The process of transitioning between high school and college is complex and time-consuming, and there are several University organizations that try to alleviate some of the stress associated with this process.
One such organization is New Student Orientation.
According to the New Student Orientation Web site, the program is mandatory for all incoming freshmen because it introduces them to the ins and outs of college life.
“Orientation introduces students to information and resources that prepare them for their first semester at N.C. State University,” the NSO reported on its site. “It also provides time-appropriate messages to students, understanding the importance of delivering messages to students when they are most likely to be heard and impact behavior.”
The orientation helped her understand exactly how college life would be different from life in high school, Caitlynn Filla, a freshman in zoology, said.
“I was glad to have the opportunity to be on campus and learn about some of the future opportunities I could have before actually moving in and plunging into it all,” Filla said. “I feel the orientation prepared me for what life would be like on campus [and] how it would be different from high school, from a lifestyle standpoint.”
Michael Yarboro, a freshman in human biology, said while the orientation provides a lot of needed general advice about attending the University, the prime benefit of the orientation is to begin the social transition from high school to college.
“They provide a lot of good advice like what classes to take at what times, but I think the best part about it is they throw you into an uncomfortable position,” said Yarboro. “You, as an incoming freshman, gain more confidence because you are forced to make friends or be a loner. They coerce you into making friends so that once you get to the University, you’ll be more comfortable meeting new people.”
Deanna La, a freshman in FYC, said the orientation helped her with the nerves associated with freshman year of college life.
“New Student Orientation was really fun. I got to meet a lot of new people and I am still friends with most of them now. I remember being nervous even with my best friend coming with me, but the OCs (orientation counselors) were so friendly that I wasn’t really nervous anymore,” La said. “The most NSO helped me with was definitely my nerves; nerves about meeting new people and just the college life in general. There were hundreds of freshmen that were feeling the same as me so it didn’t seem like a big deal anymore.”
However, both Yarboro and La said the living arrangements during orientation were not as beneficial as other areas of orientation. During NSO, students are placed in Lee and Sullivan halls. While many students live in dorms that are about the same size and layout of Sullivan and Lee, both Yarboro and La said their living arrangements are different.
“The least it prepared me for would probably the dorms,” La said. “They let us experience a suite style but I live in a hall style, so I couldn’t imagine how everything was going to fit in my dorm room itself until I moved in.”
When reflecting on his time at orientation, Christopher Smith, a freshman in science education and participant in the second round of the selection process for the 2011 Orientation Counselors, said he believes what made him the most comfortable were the OCs.
“I think it has been effective, and informed students about the basic s of what will be required and expected of students while they are here,” said Smith of NSO. “Now I want to help the new students transition to becoming freshmen at N.C. State and inform them about N.C. State. I want to let them know how much I like it here, so they’ll like it as much as I do and know they made the right choice to come here.”
However, Smith said that while the orientation process as a whole is beneficial for incoming freshmen, there are some important areas omitted, as well as some parts of NSO that he said were not as necessary.
“I wish they had gone into more details about meal plans, equivalencies and meal times. It sounds like a really random area to be misinformed, but it’s something that students need to have clear definitions of when they get to campus,” said Smith. “I also don’t think we absolutely have to repeat the same information about sexual harassment in the club over and over, as was the case.”
Students should be given more time to explore campus and learn about it on their own, Smith said, since they will have to incorporate time management skills once they come to the University.
“I also think that more free time should be allotted, because in college you have a lot of free time and you realize how free you are,” said Smith. “I think students should be able to have that kind of experience so that they know what to do with all of this extra time once they have it.”
