The First-Year Experience at Saint Vincent College is a comprehensive program designed to meet the specific needs of first-year students in preparing them for the rigors of college life and the various dimensions that the transition from high school to college demands. The Program comprises three components: Student Life, Brick and Mortar, Academics.

1) Student Life: The Student Life component to the First-Year Experience begins with Orientation. Orientation integrates both the academic skills needed for success and the social/people skills required for communal living and personal satisfaction.  Orientation begins with sessions on Time-Management and Study Skills. Then it includes various icebreakers and social events that encourage bonding and interaction. Some faculty also attend these events, thus encouraging the bonds between faculty and students before they encounter each other in the classroom. Students also attend programs on residence life and its policies, on sexual assault, alcohol awareness, and are introduced to the resources available to them at the College.

2) Brick & Mortar: With the opening of Saint Benedict Hall in the Fall 2002 the opportunity presented itself to truly make a residence hall a center of activity and programming for the First-Year Experience. The residence hall is organized into "neighborhoods" with individual gathering lounges in each area, but the entire building features a large main lobby that is well utilized for programs and activities. Career Services offers office hours in the evenings located right off the lobby to discuss internships and career exploration options with first-year students. Campus Ministry has been active offering Saturday evening masses in the lobby area and conducts various prayer sessions and bible studies directly in the neighborhoods themselves. The Opportunity Program features a series of study skill sessions directly in the hall. The Wellness Center has located various programs and activities in the lobby area of the residence hall aimed particularly at first-year students and their needs.

Prefects manage each neighborhood and promote their own range of programs designed for both fun and growth of the first-year student community. Prefect programs include educational programs, activities with wellness themes, and social bonding/community building programs. A Residence Hall Director and two Assistant Hall Directors manage the entire building.

3) Academics: The Freshman Seminars are introductory courses that concentrate on the in-class component of the First-Year Experience. Faculty are selected both for their experience in teaching first-year students and for the enthusiasm and energy they bring to teaching the newest members of Saint Vincent College. The Freshman Seminars are a standard introductory course but tweaked with a significant difference.  Faculty meet an extra hour per week to engage the students with co-curricular opportunities. Some faculty members utilize this time to bring in guest speakers on particular subjects or to view films that pertain to the course context or to build upon presentation skills.  All of the seminars sponsor out-of-class opportunities for the first-year students to engage with the subject matter and to be engaged by each other in the process. Thus, the Faculty Seminar stresses the development of critical thinking skills, public speakers skills, and interactive learning.