What do students find out in the freshman orie? I’ve heard they’ll register for the classes. Will they know their dorm room during the orientation? My DD signed up for the latest orientation possible, because she is out of the country for a gap year. Her final exam in her gap year program won’t end until July. Will that hurt her badly in her chance to sign up for classes she needs?
Basically, you will learn what you need to do to graduate in four years (required classes, etc). They will teach you how to navigate their systems, learn about the resources, how to get game tickets, teach you about some school traditions, some ice breakers etc.
Well, dorm assignments don’t come out till later in the summer, but given you will be at last orientation, I guess it’s possible she’ll know.
The late orientation will not hurt her for signing up for the classes she NEEDS as much as it will limit the choices of times when she can take them, but it will likely affect the opportunity to take some classes she WANTS (needs being the required courses, wants being the electives). Understand that they reserve some spots in the required classes for freshmen, and open up a few seats for each orientation (literally that day they pick classes). There is definitely a good chance she will have to waitlist a seat in some classes she wants. Tell her NOT to be afraid to go on a waitlist. Honestly, my son has been on so many and gotten into all of them - even when his number is in the high teens. While the waitlist won’t “move” for a while, people start to mess around and change up their schedules closer to the time school starts, so the waitlist starts to move pretty steadily in late August. If there are a lot of people signed up on a waitlist, if it is a required class, there is a good chance they may even open an additional section. If it’s an elective, then you can’t count on that. They will not open additional sections on the mid-size or small classes (primarily these are elective classes), no matter how many people go on the wait list.
The other things to bear in mind about waitlisting are
-only waitlist sections you are actually wiling to take because if you waitlist an 8 am and a 9 am and an 11 am section, but the 8 am has the first opening, that’s the one you will get.
-if there is a seat open in a section at a time you really don’t want and there is a low number on a waitlist for the section you do want, understand you will have to make a choice of playing chicken for the section you want or for a guaranteed seat at the time you don’t; you cannot join a waitlist for a section of a class that you already hold a seat for in another section.
Big thing before orientation is to take the math placement test…
@Maxwellequations - @maryversity always gives good answers. They do open up new sections as they need them and the waitlists really work. My D has used them several times.
2 years ago, my D got her dorm, room and roommate notice on July 18. If your D is in an LLC, you can look up the associated dorm on the Reslife website now.
Here is a thread about orientation from last year. Please excuse my typos in it, and Cole is being converted into an Athletic center, so everything may start in Stamp… and Dr Dorland (an amazing individual) is no longer director of the Honors College.
Thank you both very much for the information. I hope H college is still good after Dr. Dorland leaves. Yes she plans to take the math test after coming back to the country, after a few days review. She hasn’t done any math for a whole year!
How many students do they cap each orientation off at?
I don’t know what the cap is, but there surely is one. UMD is expecting a freshman class of 4,000+, so they can’t all register for the same orientation.date. Maybe a call or email to the Orientation office would provide an answer.
Doesn’t the school have a remote virtual orientation?
@dyiu13 - I’m not aware of any such provision, but it wasn’t an issue for us since we are somewhat local. If there is some reason that you cannot attend in person, I recommend that you contact the orientation office as soon as possible to work out an alternative. There is a lot that goes on during the 2 days of orientation.