common ground: you watch a presentation about howard thurman and then you form your own groups with people around you and go around Boston with one gps per group and you’re supposed to solve riddles and do small group tasks. it took way longer than expected though, so we only got through 2 of the 4 clues/locations. it was a lot of walking. according to the gps: 5 miles so wear comfortable shoes!
city excursions: i didn’t go on this but this is where everyone mostly got close with one another so i would definitely suggest that everyone go on this. also everyone went to the north end and had some really good diiner.
on wednesday, no food was provided from the school so you had to buy your own lunch and dinner.
THURS *
breakfast was served at rich hall from 7-8pm but it wasn’t free (from what i know, since i skipped breakfast i dont really know exactly)
during the welcome address all of the student advisers (group leaders) were introduced. there was a total of 80 something groups! Each group is separated by school and there are about 10 people per group.
every group did different stuff on thursday when we met with our student advisers. each group goes to their building (like SMG groups went to the SMG building to meet, COM groups in the COm building, etc) and goes into a classroom to learn about credit requirements, how to set up a schedule, etc.
during this time some groups also actually registered for classes while others only planned their schedule on thursday and registered friday. if you used the planner to plan classes on the student link you’ll definitely be bored during this time because you can easily just move all your classes from the ‘planner’ to the ‘registering’ part. but you can ask the student advisers what their opinion is on your schedule and you can change it around
then we went to two seminars. the first being "unlocking the undergrad experience’ and the second being ‘supporting student success’. basically these seminars gave insight about what the university provides students. like: community service center, howard thurman center, international programs, libraries, sustainability ,career services, educational resource center, university center, etc … it was boring but informative
lunch was provided in a box (sandwich, chips, cookie and an apple) and you eat with your group and student adviser. the vegetarian option sandwich actually looked better than the regular sandwich in my opinion
‘making choices’ seminar which was basically a presentation about health services and rules, the police on campus, residence life and student activities … it was boring but informative
then there was a bbq which was good
then more advising and more planning and registering … groups that were done had free time
then there was a sketch comedy which was extremely entertaining in my opinion
then the rest of thursday night was the GSU open houses which was a lot like a carnival. everyone got a lot of free things and there was a lot to do (human jenga, dance party, karaoke, glow in the dark tricycle racing, watching the celtics game, shooting hoops, bingo, etc etc)</p>
<ul>
<li>FRIDAY *</li>
<li>breakfast with student advisers and groups at rich hall (free all you can eat meal)</li>
<li>terrier ID card pictures </li>
<li>academic advice, planning and registering for classes (or free time if you’re group finished)</li>
<li>work study work shops</li>
<li>closing program</li>
<li>open houses</li>
</ul>
<p>And that was pretty much it!
Last bit of info/advice
BU gave out a lot of free stuff (drawstring bag, shirts, cards, cookies, chocolates, etc)
Dean Elmore gave out a lot of BU Hockey Jerseys
The friends you make on the first day won’t necessarily be your friends on the second or third day
Definitely attend every social activity if possible (common ground, city excursions…)
You’ll probably become the closest with your group though since you spend all of thurs with them
you can bring laptops but wifi might or might not work (it worked for one friend but didn’t work for another …)</p>
<p>On the BU 2014 Fbook page, I heard that you can exchange your College gear from other schools for something. What is it? Supposedly it is more valuable that BU clothing???</p>
<p>There was a kid wearing a Yale sweatshirt and a girl wearing a shirt from her high school. Dean Elmore offered to trade them BU hockey jerseys for the sweatshirt/shirt, with the understanding that he would keep their clothing. They both accepted, and he really kept their stuff. </p>
<p>Yeah. Anyway, orientation was AWESOME. They totally went above and beyond the expectations. BU is ahead of the game in terms of technology, web services, presentations, etc. Every administrator or department seemed to have a video or something with their speech, so not only was it all informative, but in an entertaining way. There were often cookies or packs of playing cards waiting for us when we got to different places, there was always plenty of food and free things, and a lot of student advisors to help make the process easier. </p>
<p>Everything was just so well planned and everyone came away absolutely loving the campus and the people. I couldn’t be more excited.</p>
<p>It was awesome. Was I the only one who found that Rhett rap thing so stupid it was actually hilarious? I didn’t laugh that hard when it happened but thinking back it was REALLY funny… meters are bad! no! no! n-n-n-no! NOOOO!</p>
<p>i’ve got a pretty solid idea of what classes i want to take, but i have a couple questions that i’d like to get a professor’s opinion on. is that something i can do at orientation, or should i try to email them over the summer/wait til classes start this fall? i know i can add/drop whenever so i’m not really concerned about it, just curious.</p>
<p>@qwertyg: at orientation you get put into groups based on your school and you get student advisers who are in the same school as you. so while registering for classes you can ask them all the questions you want about your schedule, etc. there’s also this one seminar, academic perspectives which is different for each school so during this seminar you can probably raise your hand or something and ask your question. i dont know about other schools but for com academic perspective there were professors there</p>
<p>@ Hanita: the bbq was 5:15 - 6:30 on thursday</p>
<p>Oh and also, the students stayed at Rich Hall. The parents stayed at StuVi (the student village) and the kids who stayed overnight past thursday got to move into StuVi for the rest of their stay …</p>
<p>And yeah I hate the way webmail and studentlink look …</p>
<p>@Eytukan - Yeah totally. I mean everyone’s in the same boat as you. No one knows anyone and everyone is just looking for friends, so everyone’s extremely open, friendly and outgoing. It’s really easy to make friends. Plus, you can make whole new groups of friends each day. Like friends you meet and hang out with the first day of orientation won’t necessarily be the ones you hang out with the second or third day. It’s really fun and easy to make friends, dont worry :)</p>
<p>Hahahaha I was cracking up during the Rhett rap, such effective brainwashing for bike-parking.
What they got to go to StuVi?! I’m so jealous, I kept thinking about that. And breakfast on Thursday was included if you stayed overnight Wed, I believe.
And yes, the vast majority of people are extremely outgoing and friendly. It’s a lot of fun, don’t worry (:</p>
<p>Nickel, weirdly enough I ended up with a bunch of my closer friends that I made separate from orientation becoming best friends with my orientation friends too. BU often feels so tiny…I can’t imagine what an actual small school feels like when you must know absolutely everyone through seven different ways.</p>
<p>I know, right? It seems that with thousands of people you wouldn’t see the same person often as you walk around…and yet I see people from class all the time. I don’t even live in the same dorm as them and bam! I randomly see them. It’s weird. I still have friends from orientation. Actually, that’s how I met my roommate from my second year. She was friends with a girl I knew since orientation.</p>
<p>It is too late to request roommate now Otherwise I would definitely ask to stay in the same room with my orientation roommate. The whole orientation experience was really awesome I wish it could be a little longer thou.</p>
It’s weird. I still have friends from orientation. Actually, that’s how I met my roommate from my second year. She was friends with a girl I knew since orientation.</p>
Otherwise I would definitely ask to stay in the same room with my orientation roommate. The whole orientation experience was really awesome