<p>So im attending soar this thursday 8/12/10 and im wondering when it starts for freshmen? and where do we meet? lol</p>
<p>It begins at 7:30 and it is in the University Union outdoor area. (in front of the bookstore and pizza place) The Welcome presentation is at 9:00am. </p>
<p>Find out more on the SOAR website and check the student schedule. There is one for your parent too.</p>
<p>Have a great time!</p>
<p>Check here: [SOAR</a> - Schedule - Student Orientation, Advising, & Registration - Freshman Students - Student Life & Leadership - Cal Poly](<a href=“http://www.studentlife.calpoly.edu/orientation/soar/freshmen/f_schedule.asp]SOAR”>http://www.studentlife.calpoly.edu/orientation/soar/freshmen/f_schedule.asp)</p>
<p>My husband was just asking the same thing. I sent him the link and he printed the parking instructions. We’ll probably leave the hotel and drive up to the campus around 8:00 AM and by the time we park and walk over to the UU, we’ll make it in plenty of time for the Welcome speech.</p>
<p>momofmv, what time did you actually get there on campus? I know it says check-in is from 7:30-10:00 AM. I was just thinking around 8:00-ish would be a good time, so we could make it to the Welcome presentation. By the way, is that in the Chumash auditorium or just out near the UU? I want to be able to sit once in awhile! :)</p>
<p>We left the hotel about 8:05 and parking was pretty easy. We walked over to the UU and the lines were already pretty long for the photo ID and parent freebies. They actually made my son get out of line for the photo so we could walk over to the Welcome. He ended up getting his ID with his group later on and it worked fine. the line for getting his schedule and packet was short when we got there. I never had time to check out the booths, but I believe they were housing and dining mostly. Our group seemed to be early risers and were there at 7:30-7:45. They were Business and Engineering majors so…</p>
<p>The welcome was actually over in the Performing Arts Center. It was very short and then they sent the students on their way in groups sorted by major. Parents were split into 2 groups and moved from the different auditoriums at the PAC and Chumash.
You will have a good mix of sitting and walking. Most presentations were fairly short. We felt thay had aus moving around a bit more than necessary, but maybe a good way for us to see the campus. </p>
<p>get to lunch early if you want to get a few choices of lunch boxes. We stopped to use the bathroom first and then the lines for lunch were long and the turkey choice was gone. The lunch was over near the business building, so it was a bit of a walk. Bring a water and some snacks for other times in the day.</p>
<p>I did not register to go to the parent workshops/presentations and now I am wondering about the day for my son. Were there many students there without parents? Is there time for students to interact with each other so that by the time my son has a lunch break he will have made other acquaintances with whom he can eat? Just wondering if I should plan to meet him for the lunch break.</p>
<p>OH! Nevermind…I see on the schedule that students will lunch with their small group! Perfect! Now, what should I explore during my free day? (We’re from Washington, so the only time we’ve been in the area was for our campus visit last November.)</p>
<p>I can tell you it’s been unseasonably cooler on the central coast for the past week or so. Actually, for most of the summer. Even though SLO is often warmer than we are in Santa Cruz, I notice it’s only been in the mid-high 60s the past few days. So dress accordingly! I just looked at the latest forecast and it looks like it will be 71 or 72 for Monday and Tuesday, for those of you arriving at SOAR then. We’ll be there tomorrow. So, that’s not too bad! It does get windy in SLO, I noticed the last time I was there. But, overall, a very nice climate! Just wish it had been a warmer summer.</p>
<p>Is anyone going to SOAR on the 16th? I am, and I just looked at the schedule. It says there is no parent orientation on the 16th! We are OOS, so I just paid a pretty hefty airfare :(. Is the parent orientation the entire day, or just part of the program? Thanks</p>
<p>Is the 16th the day for transfer students? That would explain the no parent presentations perhaps.
When I went to SOAR, they kept the parents busy the entire time. We were only with our own child for the Welcome and then during one presentation the students were in the same room, but they stayed with their group and for the most part didn’t sit by the parents. My son ate with his group, but then came over to see me awhile. That is when we went to the bookstore to get his books.</p>
<p>If you do not have any parent obligations/presentations, you will be able to go to the bookstore, take a walking tour of the campus, meet your child for lunch and then maybe check-out downtown. Be sure to watch the PolyLive videos. They go over a lot of information that we heard at SOAR.</p>
<p>There will still be some booths and handouts for you to check-out as well. We received a booklet about college students and concerns. it was pretty good. I hope you are able to make the day worthwhile. It is too bad that they will not have a program for parents on the day you are there, but your child will get a lot out of being there. It is a good way for him/her to get excited about school and to truly picture him/herself there. that would really be helpful for an OOS student.</p>
<p>have a good trip!</p>
<p>Thanks for the good wishes! work is busy now, so I cannot wait to be “stuck” in SLO for the day. I hope to watch the Poly Live videos. My son will for sure. If anyone goes to SOAR this week, please update us with any new insights!</p>
<p>We are in town now for son’s SOAR on Thursday. As we were walking around on campus this afternoon, we say the Poly card office–and no one was in line. Son asked if he could get his card today even though he wasn’t registered for SOAR until Thursday and there was no problem with that. Took less than 2 minutes. So my advice is to wait until the afternoon or go the day before (again, in the afternoon) if you are able before if you can</p>
<p>OK–another question about the schedule–are parent sessions and the student sessions completely separate from each other?</p>
<p>We got back from SOAR a few hours ago. A long day! We actually went out to dinner on the way home which made it even longer.</p>
<p>Anyway, it was a very informative day! We drove up to the school from our hotel and arrived a little after 8:00 AM. Checked in and my daughter was able to get her Poly ID card very quickly. No line at all. We really enjoyed listening to the interim president. What a friendly guy! He’s got the midwestern congeniality. A great speaker, too. I wish he was going to be the president permanently! We also liked the Dean of Science and Math, Dr. Phillip Bailey. He was the one who developed the 25-35 hours of study motto many years ago. He really pushes it! I loved listening to him tell us about his 4 adopted mixed race kids. He and his wife have even taken in disadvantaged Cal Poly students at various times.</p>
<p>We parents were basically shuffled (herded) 
around to different areas to listen and particpate in various presentations. Most of them included student SOAR leaders. We enjoyed the panels and questions and answer sessions. There were some parents from the Parent Program there, as well. I really enjoyed these presentations.</p>
<p>During lunch our daughter came over to say hello, then she went off to eat with a small group in her major. My husband waited for her while she reserved a couple of books for two of her classes.</p>
<p>We only saw her again when the students joined us parents for a presentation. Again, there were questions and answers.</p>
<p>Afterward, she told us that she was able to meet with the head of her department, Kinesiology, as well as some faculty members and a small group of other students in her major. Fortunately, after speaking to the head of Kines. with some concerns about a math class she was assigned (and had already taken in c.c.). she was directed to someone from the Registrar’s class who was there. She replaced that math class with another Kinesiology class and was also told she needed no more math or biology for the major. (She might need a certain type of Bio. for her grad school pre-reqs, but will find that out later when speaks to a Health Professions Advisor). She felt it was worth it just to get this cleared up. The only thing is, as it stand now, all her classes begin at 4:10 PM and one even ends at 10:PM. She still needs to add another class, though, so that might change. She’ll just have to get all her studying, laundry and work outs done during the day! I told her not to get used to sleeping in because her schedule could change next quarter! She could be trudging to class at 7 AM! ;)</p>
<p>All in all, it was a very productive day for us. Even my husband didn’t complain about being bored, although I saw him closing his eyes briefly at one of the sessions.:)</p>
<p>Afterward, my daughter was able to exchange a sweatshirt she had received as a gift. My husband bought a Cal Poly cap and I got a little sticker for the car window. We didn’t get out of there until almost 6 PM. Like I said, a loooong day! But, worth it!</p>
<p>What to do if you’re a SOAR parent but you’re not signed up for SOAR yourself? Here are some thoughts… </p>
<p>I liked checking out the craft center on ground floor of University Union. That was a couple of years ago and I am not positive its open what with all the remodeling that has been going on. Check out the on-campus market. Some of the things in there are grown/raised by the students. S says take a walk up into Poly Canyon and see the projects the architectural and engineering students have been working on. </p>
<p>Off campus, if you are a wine kind of person, there is a little wine shop that sells local products - Monterey Street Wine Co. 1255 Monterey St, a few blocks south of the Grand Ave entrance to Cal Poly. I can’t vouch for the quality of the wines (don’t drink much myself) but I did enjoy looking around in there.</p>
<p>Glad your family had a great day at SOAR! So nice to have the math problem cleared up too.</p>
<p>2Leashes…thanks for the information. We’ve had a great time in SLO so far…done a ton of sightseeing and getting our bearings downtown. I am having 2nd thoughts about not signing up for the parent sessions. I work at a college and spend quite a bit of time helping students with “transition issues” so I wasn’t sure I’d get a lot out of the very long day. But now I am wondering about how much Cal Poly specific info you got. You said the day was worth it–did you think it was as valuable for you as it was for your daughter? I’ve looked around on the CP website a lot, nosed around in my son’s portal as much as I can before he changes his password and watched a couple of the Poly Live sessions, but now I am wondering what it is I don’t know…</p>
<p>Mikasauntie…thanks for the reccommendations…we saw the open craft center last night. Very cool…but son isn’t crafty at all, so he probably won’t take advantage of that activity. I will check out the wine shop though and the market sounds great! Thanks!</p>
<p>2Leashes…My D has the same schedule as yours. I think all the late Kinesiology classes is due to the CP sports programs practicing in the morning. We go to SOAR next week.</p>
<p>To schooner------------------> Well, I’m the type who loves to absorb every little bit of information I can squeeze into my aging brain. My husband not so much. And, he’s a math teacher! I was also the one who went to Open House because my daughter and husband couldn’t make it. I just love learning about the “innards” of how the university works. Was it absolutely necessary? Not really. I’m sure most of the stuff they presented us with is common sense or available on the web. A lot of talk about parents letting go, transitions, rules and rights, alcohol, etc. I did enjoy seeing the interim president and the dean of her college, as well as listening to a couple of the counselors and Dean of Students speak. I loved hearing the students and parents acting out scenarios or just sharing their insights and tips. I also like the commaraderie with the other parents. Again, it’s not something you *reeeally *need to attend, but like I said, I just love those kinds of things. I figure it will probably be one of the last events I’ll be going to as “mom-still-in-control”. I’m not going to be active in the Parent Program, unless it can be done from my computer at home. I can’t see myself driving to SLO for meetings and different events like some of the parents do. But, I think it’s a great resource for new parents and I commend them for having this group.</p>
<p>So, I would say as long as your son felt he got something out of it, that’s the main thing. And, believe me, many of the kids weren’t 100% thrilled to be there for such a long day. My daughter never openly complained, but I did overhear a boy in front of me, saying, “Pleeeease, when can we gooooo”? LOL</p>