College Orientation

Exactly one month ago, I had my orientation at ASU. It was said that it was specifically for students who had enrolled in the Honors College. It was actually quite boring. I understand that everything they say could be helpful, but it would be nice if they began with what we need to do and then continue the program with optional things, which is basically, "Come to the bookstore! We have ASU things!" or "Experience ASU! Meet current undergrads and find out about college life." I would like to know what I need to do before starting at ASU so I'll know where that charge of $6,000 came from.

Before I begin, I should tell you about what I focus on when talking about colleges. So...
My College Preferences Hierarchy:

1. Financial aid
2. Education / Major Map
3. Research/Internship/Job opportunities
4. Student services (career counseling and such)
5. Safety
6. Room and board
7. AP/IB credits

Some people don't consider college finances as a problem, so if you're part of that group, just ignore me when I start ranting about how expensive college is. I've never really considered the "College Experience" as anything really, since I believe that I will be focusing more on my studies than anything else. I am considering joining clubs that partake in research or are related to my major such as the Biomedical Engineering Society.

Anyway, back to orientation.

I remember having to do a few things at orientation that I easily could have done by myself, such as "Confirm Housing," which is really just confirming your housing preferences. Done with one click. Literally took me 30 seconds, including web page loading. I turned in my Immunization Form, but 2 weeks later, when I decided to change my class schedule, I was informed that they didn't have Immunization Form, which they ended up being wrong about. I also made my class schedule. Turns out my options are very restricted. When I heard about my parents' college life, they were required to take 24 credit hours minimum per semester. The maximum I can take is 19. So this year, I'm not taking any English or humanities courses, which makes me sad. I was also planning on taking Bio this year so that I can take part in the Pre-Med track for Biomedical Engineering. But I can't because that would be over 19 credit hours. I hope to take it though next semester. I get why they're making me stay within the limit, but I would like the option to take more credit hours for maybe Honors students or something.

Speaking of the Pre-Med track, med schools want to see that you take Chem and Bio in a university. Taking the AP tests in high school won't count, which is quite disappointing since I took 15 AP tests. And speaking of AP tests, they are helpful in getting credits, but AP's unrelated to your major are basically pointless since you won't have to take those courses in college anyway. Also, concerning pre-professional tracks, it's important that schools see that you've taken certain courses in a university, and not just have them credited from high school. Also, I heard that AP credits are more taken over IB in national universities, but IB programs have never been of interest to me so you should probably check that.

I also remember getting Bike Safety gear at orientation. And eating lunch. I ate a cheeseburger.

Orientation was less eventful than I thought it would be. I wish it focused more on what you should do than what you can do. Basically they should have told us advise instead of telling us opportunities.