Incoming Rutgers students Priya Soundar and William Bertch tour the New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition & Health building on Cook Campus as part of their New Student Orientation session. Soundar and Bertch will join the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences this fall. Photo: Nick Romanenko
New Student Orientation helps thousands of incoming students find community, confidence and their place on campus
In a matter of days, a small city’s worth of new first-year and transfer students will converge on Rutgers University–New Brunswick from across New Jersey, America and the world.
Nearly 7,000 of those incoming students have taken a simple step for a head start on their college transition: Over the summer, they attended two-day New Student Orientation sessions offered by Student Orientation and Transition Programs within the Division of Student Affairs.
According to post-orientation surveys, four of five attendees said the orientation helped them feel more confident about starting at Rutgers; make new friends they’ll meet up with during the first days of the new semester; and feel prouder than ever about joining one of the nation’s top-ranked public universities.
For Priya Soundar, an incoming pre-med student from small-town in New Hampshire, New Student Orientation was about making this vast, faraway institution feel smaller, friendlier and more like home.
“I chose Rutgers because it offers so many research opportunities that can help my path to a medical career, but I was afraid of making friends and fitting in,” said Soundar, who will attend the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. “So many Rutgers students are from New Jersey. As someone from out of state, I wanted to make sure I could become part of the community.”
By the end of orientation, those worries faded.
“It wasn’t just the tours that helped us feel comfortable on campus, or learning about the resources that help students,” Soundar said. “We made so many friends within our orientation group. I made friends in the suite I stayed in overnight. All of us ended up meeting so many new people and having so many conversations we might not otherwise have had.”
Student Affairs held more than 20 New Student Orientation sessions between June and August, hosting more than 300 incoming students per session for walking and bus tours, small group icebreakers and games, and personalized information sessions.
Attendees learn to fill out course schedules, keep track of their academic progress, and manage financial aid information.
They discover student success resources that will help them stay on track amid the ups and downs of campus life—from Academic Advising and the Learning Centers, to Student Health and counseling services; from the One Stop Student Services Center to the Offices of the Dean of Students–Advocacy, Outreach, and Support; from Career Exploration and Success to the Student Basic Needs Center.
They learn the intricacies of Rutgers’ busing and parking systems, what to bring for living on campus, how to make the most of life as a commuter student, and how to make the most of their meal plans.
Read more in the original news article published on the Division of Student Affairs.
