How important is Orientation?

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@CollegeChica12

I don’t know about the making friends part (although you could try to coordinate with roommates and people on the facebook page) but if you look at a sample schedule for orientation you’ll see that this is where you’ll be registering for classes, being placed in the classes you should be taking, attending informational sessions, speaking with academic advisers, touring the campus and the dorms, etc. I think it’s a really important part of being properly prepared for life at USC, and I would say an overwhelming majority of students are attending a session.

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<p>I disagree (almost) entirely. The student program at orientation is nothing but fluff to pass the time as your parents are being convinced that spending thousands of dollars for your education is worth it. You have already committed to the university and a campus tour/tour of dorms is not going to do anything to change that. The most meaningful part is when your advisor hands you the classes required for your degree and tells you to go pick available classes that fit nicely into your schedule. Most of the events at orientation will have similar programs during welcome week and are not crammed into such tight schedule. </p>

<p>As for advisement, many people do not attend orientation and turn out just fine. They eventually speak to an advisor on the phone and will basically get the same advice that you will at orientation. Also, if you think that classes will get full, people add and drop every day and even if you don’t get exactly what you want, chances are that it will open up eventually. You can even go on now, go to your [departments</a> website](<a href=“http://academics.usc.edu/]departments”>http://academics.usc.edu/) and find a sample course schedule/list of requirements for degree, check the [fall</a> list of classes](<a href=“http://web-app.usc.edu/soc/20123]fall”>302 Found), and attempt to plan out your schedule ahead of time. I believe you can even go to your my.usc.edu and go to web registration, add classes to your course bin and see them on a calendar even before you step foot on campus at orientation. The process isn’t very hard and honestly if you’re smart enough to get into USC, you have the means to advise yourself. </p>

<p>I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go and I think that if you have the means to go, you should go. I’m just stating that you are suggesting that they go for all the wrong reasons. If you haven’t been to USC before or if your parents are questioning your decision, its a great way to see the campus, environment, etc. But if they are gonna drop you off later in August, I’d say save the money and go alone or perhaps not even at all. You will have 4 years to see it all and 36 hours really won’t matter much in the grand scheme of things.</p>