Orientation 2008 

The Orientation program at Saint Vincent College is a five-week program designed to help freshmen become acclimated to our campus. Our program is extensive, informative, and nationally recognized.  All of the Orientation Leaders and committee members involved in this program are undergraduate students who volunteer their time to the new students and their acclimation to Saint Vincent College.

What can you expect from our program?

• Big Brother/Big Sister Program

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 of the Orientation program but continues throughout the freshman year. Freshmen and upperclassmen are matched by major; this helps the incomming students better acclimation to their area of study.

• Academics

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

• New Student Orientation Meetings
  

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.

• Parent Program

Out 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.

• Events

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 2008 events include: Pod Wars including Human Battleship and Jeopardy, Faculty Dessert and Karaoke, Hawaiian Luau, a Pirate Game, and our famous Mystery Trip to a secret location.

•  Freshmen Seminar

The freshmen 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 freshmen 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. for more information on freshmen seminars, see our link first year seminars to the right.