<p>Wow, this whole college app thing has just felt like dodging one bullet after another. I feel so lucky! wish I’d discovered CC sooner, but fortunately things have worked out ok for our family anyway - despite our woeful lack of relevant knowledge. For example, this summer orientation thing. I had no idea it existed! I don’t think it was even mentioned at any of the colleges we visited. if I’d known, it would definitely have been something to avoid. Bad enough having to plan one trip to visit the schools, and another to take sonny boy and all his stuff (that could have been skipped by the parental units, but we have friends in the area and are combining it with a bit of vacation, at S’ s request - we gave him the option of just heading off solo).</p>
<p>You’d think it would be something that might be mentioned by the GCs here in the 50th state, considering the logistical hurdles. But no, not ours anyway. Fortunately, S’ s uni has orientation the week after move-in day, with the optional parent orientation the first two days. The kids (I think about 1200 frosh?) all register during that week (except for the freshman seminar, which he just registered for online - apparently that is used to assign housing, and the seminar prof becomes one of the student’s advisors to help with registration and such).</p>
<p>While we know about and planned for the inevitable travel costs associated with attending a school across the ocean, one more trip for a summer orientation would have been just too much! And unexpected. Phew.</p>
<p>The mid-sized state university where I teach has different orientation events… some online… some in pereson… some in the summer… some right before classes start. </p>
<p>At the end of June each incoming freshman is given a two day window when they can register for fall classes online (in order to make sure that all students have equal opportunity at classes they only release a certain number of seats in each class on each registration day). During this window they have the opportunity to call, email, or live chat with their freshman advisor if they are having any troubles registering for classes. </p>
<p>There are one day summer orientation sessions in July where students come to campus, meet their freshman academic advisor, their peer group advisor, get their student ID, can meet with financial aid, and make adjustments to their schedule with their freshman academic advisor. There are also parent orientation sessions on this day if they choose to attend. I have had some students from far away (ex. Alaska, and we are on the east coast), who could not make the trip for the one day summer orientation), they simply contacted the orientation office and said they could not make any of the one day summer orientation dates. This was not a problem.</p>
<p>Starting at the beginning of August all students (including returning students) can make adjustments to their schedule online.</p>
<p>The multi-day orientation occurs the Wednesday - Sunday before classes start, after move-in at the end of August. </p>
<p>I would think that most schools would be able to make some accommodations for students who live very far away so they do not have to make the extra trip in the middle of the summer. Maybe not? </p>
<p>My D had a mandatory 2 day orientation last week at a cost of $175. The schedule of events seemed relevant, but day 1 was really long starting at 8:00am and ending at 9:00pm. According to D and her friends, a lot of the info was too much to take in over such a long day. An optional 2 day parent orientation was also offered for $55 and did not include dinner, nor overnight accommodations.</p>
<p>The upsetting factor in this was that this $175 additional mandatory fee was not mentioned anywhere online or in any orientation print literature that D received in the mail, nor was it added to the COA figures on the bursar’s page, so it came to us as a total surprise <insert groan="">. We didn’t find out about the extra $175 fee until D logged into her account to choose an orientation session two months ago. When parents look at the cost of tuition and fees, this extra $ should be listed and not a hidden surprise so that parents can plan for it. Since it is mandatory, it should be part of the COA with regards to FAFSA</insert></p>
<p>There are sessions scheduled throughout the summer and out-of-town students can attend the very last session and get an early dorm move-in date in order to minimize back-and-forth travel. It would be massive chaos if orientation was held for everyone (approx 3900 freshmen) right before classes begin. Having orientation sessions each week over the summer makes complete sense for large schools. Perhaps smaller schools could start their sessions in mid-July and accomplish the same goals. </p>
<p>I don’t know about other universities, but at UC Davis, freshmen orientation is held from July to the first two weeks of August, and their orientation date depends on which college they’ve been accepted to and which orientation group they’ve been assigned to within that college. So it doesn’t clash with high school stuff at all. </p>
<p>I don’t think having an orientation prior to school beginning is important. However, I think it is critical that students choose classes BEFORE they go to school. Emory University does registration one day after students show up and all of the classes are closed out. It is a ridiculous situation and unnecessarily stressful for students. </p>
<p>My school, MIT, has orientation just before school starts. When I went, I wasn’t aware of any other way of doing it. My sister’s college, Northwestern, was the same, and my older siblings went to college back when that was pretty much the only way it was done. Some freshmen attend 6 week programs prior to orientation, so they’re already at the school, but everyone else shows up about 2 weeks before the first day of classes. You have time to learn about classes, activities, sports, potential majors, dorms, and to get familiar with the campus.</p>
<p>I don’t really understand the reasoning for moving towards a summer orientation. For me, the opportunity to talk to upperclassmen was one of the most important parts of orientation. While there are few around before school starts, there are even fewer in the middle of the summer. I suppose having a bit more time to think about the class schedule might be good, but MIT has such firm requirements, that students are only making a “free choice” for one of their classes. For your other courses, you’re choosing from one of two or three options.</p>
<p>It seems like something that’s more of an option for schools whose students are mostly traveling a short distance to get there. If you’re driving up from two hours away, and have to do that both in July for orientation and in September when school begins, it’s no big deal. However, if you’re shelling out $800 for cross-country air fare…</p>
<p>Additionally, having to do something in the middle of the summer prevents students from having significant experiences elsewhere. I know that many students who can afford to do so enjoy traveling abroad the summer between HS and college - if you have to fly back from another continent in July to go to orientation, you either have to cut your trip short or pay twice as much for air fare. </p>
<ol>
<li>I think summer orientation is really good, I was super anxious about my first year of college, especially meeting people since I’m shy, so my orientation was in july, there were different 3 day chunks you could chose from, starting from early july to mid-august i think, and school started last week of september. Having orientation early on helped relax me and made me even more excited about starting college! I also got to meet my roommate during orientation which was nice!</li>
<li>I’m pretty sure it was required, maybe there was some sort of exception for international students, I’m not sure. </li>
<li>I sort of answered this earlier, but yes there was a choice of dates so I went on a friday-sunday, but they also had dates during the week.</li>
<li>No extra cost for students, besides parking possibly. Parents were welcome to come too (and a lot did) and had to pay to eat on campus and stay in a different dorm. I don’t think it cost too much and was convenient for out of state students. </li>
</ol>
<p>There is almost a (perhaps non-advertised) orientation right before school starts for international students (and anyone else who needs it). My DD went to SUNY Binghamton but we were living in Germany and travelling back the summer before she started…so she just went to the last orientation right before school started. Supposedly they hold back slots in classes for each orientation group.</p>
<p>I believe that summer orientation is a good thing. My college offers it three days each in June, July, and August. August’s orientation session is right before move-in day. I attended the first orientation session yesterday, and I really liked getting a taste of the college atmosphere and letting it “sink in” instead of doing it right before the semester starts. My college also does two orientations. They pick your first orientation session based on when you completed your math placement test and paid registration fees. If you complete all of that early, then you have an earlier orientation date and better course selections. The second orientation day is the Friday before the semester begins, and basically, this is when ALL the freshman meet on campus. All freshman are split up throughout the summer with different orientation days, and the orientation session before the semester begins is cumulative. The second orientation sessions is a lot more fun, too, whereas the first session deals with getting all of the pesky things out of the way like setting up accounts, meeting your adviser, etc. Like I said, I like having summer orientation because I don’t feel rushed, and I get to let a little bit of college “sink in” during the summer before I begin. </p>
<p>I believe that summer orientation is a good thing. My college offers it three days each in June, July, and August. August’s orientation session is right before move-in day. I attended the first orientation session yesterday, and I really liked getting a taste of the college atmosphere and letting it “sink in” instead of doing it right before the semester starts. My college also does two orientations. They pick your first orientation session based on when you completed your math placement test and paid registration fees. If you complete all of that early, then you have an earlier orientation date and better course selections. The second orientation day is the Friday before the semester begins, and basically, this is when ALL the freshman meet on campus. All freshman are split up throughout the summer with different orientation days, and the orientation session before the semester begins is cumulative. The second orientation sessions is a lot more fun, too, whereas the first session deals with getting all of the pesky things out of the way like setting up accounts, meeting your adviser, etc. Like I said, I like having summer orientation because I don’t feel rushed, and I get to let a little bit of college “sink in” during the summer before I begin. </p>
<p>As I promised the other day, I raised this issue on the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) email forum. I wanted college admission officials to realize that summer orientation expenses (ranging from air travel to dorm fees) need to be included in a college’s Cost of Attendance figures. I pointed out that these hidden charges can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for some students and parents who are already struggling to stay afloat as tuition bills loom.</p>
<p>Perhaps not surprisingly, only one college official replied (more on that in a minute). The rest of the responses came from high school counselors and independent counselors who echoed the hardships that summer orientations impose on some families. This response, from Patti Demoff, an educational consultant based in the Los Angeles area, was typical of several of the comments I received:</p>
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<p>However, one current college admission official did say this:</p>
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<p>So any student who can’t get to an official orientation in the summer would be wise to ask about possible “under-the-radar” options. Nonetheless, that won’t solve the big problem that students and parents addressed on this thread and that some counselors mentioned to me privately: First-come, first-served registration.</p>
<p>Many colleges do give course-selection preference to the students who attend the earliest orientation sessions. In this day and age, when the Internet allows a student from Nepal to sign up for classes on the same day as a student from New Jersey, why should the early birds who can get make the first orientation dates get first pick?</p>
<p>On this thread, above, KatMT says:</p>
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<p>Would it be so hard for ALL colleges to do this?</p>
<p>Attended mandatory orientation at UT Austin June 16 - 18. Family Orientation is 1st day (separate from students). Mandatory for students to stay in dorms. No option for parents to stay on campus. Mandatory meetings and classes over first 2 days and then 3 day is scheduling classes. Had wing meetings from 11 p.m. to midnight on both nights. Very long days and very tired. Good feeling for what college life will be like but was definately ready to go home. Multiple dates from June through August but NOT all college majors have orientation slots on all dates. I am engineering major and had all dates available. Some of the mandatory classes were ridiculous about finances, etc (presented to us like we were children and had no clue about finances). Overall good experience. Cost $221 for orientation. Parents $25 - 35. 3 day parking pass $30. Barbeque dinner for everyone on first night. Hook 'em</p>
<p>My daughter just got back from a summer orientation at her college. There wasn’t a separate charge for her to attend orientation (just a “new student fee” that is included in the COA) and it was $50 plus lodging for parents. We sent her by herself. The college has several orientation sessions throughout the summer with the last one scheduled right before school starts, so we could have avoided an extra flight out if we wanted. We sent her to the first orientation so she would have the chance to meet people before roommate requests were due and room assignments were finalized, and so she could register earlier for classes. As it turned out, she met a roommate via social media and that was settled before she even left for orientation. She was also able to communicate with her advisor by email and begin registering for classes before orientation, but has to await AP scores in July before she can finalize her fall class schedule. She was able to meet with her advisor and ask questions of current students at orientation to feel more confident about her scheduling options once AP credits are accounted for. </p>
<p>The benefit of an early orientation for her has been a shorter, solo trip to college before she has to leave home for real for the first time in August. She also got a lot of questions answered that will make planning for August easier, met a bunch of other students, and seems to be working through a bit of the stress/shock/emotion of leaving home now instead of all at once in the fall. </p>