All of your questions about USC Freshman Orientation answered
Welcome to the best four years of your life
If you’re reading this, odds are you made the right choice and are joining the Trojan Fam for the next four years. This also means you’ve got freshman orientation coming up, aka your first real rite of passage at USC.
If you’re anything like me, you have a million questions about what exactly goes down USC Freshman Orientation weekend, you’re freaking out because you haven’t had to make new friends in over four years, and you don’t understand how registering for classes actually works.
What should I bring?
USC posted a list of things on their website that they expect you to bring. Most importantly, this list includes your laptop (and charger), your placement test results, your ID, and your new USC student ID number, which you should start memorizing now.
They suggest dressing casually, which is a safe call, but there will be a ~late night hangout~, so something versatile would be the best choice. Keep in mind this is your first time meeting your future classmates, so if you’re into fashion, this is a great time to make a solid first impression.
If you’re planning to take a shower at some point during the weekend, get pumped and have your shower shoes ready. Welcome to the world of communal bathrooms. You’ll survive, I promise.
What’s the deal with placement tests?
If for any reason you plan on taking a language class next semester (it’s required for your major, you want to continue the one you started in high school, etc.), you will have to take a language placement exam. There is a listening portion to be wary of, but whatever level you achieved in high school should be accurately reflected by your work.
If you are required to complete the math and/or chemistry exams, make sure to do so no later than 10 days before your orientation and don’t forget to bring your results with you. Most of all, keep in mind that these tests should be low-pressure, and you still get to go to the most amazing school in the nation regardless of how well you perform.
What do we do during the day?
You just stand around repeating the phrase “fight on” and throwing up a V for victory all day. Just kidding. Aside from the expected administrative talks and campus tours, get psyched to learn about life at USC. There will be a Student Life presentation given, but tbh your Orientation Advisor can speak to that topic better than a USC staffer can, so use them as a resource.
These advisors will make you play cheesy ice-breaker games with your orientation group— no, apparently these things do not end in high school. Feel comforted by the fact that no one else wants to be doing them either, and use it as a chance to find some people you can hit up during Welcome Week to go to the dining hall with.
The Orientation Advisors will also all put on a skit to teach you all about ~college lyfe~, which is again, cheesy. But just take it as a bonding experience and you’ll be fine.
The most important part of the weekend is meeting with your advisor and planning your schedule for your first semester. Be sure to take some time between your advisement appointment and your web registration slot to search through all of your GE options. Taking one you’re genuinely interested in will make all the difference.
You will have an assigned web registration time where you and a group of students in your major are taken into a room together to go through the process of course selection. It will be stressful. The internet may crash. But you will end up getting the classes you need.
When do I get my USCard?
You get to pick it up at some point during the orientation — they will let you know where and when that can be done. You are able to submit a photo online or take a picture there. It is highly recommended you submit one beforehand, so you can pick up your finished card at some point during the weekend and go.
Should I bring my parents?
Honestly, if it is convenient for them and they’ve never been a college orientation before, then yes. You really won’t see them at all during the weekend (if that’s a concern of yours), but they’ll be happy just to be a part of the process. As clichéd as it is, this is just as big of a transition for them as it is for you.
Beyond dealing with the logistics of the weekend, my personal advice is to take advantage of the food USC has catered to your orientation events. Orientation and Welcome Week are the culinary high-points of your freshman year.
Finally, get hyped for your first spirit rally as a Trojan. It is there that you’ll be introduced to the Spirit Leaders who will unsuccessfully try to teach you all some of our cheers (I’m looking at you, SoCal Spell Out). But don’t worry — by your third football game you’ll have it down perfectly.