college's orientation special?</p>
<p>I feel like Rice might get a vote here.</p>
<p>Why would you say so? What is special about Rice’s orientation?</p>
<p>I personally loved Dartmouth’s. From DOC trips (I spent my first 4 days of college canoeing down the Connecticut river in the middle of the Dartmouth land grant!) to the week-long orientation with all kinds of stuff, theres not a better way to enter college. However, I can also say that any person here will have experienced no more than 1 orientation, so it will be completely impossible for anyone to accurate gauge which is “better”.</p>
<p>Frankly, I think many schools do a first class job with their new student orientation days. Info, food, fun, parties, outdoor activities combine to help create ice-breakers for new friendships and a comfortable feeling on campus.</p>
<p>Princeton – it has the largest outdoor action program in the country, which in itself is a sort of orientation (you can also do community action). It’s a week long, and voluntary. After that, you have another week to get used to campus, go to fun parties, etc.</p>
<p>I can tell you one that sucked - Stony Brook. After that orientation I began to realize what a horrible mistake I made.</p>
<p>Columbia’s COOP and CUE pre-orientation programs are phenomenal:</p>
<p>COOP: Columbia Outdoor Orientation Program - either hiking, cycling or rowing for ~3 days with hundreds of other kids, people usually make friends who last the entire 4 years</p>
<p>CUE: Columbia Urban Experience - community service every day for a week, guest speakers and exploring the city at night, ~60 other kids, again many make friends who last all 4 years.</p>
<p>Columbia’s programs sound really cool. Anyone else care to talk about their school’s orientation?</p>
<p>Reed’s Orientations are pretty diverse for a small Liberal Arts College. The Orientations are quite appropriately called “Odysseys”. There are different types of “Outdoor Odysseys” that introduce you to the richness of nature in Oregon. There’s a backpacking trip, a rock climbing trip, a skiing at Reed’s ski cabin, a river rafting trip and a surfing trip. There’s also the standard “International Orientation Odyssey” and a “Peer Mentor Programme” for international students and underrepresented minorities respectively. For community service, there are the SEEDS community service trips that get you in touch with a variety of issues facing the Greater Portland area. In addition to all of this, there is the “Parent Odyssey”, to familiarise Parents with Reed and give them a crash Humanities(Hum) 110 course-teaching them the Odyssey.</p>
<p>Alabama has Outdoor Action, Alabama Action, Roll Tide on the River, WOW Week and many other “ice-breaking” activities and parties before school starts. As mentioned in others’ posts, kids form long-lasting friendships during these activities.</p>
<p>And, like I said above…I think many schools do a great job. My niece is a leader for WOW week (Week of Welcome) at Cal Poly SLO.</p>
<p>Rice has an orientation that is pretty much dedicated to getting new students involved in and proud of their residential college. All kinds of antics ensue.</p>
<p>Are we all talking about the same thing? The outdoor/wilderness/adventure programs described by some of you – are these in addition to an on-campus orientation, or instead of? </p>
<p>D’s school has a wilderness week in mid-summer, but that’s optional, and it’s not orientation. Orientation was a mandatory 5 days on campus. It included ice-breaking and team-building activites and parties, but also the “mechanics” of getting set up (ID photo, laundry card, campus tours) as well as advisor meetings, placement testing, all-student and all-dorm meetings, and activities for parents.</p>
<p>Rice’s orientation is an entire week. Each residential college (“dorms”, but more like the houses in Harry Potter without the magic) has a specifically themed O-Week. For example, Brown College’s was PrestO-Week, so the orientation week revolved around magic. We had tons of activities the entire week, including trip to Galveston Beach, trips to Astros games/Galleria/, roller blading, extravagant matriculation ceremony, pep rally, scavenger hunt around Houston, pranks on other residential colleges (Jones College took all of our dining hall chairs and replaced them with mini popsicle stick chairs), etc. When you roll into the parking lot of your residential college, there are at least 2-3 people that greet you and yell your name, even though you have not met them before. O-week is definitely considered one of Rice’s best traditions. Definitely up there on my list of best and most intense (in a good way) experiences in my life.</p>
<p>Again, as others have stated, many schools have impressive orientation weeks. Both Duke’s and Emory’s seemed quite interesting as well.</p>
<p>Unlike the majority of other people here, I have actually experienced two orientation programs. I enrolled at Arizona State first, and then I decided not to go there and now attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I have both been a participant and a leader of a group during Poly’s Week of Welcome. What sets this program apart isn’t the amazingly qualified leaders, but rather the connection both to San Luis Obispo and the campus itself. The majority of the activities take place on campus, which acquaints the student not only to new friends from his or her residence hall, but also to Cal Poly. There are three awareness presentations dealing with various topics that college students face, such a depression, alcohol abuse, and diversity. These presentations are impactful and memorable because they present the options, rather than simply adopting a “be happy and don’t do anything ‘bad’” mentality, which is valuable to the new student. I am so fortunate to have gone through the Week of Welcome at Cal Poly and have made some of my best friends through the program.</p>
<p>Pomona College’s- They took me to Yosemite Valley for five days! It’s like a full paid vacation! Other trips include going to the beaches of LA, canoeing, backpacking, going to Disney/other theme parks etc.</p>