Facebook and Orientation...Tools to Help Students Transition to College
(written by Rising STAR, Krystal)
Hey Bloggers!
I can’t wait for this fall to come! I paid my deposit at my college two weeks ago and as soon as I got confirmation they received it, I signed up for orientation! I’m very excited to attend orientation. However, I’m a little confused as to what we will be doing while we are there. I did receive a schedule, but I found it a little confusing. While looking online, I found a Facebook page for my college. It is a wonderful resource! I have been keeping up-to-date with that. It has helped me understand some of the orientation stuff and answer any questions that I do have. For instance, I was confused about a program they offer for freshmen at my school. It’s not required but the college suggests new students take it. I chose not to attend only because I really didn’t know what it was. I found out later that this program is actually a chance for students to get to know each other through team building games. I wish I would have signed up for it now!
So, the lesson learned - do a little research about something your college offers before dismissing it; this program would have been a great opportunity to meet new people. This is one way to help make the transition from high school to college a little more smoothly. If you are a member of Facebook, you may want to see if your college has a page with information on it for you as well! Look for Facebook pages for not only the college, but for the admissions office. You never know what great information you will find!
Also, through the Facebook page I found other seniors from my high school who are attending my college. I met up with them and found out that one of the girls is also going for social work, my major! I was extremely excited to hear that! We are planning on attending orientation together and maybe even room together in the fall. Having people I know attend orientation with me has brought my nervousness down a lot. I’m counting down the days until orientation!
Talk to you next time!
Krystal
Great blog, Krystal! Did you know that SNHU has students who also blog (type in student blog in the search box on www.snhu.edu)? They talk about life on campus and things they are doing - it's a great way to learn about SNHU and what students are doing! (And lots of colleges in NH have Facebook pages - they are great to check out!)
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I really liked this post. It never occured to me to check if my college has a facebook page. Now I know to look and see if there is anything that can help me.
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Hey Krystal! I am so excited for you! After reading your post, I went to Facebook and friended my new school. I had NO idea you could do that! Thanks for the help!
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Orientation can seem really intimidating- just remember that everyone is in the same position as you.... and, I would encourage everyone to participate in the teambuilding exercises and learn more about their future classmates.... Thanks for continuing to share your thoughts on the transition to college....
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Hi Krystal- Great job on your blog, I was totally stressing about the next step now that I have been accepted to college. I need to pick one of the orientations they sent me and I don't know what an orientation is, but reading your blog has taken some of the stress off so thank you!
RyeSurfGuy
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Good luck! Orientation is a great way to 'get your feet wet' before jumping into the college experience.
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Everyone should definitely do some research on the college they choose to attend. I remember going to my orientation and not taking it seriously at all. I thought I was cool and just couldn't wait to get there and be on my own. Little did I know that not paying attention was the wrong move. Come move in day, I couldn't find my way around and didn't even know where to go for help! Hmph. I really like this blog and think it has some great information for college-bound teens; thanks!
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Interesting use of Facebook. My son was accepted early admission to UNH at this time last year. He immediately went on the UNH FB class of 2014 page to start meeting people. He started communicating with a student from CT with whom he seemed to have a lot in common. They arranged to meet at orientation and confirmed their thoughts about requesting one another as roommates. They got along so well that the roommate came and stayed with us for the week following orientation! By the end of the summer they had spent a couple weeks together at each others homes, and were great friends. They requested each other - which significantly decreased the chances of getting placed in a forced triple. So far their first semester has been a breeze and lots of fun. Knowing each other decreased the anxiety of move in day by 1000%! It was one less "unknown" freshman year, and FB enabled them to meet someone they did not know from High School!
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