<p>My school’s orientation is required for everyone, and it cost $70 bucks. Parents aren’t required to come, but they can if they pay $50. I actually haven’t been yet, so I can’t comment on how I feel about it. There were multiple dates throughout the summer, starting in late May, through the beginning of August.</p>
<p>If cost were no object, then summer orientations are useful. But, the travel costs can be a deal-breaker. Plus, lots of freshmen don’t have their AP and dual-enrollment scores/transcripts to send yet, and new transfer students don’t have their spring semester grades to send. So, placement and picking the right courses can be a challenge. Maybe colleges could just use videos, web-chats, FB groups, online registration, etc., to create a virtual orientation. I guess I’m concerned that students who don’t have the bucks lose out. College is so expensive. </p>
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In regards to incoming freshmen, scores, and transcripts, colleges are aware of this and have made their wat around it. The college is aware of the classes the student has taken and has attempted. Through orientation, students sign up for their classes according to their expectations. When official scores and transcripts are received. Students are able to change their schedule to move into a higher course or a course that they need. It works year after year. </p>
<p>Orientation can be helpful because you meet new people (potential roommates perhaps) and you can schedule for classes. Generally, schools handle things differently. I’m part of multiple college groups and generally they follow one of two formats:</p>
<p>A) Orientation over the summer, spread out over several dates, usually for class scheduling, tours, and meeting some classmates. These are mandatory and involves an overnight stay. Often times I see kids leaving before the end of senior year to attend these which mind boggles me.</p>
<p>B) Orientation right before classes start around move-in time. I believe this system makes much more sense as it relieves pressure to travel (especially for those who live far away) and does not put those who cannot come at an earlier date at a disadvantage in terms of scheduling your first year.</p>
<p>I chose a school that had a type B orientation.</p>
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<p>My son, who is just finishing 11th grade, wants to leave New England (where he has lived his whole life) in favor of a college in a warmer climate. Although I I’d love to have him stick closer to home, I do feel that living in a new part of the country will be an “education” in itself. Right now, his two front-runner colleges (which, of course, could change in the months ahead) are roughly 1,500 miles away and 3,000 miles away, respectively. My husband and I had agreed that, if our son is accepted at both and if these colleges continue to be tied for first place next spring, we would send him to the admitted-student programs to help him make up his mind. (I’m a big fan of visiting campuses after acceptance because students approach these trips with a whole different mind-set than the one they bring to the window-shopping period.)</p>
<p>But, now, thanks to this thread and to many of your comments, I decided to check out the orientation options for both schools, and I discovered that they each have summer (only) orientations. There are a number of dates to choose among. Several of these dates are well before my son’s high school graduation, but no orientation options are close to the start of the fall semester. So I just realized that this could mean airfares to both campuses in April and then to one of the places in June and again in September. If my husband and I want to tag along (which we would, if there are events for parents), the total that we’ll end up paying for plane tickets, even before 2015 ends, could be more than I paid for a year of college (tuition, room, board) in 1969! </p>
<p>While, obviously, our son doesn’t HAVE to go to college far away … it’s a choice … and he certainly should expect high travel costs if he does, the added expense of a special trip in June feels like the straw that could break the camel’s back. Call me old-fashioned, but I think that orientation should be in the fall, just before school starts. </p>
<p>I didn’t read all the other comments yet. I just wanted to say that my S1 had orientation right before school started, perfect. S2 has orientation (mandatory for BOTH parents and student) next week. So this is costing us a fortune to book a hotel room for two nights in a major city. Two nights because we are expected to be there bright & early in the morning, so no time for travel unless we leave at 5am… Meals, gas, etc.,etc. this is costing us waaaay more than it needs to. PLUS, he also has a 5 day period before school begins to have another orientation! What the heck? 
Wish colleges were a little more consistent and let these kids have their summer vacation. My S2 already has started his summer job and now needs to take a few days off for this. Ridiculous imo.</p>
<p>What happens if the student/parents cant afford the “mandatory” orientation? Sheesh, I am feeling lucky my D’s school didn’t require this. They had orientation when they showed up for school in August. This type of thing makes me SMH. What do international kids and kids whose parents can’t afford a separate trip do? Ridiculous IMO. Personally, I would tell them to shove it up their kiester or pay for the plane ticket if they wanted my kid to show up for some rah rah crap in the middle of the summer.</p>
<p>I doubt that a June orientation will end up being a deal-breaker when my son is choosing a college next spring, but the extra cost of travel will certainly be on the “Cons” list if he’s deciding between one of his current top-choice places and any other distant college that does not host summer orientation. </p>
<p>On a related note, I’ve noticed that there are some colleges that are actively trying to increase their enrollment of out-of-state students. Yet these are some of the SAME schools that host June orientations. This shows little consideration for students and their families who must come from a distance. It seems that if a college REALLY wants to boast of a national–or international–student body, then the administrators should adjust their policies to be sensitive to the needs of folks from far away.</p>
<p>Similarly, because my son insists that he wants to attend a warm-weather school, we scheduled campus visits during his February and April vacations this past winter and spring. It would be completely impractical to wait until senior year to take long trips to see these colleges since it would be difficult to yank our son away from classes and sports in September and October, and there are no long vacations in the fall. We wanted to avoid summer trips in order to see the colleges with students on campus (and when the temperatures aren’t hovering around 100!).</p>
<p>BUT … because my son was just a junior when he traveled to these distant colleges, he was excluded from overnight-visit programs and interviews that are often reserved for seniors only. I tried to explained to an admission staff member at one college on our itinerary that there was no way that my son was going to get back to California from Massachusetts for an interview or overnight before his application deadlines, but my whining fell on deaf ears. We visited this school anyway, took a tour, and ate in the dining hall. My son ended up crossing this college off his list after he saw it. Maybe he would have done so anyway, but I still have to wonder if the school–which I know for a fact is aiming to up its enrollment of students from beyond CA–could have “sold” itself to him more effectively if they’d been more accommodating of a second-semester junior.</p>
<p>Bottom line: When colleges are trying to attract a more geographically diverse student body, then those who schedule on-campus events should take travel needs into consideration in terms of dates and start times.</p>
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My college has wavers, payment plans, and works with families who are unable to afford the cost upfront. Some students do not have the money at the moment, but will once financial aid comes in. As long as a student talks to those in charge of orientation. No problem. For international students, their orientation is the week before the move in date for the end of the semester. Their orientation is specifically targeted towards international students. The school provided rooms for them, for an added cost, if they want to stay a couple days before. They move into their actual dorms before everyone else based on the timing. </p>
<p>I don’t see the problem with a school recruiting and increasing their out of state enrollment and having June orientation sessions. If they have multiple other dates outside of June, then it’s not much to get worked up about. </p>
<p>Some have brought up that later orientation dates put those who pick the later ones at a disadvantage for registration, but there’s a simple solution for that to. My college opens common first year class seats and some uncommon upper level class seats in waves with the passing orientations. Every two weeks, there are opening of more seats. </p>
<p>You know, some colleges do it better than others. A lot better.</p>
<p>What is the purpose of orientation? Location of dining halls? Here is the student health center? Respect the other sex and don’t get drunk at parties or this is the bus schedule? Sorry, too much dumbing down IMO. Although I didn’t go to college, I’m pretty sure people of my age navigated college just fine without orientation. From what I have heard, most of our generation never had set foot on campus before they arrived to move in. Pretty sure everybody was okay. Sheesh.</p>
<p>“Just fine” might’ve been just fine for your and your peers, but as time goes on improvements are made. At my college, orientation is a lot about the education of the students coming in. It’s educating them on financial aids processes (i.e. types of financial aid, the financial aid process, loan education, what to expect, budgeting), the opportunities available to them (study abroad, clubs, etc.), and social education (i.e. drinking -what is normal and what is not, sex, mental health, balancing priorities). Our orientation has these groupings that meet together throughout the day where the students discuss their worries and expectations. Those groupings help a lot of the students because they see and hear many students who have their same fears, worries, expectations, and goals. Another big plus is that the students are able to speak with the directors of their majors and speak with an advisor to choose their schedule. </p>
<p>Yes, there is a tour in there. Yes, they are told the bus schedule, but this isn’t “dumbing down”. If you take a look in the Sexual Assault thread that’s going on on the Parent Forum, it’s clear how colleges were handling speaking to their students about drinking and social interactions between their students wasn’t working and how they are currently handling it isn’t working. Colleges are trying to get new programs and new ways to speak to their students to open their eyes and be aware. </p>
<p>The experience students gain from orientation cannot not be ignored. There is a benefit of feeling what it’s like to eat in a dining hall, speak to new people for the first time, to be in the widely used buildings of the college, and even knowing what it’s like to stay overnight on the campus. Can it be done away with? Yes. Is there a. Large benefit for having students go through with this? Yes. </p>
<p>The pros far outweigh the cons in the model I have from my college. There are an innumerable about of pros, while the only con I see is the cost; although, the college works with you on prices and offers cheap prices for extra nights.</p>
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Why don’t you tell that to Sally and her son who is trying to organize campus visits along with looking at the orientation times. Some families, out of state and in state, are able to have their students visit the college before they decide, and there are some who are unable to get down to the college before they decide. Orientation gives those students a chance who have not been able to see the campus a chance. </p>
<p>Oh please, niquii77…just a bunch of information that can be given to students in one or two days before the start of the term in conjunction with a bunch of feel good crap. Really, what it is like to eat in a dining hall? Did your classmates grow up in a cave? Sorry, just tired of all this bull crap hand holding.</p>
<p>You may be tired of it, but unless your child goes to a college that has an orientation that isn’t required, you still get to pay for it. If your child chose to go to that college, then congratulations. You dodged a bullet in your book. </p>
<p>In a perfect world, every college would have orientation right before classes start. At my son’s college (state flagship) the freshman class is around 3700. Can you imagine trying to do orientation for 3700 kids along with registration at the same time? His school did have separate orientation for international students and transfer students. I just looked and the date of the last orientation is July 15/16. Student cost is $40.</p>
<p>D already graduated and is in medschool. She went off 1100 miles, moved into a dorm, managed to eat and find friends all on her own. How novel. Also registered for classes, joined a club sport and had a great college experience all without having me to pay for orientation. I just think the orientation thing is just worthless and a money suck.</p>
<p>My son applied to 1 oos school–in Colorado. I just remembered that they had an online orientation for oos students–that shouldn’t be too hard for any college to set up. Then when the students get to campus on move-in day, then can register for classes, etc.</p>
<p>Terinzak, an online orientation sounds like a great alternative to a mandatory on campus one.</p>
<p>Like I said, great job, GA. You dodged a bullet. And to think, kids who did all the things your daughter did went to summer orientation, as well. </p>
<p>@terinzak It shouldn’t be hard for the school to reevaluate their orientations with the helpful feedback from parents and students. I know Sally said up thread that it was like speaking to a brick wall. If the school really listened to the concerns and scheduling conflicts, perhaps schools could start offering them. The main incoming freshmen scheduling conflicts that I have come across are when the students’ schools (generally Northern schools) don’t end before the start of the summer session of classes, so the student does have a quick turn around with graduation, orientation, and move in day. </p>
<p>I think summer orientations are fine, provided they don’t place an undue burden on the student and the family. S’s school (a LAC) has a “mandatory” two-day orientation, offered on several dates in June, with optional parent participation. The cost for the student is about $150 and is rolled into the fall tuition bill. I think the benefits for S will definitely outweigh the cons of extra travel and expense. Although he’s been to campus twice, this will be S’s first opportunity to stay overnight in the dorms and it will give him another opportunity to feel comfortable on campus. More importantly, It will also be his first time really paying attention to the details of his LAC curriculum and the kinds of courses he will need to take. There is no way my particular child would understand all that by reading it in a catalog on his own over the summer. This, and the individual advising sessions at orientations, will be invaluable him helping make his course requests. </p>
<p>I also think early orientations can help the school with planning. From what I understand, at his school, going to an earlier orientation session doesn’t give the student first choice of classes. The school takes all the requests made at all orientations and only then creates schedules for the students. I’d imagine this means the school can address potential conflicts more thoughtfully than in the rush of the first few days on campus.</p>
<p>Like Sally, we realized the extent of travel costs only after S enrolled in his school ( 700 miles away). I do think it’s a lot to ask for students and parents to make a separate flight/hotel trip to campus, which is why the orientation is not 100% mandatory. I do think there is financial assistance, though, even though I don’t think it’s advertised. When our original travel plans fell through and we thought we were looking at an airline penalty to switch to a different session, the school offered help in covering it without my even asking. For those of you in need, it may be worth asking the orientation organizers if similar help exists. </p>
<p>When I started college in the early 80s, we had a summer orientation. I really don’t think they’re new or a recent trend. In fact, the idea of waiting until the very last minute makes the whole move in process seem, well, rushed. Summer orientation/registration is a good time to sit down the new students and have them focus on curriculum and only curriculum. They’re not also trying to move in, and get their IT stuff taken care of, and change their meal plan, and . . . </p>
<p>I’m guessing schools work with distance families to make sure they’re in sessions that work best for them. It’s also fairly common for schools to save seats in classes for those students who come to the least orientation. </p>