NSO: A First-Year's Perspective

Orientation In-Action

2011 NSO Staff

New Student Orientation:

A First Year's Perspective

New Student Orientation helps transition thousands of new Rutgers students to college during several two-day programs throughout the summer. Many students, nervous and unsure what to expect, arrive with open-minds, eager to learn what RU has to offer. I interviewed one such student, Zack, who went through the program this past summer to learn about his Orientation experience:

Justin (J): Tell me about your Orientation experience.
Zack (Z): Orientation was awesome! At first, I was quiet and sorta confused about the whole thing. I gotta admit, that first meeting was pretty awkward. Eventually some kid in my group started talking and that broke the ice for us. After that point, we all became more open and the activities were really fun. The food wasn't the best and the dorm was kinda hot, but besides that, I had a really fun two days. I made so many new friends and I even met my girlfriend at Orientation!

J: What are some things that you learned from Orientation about Rutgers?

Z: I definitely got an idea about what college life would be like. I was so excited and ready to start my time at college as soon as Orientation ended. I counted the days until it was time to come back. Specifically, I learned what living in a dorm would be like, how I would go about getting food, where the gyms are, and how I could get involved on campus. I learned more than I thought I would, that's for sure.

J: What do you think was left out of Orientation and wish was included in the program?

Z: I can think of a few things. First, the Rutgers bus system was very complicated once I came here in the fall. I don't think that I got sufficient information about it at Orientation. Within the first week I figured it out but I think there should have been a program or info session that explained how to combat the system. Also, I wish there was more talk about what the classroom environment would be like. I knew that there would be a lot of students in my class, but I wasn't prepared for the 400 student lecture hall I walked into my first day of classes. However, I slowly adjusted to that. Finally, some of the online websites were kinda confusing. I wish there was someway that we could have learned how to use sites such as Sakai or MyRutgers. Other than that, I feel there was a lot of useful information covered which really helped me out; information I wouldn't have learned otherwise or on my own.

J: How are you enjoying your first year here at RU?

Z: I absolutely love it. My dorm floor is awesome, I met some really great people. I'm even going to be living with them again next year. I met my girlfriend at Orientation and I couldn't be happier. My first semester was definitely a challenge but I've figured out what works best for me. I feel that I wouldn't be in such an awesome place without going to Orientation and I thank my OL and New Student Orientation for the great experience I had.

Dylan, Zack, Megan, and Justin living it up at Rutgers!