Reflections on pre-orientation...

When I arrived on campus for AWE Pre-Orientation last year I did not know to what expect for my freshman year of college. I was nervous because I didn’t know anyone in the engineering school and I didn’t know my way around campus. When Pre-Orientation began I felt better, though, because it seemed like most of the girls were just as nervous as I was. It was comforting to know that I wasn’t the only person who didn’t know what problem-sets were and I wasn’t the only person confused by the room labeling system in DRL. 

Pre-orientation helped me learn the ins and outs of Penn before most most students even moved into their dorms. We were given tours of the engineering buildings and advice from professors and advisers about the best ways to use different resources in the engineering school. Upperclassmen engineers told us what classes they loved, their favorite places to study, and the best places to get late night snacks. All of these bits of information made me feel comfortable being at Penn. Now, only 10 months later, I know DRL like that back of my hand, problem-sets are old news, and I have discovered my own favorite places to study. I look back at freshman year and am so grateful that I had the chance to make friends and learn my way around Penn during Pre-Orientation. I might have freaked out over my first Chem midterm grade if I hadn’t been warned by almost every upperclassmen during Pre-Orientation that the first Chem midterm is notoriously difficult. Throughout freshman year, tidbits of information that I had learned during Pre-Orientation helped me navigate my academic and social life at Penn. Although I’m sad that my freshman year is over, I look forward to my next three years at Penn and will continue to use the advice I was given during Pre-Orientation.

Questions for Davita?  Contact her at awe@seas.upenn.edu.  Are you a Class of 2016 freshman who wants to sign up for pre-orientation?  Check it out here http://www.seas.upenn.edu/awe/pre-orientation.php