<p>Please weigh in on the importance to attend SOAR for your college. Is it worth the time, travel & $$s to come? Will the same advice, etc. being provided during the freshmen orientation week? Thank you for any & all input.</p>
<p>My son is going to SOAR so he can get advice on scheduling before he has to register for classes on-line in August. I think that is the main purpose of SOAR. The freshman orientation in September will probably cover everything else, but they will have to sign up for their classes before that. It may not be necessary, but we also wanted to have another visit before he goes out for good in September (we're out of state).</p>
<p>I'll be honest, I didn't find SOAR very helpful at all. I guess it's an opportunity to meet some people and/or your advisor(s) but other than that I was not advised too much about my major. I think it's a waste of money. The class-scheduling advice was a complete joke, too. They basically just told us exactly what is said online, put us in a computer room and have us work at the computers while you could have been doing this at home for free. All my class information and which classes were required for my major I got online from my major department's website.</p>
<p>My son just finished his freshman year at Cal Poly in the College of Engineering. Last summer we did not go to SOAR, and he didn't have any trouble registering for classes last fall. All the information he needed was available online. You use the PASS program to put together sample schedules ahead of time, then when your registration appointment comes around , you log into the registration program and input your class selections.
Check PASS the day before to make sure there are openings in the class/sections you want. We printed a course flowchart from the Advising Page of CENG website for his major, so we'd know what classes to register for. You can get there from the advising tab of my.calpoly.edu.</p>
<p>I appreciate the answers from both sides of the spectrum, and definitely appreciate the advice to check out the online registration information. I was easily able to access general as well as college specific instructions. Thank you to all who've responded and know other input is still appreciated.</p>
<p>We plan to go to SOAR. Forget that everything is already on the web site. I believe that the experience on campus would be beneficial for our D just for the comfort level of being on a new campus.</p>
<p>Any parents out there who have participated in SOAR. Any information you want to pass along? Where did you like to go while visiting off campus. Best restaurants, hotels, shops?</p>
<p>Anyone taken the train from SLO to Northern Cal?</p>
<p>I'm a current student, and I did not go to SOAR nor did I experience any difficulties. From what I've gathered, from those who did attend, it was hardly worth bothering with. CPReg, the online system which students use to register classes, is really quite straightforward. As for what to register for and what alternatives exist, simply consult your major flowchart and catalog (both which can be accessed online). Note that incoming students receive registration priority the quarter they enter. Building your D's "comfort level" can honestly wait for the week-long orientation and entire freshman year ahead.</p>
<p>From your question I assume you plan to use amtrak as your D's method of transportation to and from home & school. Amtrak has an odd policy where they require they purchase of a train ticket with any bus ticket. Because of this, I always use the bus (which conveniently leaves from the dorms) to travel home and the train to travel back. Bus travel time can vary wildly depending on the traffic, so I opt for early morning departs. I find the train much more comfortable and use starlight to commute from San Jose to SLO, which takes ~3.5hrs. A couple of tips: 1-if you only wish for a 1-way bus ticket, you can simply return the train ticket for a slight penalty 2-even though amtrak says it doesn't mail to dorms, you can still do it (though I haven't tried expedited mail) 3-always order well ahead of time for holiday returns, esp. winter and thanksgiving</p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>Registration for classes was painless. Found out today that I will be rooming in a triple. Room large enough for a bike. Is that aloud?</p>
<p>Thanks for the info about the train. Will not be bringing my car.</p>
<p>Any tips for WOW week? moving in..are they really strict on the time you can get in.</p>