5 Tips for New College Students

In the second half of June I got to run some of the New Student Orientations for our department. The students started their day early in the morning, and then in the afternoon they met with faculty members from their major departments (e.g., me) to learn about how to choose classes for their degree, in order to prepare themselves for the registration session later in the day.

Each time a group of students and I met, we talked about points to keep in mind to get oriented to being in college. Unlike Transfer Student Orientations, NSOs include a component for understanding degree requirements, reading the course catalog, completing prerequisites, and wading through semesterly course schedules—things that are easy but that take a bit of getting used to.

There were other points, though, that I wanted incoming students to remember, as they worked their way through their degree programs. Before I forget them (and so that I can file away my papers for NSO), I thought I would log them here.

Student Opinion Questionnaire

文学の授業の学生さんが、パンを焼いてくれました。「軽くトーストすると、美味しいですよ」と言われたので、家に帰って早速試したら、本当に美味しい。外側は硬くて、中はフワフワ。ほわ〜ん。

My first semester is coming to an end. I couldn't have asked for better teaching assignments or better students. Even the chatty ones...

今学期は色々ありました。何しろ一緒に仕事ができる先生方、スタッフの人々、学生さん達。カリフォルニアに戻って来れた事もひっくるめて——「ありがとう」。