First Year Programs & Orientation
For information about January 2015 Orientation, please visit the January Orientation page.
It was great to meet so many members of the class of 2018 and your parents or guardians at Summer Advising last month. I hope you enjoyed the program and got a lot out of it.
If you were not able to attend Summer Advising, you can still work with me and my staff in the Registrar’s Office to register for your Fall 2014 courses before you arrive on campus. Contact Ms. Fuhr in my office (410-778-7206, kfuhr2@washcoll.edu) to make an appointment – in person or a phone call. Or you can email me your course choices and any questions you have (pdiquinzio2@washcoll.edu).
Before registering for courses you must
- Complete the Financial Responsibility Form on WebAdvisor
- Complete the language survey/placement and math placement exam on WebAdvisor
- Review the information at First Year Academics (link to the left)
You must also attend the make-up Summer Advising day on Wednesday, August 20, where you will attend some of the sessions from the program in June. You will check in and move into your residence hall that day instead of Thursday, August 21.
All new students should also be sure to
- Complete the Summer To Do List (link to the left)
- Read the First Year Book Beautiful Souls: The Courage and Conscience of Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times by Eyal Press (link to the left for background and resources related to Beautiful Souls)
- Keep checking this site, as we will update the information all summer
In the meantime, I’m sure new students are wondering about the transition from high school student to college student and are thinking more deeply about the meaning and value of a liberal arts education. I recommend
- “How is College Different From High School” a great short introduction to college academic life by the staff of the Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center at Southern Methodist University
- “The Fifteen Habits of Top College Student” by professors Lynn F. Jacobs and Jeremy S. Hyman of the education site of US News and World Report.
- “Only Connect: The Goals of a Liberal Education” by William Cronon, the Frederick Jackson Turner Professor of History, Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a great article that explains very well your Washington College professors’ goals for you.
In your first year at Washington College, you will have a faculty advisor who has volunteered to advise a group of first year students and is well trained and prepared for advising. You will meet as a group and individually with your faculty advisor during New Student Orientation in August. Your first year advisor will be available to you until you choose a major and are re-assigned to an advisor in your major.
Dean Patrice DiQuinzio
Associate Provost for Academic Services
