Top 10 things to do during orientation week

With a hundred and one events happening during orientation week, do plan ahead and prioritise on which activities are important. You shouldn't be attending every single event, rather events such as enrolling and meeting your faculty lecturers are definitely top of the list. You don’t want to create a bad first impression or miss out on the popular tutorial time slots. Do try to accomplish the more important tasks before moving to the other things.

This would usually be the place that you will frequent the most as most of your classes will be held there. Do take note of the important locations of your faculty, key dates and names of important staff such as your lecturer or course coordinator who are there to assist you.

As there would be a lot of first-year students just as “lost” as you, arrive at the allocated location as early as possible as this can cut down on time wasted. Long queues will definitely be racking up during later times, so arriving a little earlier to get answers will allow you to free up more time to do other things. Be there early, get things done and then you will be able to enjoy yourself later.

University Campuses usually cover very big areas and as you will be walking to potentially many places to get familiar, so do put on comfortable shoes to ensure you do not get blisters and aching feet at the end of the day.

Orientation Week is a good time to get your bearings around the campus. Do acquaint yourself with the important places first such as your faculty and international student office before moving on to other places. It is good to have your map either on paper or downloaded and even better to go on a guided campus tour is there is sufficient time.

One of your objectives during “O-Week” will be to locate and obtain information relating to your area of study, courses and career pathways of interest to you and also general information like scholarships, facilities, accommodation and living costs.During “O-Week”, some universities will be hosting information sessions and workshops which can ease you into university life. Do take the time to look into this so that you are able to transit into university life more easily.

During “O-Week”, there will a lot of events happening with musical entertainment, exciting performances, free food, interesting clubs, and societies. There will also be a lot of opportunities to meet interesting people and your fellow countrymen. In a blink of an eye, you may find that you may have missed out on some important tasks to complete. Don’t be distracted by all these events, stick to your game plan which you have prepared earlier. You will have some time to enjoy yourself after completing what you have planned to do earlier.

There can never be a better time to ask questions than during orientation week. Most of the events would have a mixture of administrative staff and senior students to assist new students with their inquiries. They are there to help you with your questions so do ask as many questions as possible.

All study and no play will definitely make you a dull student. - University life is not all about studying. Orientation Week will be the best time to find out what the clubs and societies are about. They will be eager to showcase what they do as it will be a good time to attract new members to their clubs or societies. Find out more about them whether their objectives align with your personal interests. Of course, signing up with the university’s Singaporean students’ society is definitely a must.

With the important essential tasks accomplished and out of the way, there will definitely be some time to enjoy yourself during this eventful week. Do enjoy the entertainment, music, performances, activities, and food. Relax and make some friends. There won’t be a better time once the school term/semester commences.