JMU and VT both do student orientation very well. It’s a full week before classes start, lots of activities and fun events. VT’s is called WOW (Weeks of Welcome) and continues during the first week of classes. My kids felt completely at home afterwards.

Anonymous wrote:Most schools will have activities for the students. They aren’t mandatory so your student will have put his phone down and leave the room.

10 years ago, I attended a parent orientation and a mother asked if the RA noticed her kid wasn’t leaving the room, would they stop by to encourage him to participate in activities? Yikes, the poor moderator had to set this parent straight.

THIS ^^. Honestly, some parents seem to think their kids are still ten years old and going away to summer camp for the first time.

Most schools have freshman orientation week(s), full of activities, etc. But the student needs to be proactive and actually GO to these activities, rather than sitting in their room waiting for someone to take them by the hand.

Anonymous wrote:75% of this is the kid. Maybe more.

+100

Pitzer's orientation week was really well done.

University of South Carolina definitely

Cal poly… in fact I think it’s won awards. It’s called WOW or week of welcome. You are placed in a group of kids who are in your college but not in your dorm so you automatically start out with a group of diverse friends, distinct form your roommates. Two student leaders spend a week taking you around campus and town in between lectures about things you must know. They go kayaking, hiking, have beach bonfires, go out to eat, shop, have cookouts etc. They are with this group for five full days and then register for classes. Wow groups often wind up as a core social group even as they make additional friends throughout their time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bowdoin does a great job. 30 different orientation trips ranging from hiking the AT to learning to build a boat or community service. Then another 3-4 days on campus with dorm bonding and campus activities.

Another vote for Bowdoin, child went in with a broken heart (break-up 2 days before O trip) and two weeks later had several groups of friends, started new activities and was loving classes and food (esp after O trip)

Whenever I hear about these O trips as we've been touring colleges I think it's a pretty smart way to set kids up for a little gratitude for their new tiny dorm room and dining hall food. Go sleep on the ground in the wild and eat dehydrated food for a week . . . and now how do you like this soft dorm room bed? : )

Anonymous wrote: But mostly, I think it is the fact they have no Greek life and kids generally live for at least 3 years in the dorm they were assigned freshmen year. And dorms are random assigned so interesting mix of kids. Dorm becomes identity and immediately becomes de facto social life (people to sit with at lunch, dorm events) until they meet people in other ways. My kid will have dorm friends for life (so nice to have several social circles).

This consistently seems to be a good approach. Details vary a bit from school to school, but places with a university-wide mandatory “house system” or “residential college” system seem more likely to be successful. Its no accident that Oxbridge works this way.

Yale is v good for this: The first week+ is full of mandatory stuff. You're never in your room. And you are placed in several circles of people.
- Your entryway. Depending on dorm layout, this is about 10 kids who are either on your floor on in your door. They were first to meet and they met every night at 10pm for a while. For a meeting or spike ball or whatever. Lead by RAs
- Your FroCo group. Another group you were randomly assigned to. This also met daily during the first week. About 8 kids plus upperclassman guides.
- Your FOOT group. First-Year Outdoor Orientation Trips. a 3-4 day hiking trip. (you can choose another thing other than hiking, but these are all 3-4 day off sites). Another 8 kids and 2 upperclassmen.
- Your residential college. That's 100 kids.

So that first week - and beyond - you are going from activity to activity and you end up knowing not one orientation group (like when I went to college), but really about 30 kids really well and several upperclassman plus your 3 suite mates have also made several circles of friends and you feel one degree away from a lot of people by your second or third week there.

Anonymous wrote:Bowdoin does a great job. 30 different orientation trips ranging from hiking the AT to learning to build a boat or community service. Then another 3-4 days on campus with dorm bonding and campus activities.

Another vote for Bowdoin, child went in with a broken heart (break-up 2 days before O trip) and two weeks later had several groups of friends, started new activities and was loving classes and food (esp after O trip)

Elon, I think they are #1 for first year experience. Tons of programming at start of year and all through first semester, something going on nearly daily to foster community. University 101 class in smaller groups. Send out a survey a couple months in to catch people not acclimating and finding their people and intervene to help with additional programming.

South Carolina. They have a highly recommended 1 credit class that almost all freshman take, university 101. They are consistently ranked “best first year experience”. My DS transitioned to the school very well, even though we are from OOS and knew no one there.

Notre Dame! They take “welcome home” seriously. Lots of layers of support. But mostly, I think it is the fact they have no Greek life and kids generally live for at least 3 years in the dorm they were assigned freshmen year. And dorms are random assigned so interesting mix of kids. Dorm becomes identity and immediately becomes de facto social life (people to sit with at lunch, dorm events) until they meet people in other ways. My kid will have dorm friends for life (so nice to have several social circles).

Read Dream School by Jeff Slingo. It addresses this very issue (which schools support freshman with “scaffolding” and help build a sense of belonging) and gives many specific examples.

Optional trip