Each freshman is paired with an upperclassman on the Orientation committee who serves as their resource for information and a friendly face on campus along with welcoming them to the Saint Vincent Community. This mentor program does not end with the six weeks of the Orientation program but continues throughout the freshman year. Freshmen and upperclassmen are matched by major; this helps the incoming students better acclimate to their area of study.

Students are introduced to their academic programs through meetings with their faculty advisers and deans of their respective schools, as well as interacting with upperclassmen who are established in their respective fields.

Beginning your college life is an exciting and serious adventure. To assist with this transition, the college staff provides Orientation Meetings during the first few weeks of the semester. Topics discussed include Career Planning, Drug and Substance Abuse Education, Personal Safety and Benedictine Values. These meetings are mandatory and give you crucial information that allows you to make informed decisions throughout your college experience.

Our Bearcat Connection program enables the school to keep in direct contact with parents through emails and a listserv, making them aware of campus happenings. We also strive to prepare the parents of first year students for personal and academic development changes that will take place during their students' first year in college.

Our Orientation program utilizes approximately 20 events that encourage students to "come out of their shell" and get to know each other during their first weeks at Saint Vincent. Some of our past events include: Pod Wars including Human Battleship and SVC's Got Talent, Faculty Dessert and Karaoke Night, Hawaiian Luau, a Pirate Game and our famous Mystery Trip to a secret location.

The Freshman Seminar is designed to help students make the transition to college by introducing them to academic disciplines and to the intellectual community on and beyond the campus, and by providing opportunities for them to develop skills, behaviors and attitudes necessary for success in college. The Saint Vincent College Freshman Seminar is taught by carefully selected faculty members and embodies a format whereby the standard 3 credit hour course is extended to 4 hours, which allows more time for the faculty-mentor to engage more intimately with the students to develop, hone and enhance the student's skills as they relate to such areas as academic inquiry, public speaking and application of course material in co-curricular environments.