10 Question To Ask At Your Orientation Day
A few months from now, you’ll hopefully be getting ready to go to your freshman orientation. The big, exciting day that you finally get introduced and welcomed as a brand new college freshman. The day you get to meet the entire freshman class of *insert your grad year* and get the chance to start making connections right out of the gate. It is the grand moment that you finally get to begin immersing yourself into the college life.
Freshman orientation day is also the best time for you to get any pressing questions answered and out of the way before you begin your college journey. Many of us don’t like to ask too many questions anyway, but if there’s anything you should be trying to figure out at orientation, here are 10 things you should be asking.
1. Are There Pets Allowed In The Dorms?
Some students may want to have a furry friend live with them to keep them company or give them emotional support, but not all college campuses allow animals like dogs and cats inside dorm buildings.
Ask if they’re allowed on orientation day so you’re aware of your school’s housing rules, or you could be looking at a fine!
2. How Do I Add Or Drop A Class?
You’ll probably figure out pretty quickly that you’ll go to the campus registrations office to handle your adding and dropping, but wouldn’t you like to know exactly how the process works?
Understanding the steps you need to take in order to add or drop a class is going to be important information for your freshman year and beyond. Sometimes you don’t start off so hot in a class, or come to find out a class you aren’t taking is a class you should be taking (or sounds much more interesting than what you originally singed up for). Ask this question so you know what to do and everybody you’ll need to talk to to get it done!
3. What Are The Requirements For My Major/Minor?
A lot of students might not know what they want to study just yet, but if you already have a pretty good idea, you’ll want to ask what it takes to earn a degree in your desired major.
If you plan on minoring in a field, you’ll want to know what it takes to get that onto your degree as well. Knowing all the prerequisite courses for your major and minor and the surrounding class requirements is going to make it a lot easier to set up a schedule each semester!
4. Where Will I Be Able To Access My Grades?
Because nobody should feel comfortable waiting until grade reports to be handed to them to know where their grade sits in a class.
Ask where and how you can access your class grades. There should be a website or even an app for your phone that you can log into and see your grade percentages, what you got on your last test before its handed back, and how many potential grade points are left to earn with the remaining assignments.
5. Can I Tour The Dorms?
Maybe you did this on your campus visit if you went, but does it really hurt to go on another tour of the buildings?
This time around, now that you’re on campus for the long haul, you could probably get a more in depth look at the dorm building you’ll be staying in compared to the typical walk through and scan of the basic features of the building. Check out what the bathrooms are like, if there’s study rooms available, what kind of entertainment they may have in the lobby and how close they are to other campus buildings. Learning more about where you’re living your freshman year.
6. What Kind Of Clubs Are There On Campus?
If you have any interests or things that you’d like to stay involved in away from home, see if your college offers any clubs or groups that focus on what you want to do. If nothing is there, you could always try to start up a group yourself!
7. What type of health insurance does the school accept?
Each school is a little different with this one, so its important that you ask.
Some schools won’t accept health insurance A, others might not accept health insurance B. Some schools may have you sign a document to be under the universities insurance. Whatever the case may be, you should definitely ask which kind of health insurance companies the school accepts. Athletes on campus are always in position to get hurt, and every day students may have preexisting conditions. Always make sure you’ve got health insurance to back you up.
8. Where Can I Find Academic Help?
Don’t wait until you absolutely need tutoring to seek it out. Know exactly where you’re going for help when you need it.
Also, know where you’re going if you need access to certain resources to help you work on and complete assignments. Know exactly where the computer lab, library or other spots on campus are by asking!
9. Is There Good WIFI Here?
Ah, yes, this is a good one right here.
Most colleges are going to have their own student WIFI service available, and most school’s are going to say that its quality, top notch internet connection. You could probably ask a student that’s already been there (perhaps one of the upper classman orientation leaders) if the WIFI is truly good. Having to deal with faulty connection while working on homework, being on your phone, playing video games or streaming TV is not fun!
10. What Type Of Events Will The School Have?
Does your school have any events planned for the first week of classes? What type of things does the school do for homecoming week? Are there conventions, guest speakers, readathons or any other form of student events? These are things you should find out by asking on orientation day!
There you have it, 10 good questions you could and probably should be asking during your college orientation day. Have fun and enjoy entering the college life!
