Now that we have discussed the basic approach in this course, we can dive into the material. A good place to start would be understanding how the university operates. Modern universities are large, complex organizations employing thousands of different teaching and researching faculty, all of who have slightly different roles. College isn’t simply larger than high school, it is structured differently.

You’re coming to college to get an education. Classes will take up a significant amount of your time, so we should discuss some strategies for success. As discussed in the last module, high school differs significantly from college. Incoming freshmen are often most worried about the classes. You have much more flexible time, but that time needs to be filled with self-directed study. In this unit, we’ll talk a bit about how understanding these classes and studying effectively for them.

One of your big questions at college is, “What should I major in?” This module will tackle this question head on. In all honesty, what you major in matters less than how you prepare yourself to be an expert in an area. This requires you to move beyond simply your major and take ownership of your intellectual and professional development during your college years.

Paying for college is a challenge. This module will talk about some strategies for budgeting your money while at college and all the options available to you for funding. There are so many different resources out there to help you pay for college. Regrettably, these are so broad that students remain unaware of them. This module should direct you to some of the most fruitful areas for finding funding.

Are you going to live on-campus or off? There are strengths and benefits to doing both. This module will talk to some students about their experiences living on and off campus. Wherever you live while at college, odds are that you will experience homesickness at some point. This is entirely natural. We’ll talk a bit about why this happens and identify a few strategies for effectively dealing with homesickness.

Going to your classes is probably the most important thing you’ll do during your time here. But it won’t be the only thing. Campus clubs and groups offer you a great opportunity to experience new things and ideas during your time here. They can introduce you to lifelong friends and enrich your education in untold ways. This module will talk about some options for getting involved in campus life.

Here we are at the end of this online orientation. Thank you for participating. This module will recap the key themes from the course and help you figure out what to do next as you prepare to enroll in college. Good Luck!