First Year Experience
Find Success in Your First Year
by Amy Barnes, Undergraduate Admissions and First Year Experience

fye.osu.edu/success.html
Register for Success Series events have featured university offices including the Mathematics and Statistics Learning Center, the Student Wellness Center, the Dennis Learning Center, Counseling and Consultation Service, and the Financial Aid Office; local leaders like Mayor Michael Coleman, NBC 4 News Anchor Mindy Drayer, and Cardinal Health CEO Tony Rucci; and national personalities like Governor Howard Dean, Senator Bob Dole, and authors Bill McKibben and Julia Alvarez.

During your first year of college, you enter a new world filled with a host of “first year experiences”:challenging coursework, a new community of interesting friends and faculty, and a multitude of freedoms, decisions, and responsibilities. The university is committed to assisting you in making the right choices to succeed. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions and First Year Experience (UA/FYE), in particular, strives to connect you with the resources and provide the opportunities that are crucial to maximize your first year successes. The most comprehensive FYE program assisting in the transition to college life is the First Year Success Series.

The First Year Success Series complements the survey course that is required of all entering freshmen and some transfer students. While the survey course focuses on the transition to college academics (i.e. how to schedule classes, how to use the library, how to plan for graduation, etc.), the First Year Success Series focuses on the broader challenges that you face during your transition to college life. These challenges are echoed in the nine themes emphasized in the First Year Success Series: academic engagement and exploration; alcohol and other drug awareness; anxiety and mental health; current issues; diversity; financial and debt management; health and wellness; leadership; and sexual health.

To teach the more than 200 seminars in the Success Series available this fall, UA/FYE has engaged experts from various campus offices as well as community leaders and nationally-known personalities. Session topics include “Making the Most of Your Learning Style,” “Math Success with Minimal Stress,” “Kickin’ Butts: Smoking Cessation,” “Party Smart,” “Procrastinators Unite!”, “Preventing Identity Theft,” “Images of You: Visual Culture,” “Living Cheap!”, “Let’s Talk about Sex.” Additional sessions also bring notable personalities like Dr. Kathy Sullivan, the first woman to walk in space; Governor Howard Dean; Senator Bob Dole; Professor Carlos Cortes, author of The Children Are Watching: How the Media Teach About Diversity; among others.

Your survey course instructors may require you to attend certain sessions, but you are encouraged to attend as many of the sessions as you can. A full list of available sessions and registration for any of the First Year Success Series sessions is available online at www.fye.osu.edu/success.html. To encourage an active experience, you are asked to write a “one-minute” reflection paper at the end of each program. In your reflection, you have the opportunity to describe what you have learned from the sessions and share what this topic means for you personally. You can also use this opportunity to ask any question about the topic in a confidential manner.

Though the majority of transitional challenges crop-up during a student’s first quarter, we know that life might throw you a curve when series sessions are not conveniently offered. During winter or spring, the Success Series continues to provide opportunities to attend some of our most popular sessions. So don’t forget to continue checking www.fye.osu.edu/success.html during winter and spring quarters. If the timing of sessions doesn’t work for you or you have an urgent concern, seek out the university offices that conduct the Success Series sessions. If you e-mail askfye@osu.edu, we can refer you to the right resource. You can also find a complete list of student resources by going to www.osu.edu and clicking on “more links” under the “Current Students” list. Also, remember that your academic advisor, your resident advisor, and your professors can help connect you with resources to help you succeed.

Have a successful year!