What to Expect at New Student Orientation
By Lauren Ashley Smalls
After you have been accepted to the wonderful College of Charleston, you are wondering “what’s the next step”. You’ve probably been on Cougar Trail and signed up for one of the Orientation Dates. Now, you are just waiting that day to come. Below are 5 tips on what expect when you come to Orientation and just some things to keep in mind.
- Expect to see families galore.
Parents and other family members are excited for their student and want to share the experience with them.
- Expect to be separated from your family.
College is a new experience. You will be apart from your loved ones for long periods of time. We want to you start getting use to the idea of being an individual and independent so some sessions you will be attending without the "fam".
In your intern groups, walking around, or by accident, there are new students here just like you who would love to make new friends. It’s always good to come to school knowing a few people and those people can be new students that you meet at Orientation.
We are “FISHY” people in New Student Programs and we like to have fun. If there are any night activities or the opportunity to stay in the residence halls definitely do so. If not, you may miss out on all the fun!!
- Expect to leave one step closer to becoming a College of Charleston freshman.
When you leave Orientation you will have your schedule made. You are set with classes, maybe even your textbooks. The next step now is moving in.
The Ins and Outs of Living On-Campus
By Holley Springfield
So, it’s getting closer and closer to the start of your freshman year in college. For many of you, you will be living in one of the College’s 11 dorms or in one of the many historic houses on-campus. Here are a couple of things for you to remember.
- We realize that you are moving away from home, but you don’t need to pack every last belonging that you own. For one thing, you are more than likely sharing a 10’x10’ room with another person who wants to bring everything they own to. The College allows you to see who you will be living with on CougarTrail. It lists their name, email address, and where they are from. My advice is to get in touch before you move in and try to split up what you need for the room.
- Speaking about roommates, you might be paired with someone you have never met before. Don’t look at their address and automatically say “They’re from such and such place, I’m not going to like them and we’re not going to get along.” For one thing, you never know, this person could easily become your best friend. If you decide that you cannot possibly live with this person, Residence Life has in place a process that does allow you to request a roommate change. However, you do have to wait until at least 3 weeks after moving in to make the request.
- When you do move in, make sure that all your important electronics like laptops, dvd players, tv’s, or anything that is important to you somehow has your name and information on it. If you don’t have anything to do this with Public Safety can help you out. They can engrave whatever you want with your name and drivers license number. And if you think that you would absolutely die, if something that was extremely special and important to you ever got stolen, that should be a big hint to you to not bring it.
We look forward to seeing you on campus soon!!
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7 Things to do Before You Come to Orientation
Orientation is that magical time over the summer when you come down to hot and sweaty Charleston to get ready for your first semester and collegiate years at the College of Charleston. You get to meet new people and have fun. Aside from the great time you’re bound to have there’s a little bit of work involved. So here’s the list of things to do to prepare yourself so that you can maximize your fun.
- Placement Tests: The College of Charleston requires thateveryone take 12 semester hours of a language. We offer a variety of languages including Russian, Arabic, German, Latin, and the usual French and Spanish. By taking one of these tests you have the opportunity to pass out of a couple of classes or all of them. So unless you’re starting a whole new language I’d suggest some review because it not only means that you may not have to take all 4 classes but it saves on tuition something the parents always love.
- Start looking at Classes: During orientation every student gets advised to help them figure out what classes they have to take to meet the requirements to graduate and what classes will get them on the track for their major or finding a major. It’s always a good idea to go into your advising session with some questions or classes in mind that you want to take. The college lists the required classes every student must take on the Academic Advsing and Planning Center website.
- Greek or No Greek?: The College of Charleston offers Greek life for interested students. During orientation, you can attend an information session geared toward those interested in learning more about Greek life at CofC. If you are interested be sure to look for it on your schedule at orientation.
- Clubs: There are hundreds of clubs on campus to keep the students busy and involved in groups or causes that interest them. Check out the Student Life website for a list of organizations
- Dorm Rooms: If you’re living on campus and want to come to college prepared to decorate the room, you can visit a model room over orientation. These rooms are exactly the same as the one you’ll be staying in so you can go and do all the measuring necessary for curtains, space limitations, if you need a bed lift, under the bed storage devices, etc. You can also get a feel of the room you’ll be spending the next year in.
- Contact your Roommate: If you’re staying on campus the college gives you room and roommate information well in advance so you can contact the person and work out those room-sharing details. If you’re lucky enough sometimes you’re even scheduled for the same orientation as I was. If this is the case you can set up a meeting so that move-in day isn’t your first meeting ever.
- Be Ready to Meet New People: Orientation is a great opportunity to meet and greet other new students. It’s the first time you start to make contacts at the college. Though it may not turn into anything I know some people who are still friends with those they met at orientation. So prepare to come ready to meet new people and have a good time.
Explore Before College
By Molly Shaughnessy
Summer is just around the corner and the question is what are you going to do with all that free time? Here are a few suggestions to keep you busy but relaxed at the same time.
Most of us will get some form of summer job so that we can have a little spending money. The trick to summer jobs is to find one that will give you much needed experience in the working world but one that you also enjoy doing. However, this is the time that you can explore different types of jobs and learn what you like and dislike, so take the opportunity to try new things.
Another way to keep busy is to travel and see new things. There are so many places that you can go just on day trips. For example, state parks, cities, and even the beach. If you have more time to travel you could go aboard and explore a new culture. If you do not want to go aboard there are many different states that have interesting sights to explore.
Whatever you chose to do this summer remember to enjoy it take advantage of this free time to do something new and exciting.
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