<p>How important is it to do a pre-orientation program? Can anyone tell me more about FIT and FOCUS?</p>
<p>I will be a FOCUS leader this fall and obviously did FOCUS last year as an incoming freshman. Pre-Orientation programs are one of the best things you can do, especially if you're not from New England/Northeast, and don't have friends going to Tufts or schools in the area (like me, from S. Florida). FOCUS is based on community service, but you make great friends doing it, I am still close friends with at least 5 people from FOCUS, some in my group, some not. We also have a lot of fun, making our own meals, going out into Boston and getting acquainted with the city, or for those that are, just having fun. If you have more Q's about FOCUS feel free to PM me. There are other programs - Wilderness, ACT, etc. The only two really worth doing, however, (with the exception of IO if you're international), are FOCUS and Wilderness. I highly suggest you do one, and obviously must promote FOCUS so you'll be in my group. :)</p>
<p>~Ben</p>
<p>Thanks for the info! Maybe I will do FOCUS this year!</p>
<p>Glad I could help!</p>
<p>FIT is the program all the other programs make fun of. I did Wilderness, it was awesome. </p>
<p>pearl, I would definately suggest doing FOCUS or Wilderness (if it's not already overenrolled). All the people I know who did those loved them. </p>
<p>I agree with Ben that Wilderness and FOCUS are the only two worth doing.</p>
<p>At a different college, our D went to pre-orientation and made many friends there. </p>
<p>The only 2 things negative was that:
- she had to quit her summer job sooner (maybe that's positive!)</p>
<ul>
<li>it was hard on the parents because we had to drop her off, disappear for
5 days, and then reappear for the actual Orientation and 2-day
parent-weep events. She couldn't actually move into her dorm until the
Orientation days.</li>
</ul>
<p>So if you do it, work it up with your family. Maybe they can take a side-trip somewhere nice. (We went to relatives in a nearby city and lived on their couches for a few days, ugh). Or maybe you can fly yourself out to pre-orientation and have the family drive your stuff a week later. Find out if they can drop the boxes at the campus when they deliver you to Pre-Orientation, even if it's not into your room yet, so they don't have to drive boxes around for a week in the backseat.
Just think about it in the family planning.</p>
<p>She felt much more ready. Orientation days are very busy, so she felt pre-orientation helped her settle in. It's not "necessary" but she found it fun and helpful.</p>
<p>So -- nobody has anything good to say about the FIT preorientation??</p>
<p>Paying3tuitions - we are thinking of doing what you did -- pre-orientation dropoff, a short vacation nearby (Cape Cod) then back again for matriculation and goodbyes. Was orientation really two days long?</p>
<p>Orientation at Tufts is about 6 days for freshman, and the pre-orientations vary, but FOCUS is from the 24th-30th.</p>
<p>no one likes FIT?....crap...thats the one I wanted to do!</p>
<p>Well to be fair, if you're into the things involved, you may well like it; I looked at the discription and couldn't imagine wanting to do those things. When I hear other people mention FIT, it's often with a slight snicker...</p>
<p>But don't let that scare you off... if it's what you want to do, do it</p>
<p>I agree with paying3tuitions. If you are moving to Tufts from far away, the pre-orientation is a big pain for the move-in. We put D on an airplane from California with a backpack and sleeping bag. We had to arrange to get everything else there, meet the day of move in and take home the smelly backpacking gear. Having said that, she is glad she went on the Wilderness trip and it helped her make some friends right from the start. It did rain a lot.</p>
<p>By the way, for those doing pre-orientation, and coming from far away (can't dirve there) you can ship boxes to Tufts ahead of time (about 1 week) and pick up at the shipping/rec'ing on campus. We shipped about 6 boxes and had Office Depot ship all the "supplies" directly. We flew in, rented a big car, went to Bed, Bath and Beyond, the campus PO the day before and moved D into the dorm the next day. It is a pain, but can be done with understanding parents.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm from south Florida, I shipped all of my boxes up, and flew up by myself, and my mom couldn't come, I was fine, it's really not that big of a deal.</p>
<p>I know kids who liked FIT, for the record.</p>
<p>However, I've posted this in other threads: pre-ors are fun and lots of people do them. It's just that I'm a little wary of meeting a bunch of kids before you get to college, and then arriving and dismissing everyone else b/c you have a pre-made friend group. I know that lots of people did pre-ors, then came to Tufts, made friends on their floor and in their activities, and would still meet up with their wilderness friends for dinner every so often. But some just went die-hard on their pre-or friends and didn't try to meet anyone in their dorm, etc. It's hard on the roommates of those people, and everyone on the floor regards those people as, like, "The girl who hangs out with IO people", "Wait, who is Jake? I have never seen a Jake around here...oh, he has wilderness friends?" etc. It's especially true when all your IO friends live uphill and you spend no time in your downhill dorm, sleeping there.</p>
<p>What I'm trying to say is, it's totally fine to do a pre-or, but don't confine yourself to it. When you get to Tufts, give other people a chance. Even if you didn't get naked with them while hiking ;-)</p>
<p>I agree with Bluirinka. I did International Orientation as my pre-orientation, and I'd say the experience of being with only intl students those first 5 days before everyone else gets to campus really ghettoizes a majority of I.O. participants. Not all, but most. Just be wary!</p>