Before you arrive on campus for Orientation, you should complete the following tasks:
Make a list of courses that match your interests and skills. Use your printed First Year Course Guide (included in your Orientation packet) or go use the online Course Guide to do this. Download this worksheet and shop for courses!
Take our quiz about Academic Integrity. You will not be allowed to register until you have completed this quiz.
Complete the Academic Planning and Interest Questionnaire online as soon as possible. This will help you identify your interests and the subjects you would like to pursue at the University of Michigan. It will also help your academic advisor get to know you before you even get here.
Take the Math Placement Exam.
Walk through registration using this online module.
Online Course Guide:http://www.lsa.umich.edu/cg
Fun tutorial: http://lessons.ummu.umich.edu/2k/acadadvising/lsa
Academic Integrity: https://www-a1.lsa.umich.edu/UGAdvForms2/App/AcadInt/UFS_AcadInt.aspx
Academic Planning and Interest Questionnaire: https://www-a1.lsa.umich.edu/UGAdvForms2/App/OrientSvy/UFS_PlanIntSvy1.aspx
Math Placement Exam: http://prep.math.lsa.umich.edu/placement/instructions.html
Sweetland Writing Center Self-Placement: http://lsa.umich.edu/umich/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=cb323e4697bac010VgnVCM10000096b1d38dRCRD&vgnextchannel=b89a3e4697bac010VgnVCM10000096b1d38dRCRD&vgnextfmt=default
Registration module: https://heprod.dsc.umich.edu/htmldoc/eng/dftie/lsaa/htm/sr_ss_bpreg.html
List of items in your Orientation packet:
If you didn't receive the packet, or your packet is missing an item, please download it.
Day 2
On Day 2 of orientation you will begin the LSA Academic Advising portion of orientation.
1:00 - 1:45
Attend your Group Advising Meeting. In a group setting, you will meet your academic advisor and learn about the LSA degree requirements and basic college policies and procedures.
2:00 - 3:00
During this time you will have an hour to work with your Academic Peer Advisor to begin thinking about the courses you are interested in taking for the Fall 2009 semester. At this meeting you will be able to browse through the First Year Course Guide and highlight classes that seem interesting or useful. You will then discuss these classes with your Peer Advisor and then write them on your LSA Class Selection Worksheet.
2:00 - 5:00
During this time you will have a 25 minute scheduled appointment with your Academic Advisor. At this meeting, you can discuss your goals, interests, and level of preparation and receive your placement exam results. You will begin a conversation about courses for the Fall Term. If you have taken any Advanced Placement exams, please let your advisor know during this appointment.
6:45 - 7:15
If you are a member of a Living/Learning Community, meet with a representative from your program. They will provide information on special courses and course sections which are being held for you, and they will explain how to register for those courses.
7:30 - 9:30
Meet with your Academic Peer Advisor. You will spend two hours in the evening in a computer classroom with your peer advisor learning how to use the LSA Online Course Guide and Wolverine Access and making a list of 10 to 12 courses from which you will create your Fall Term schedule. You will also be able to ask your peer advisor questions about academics at Michigan. A lot of thought should go into the list of courses you compile. They should be courses that you are interested in and which you would like to take. When you finally register, you may find that some courses on your list are closed, conflict with another course, or require some additional preparation. Should that happen, you want to be in a position to substitute another course that is equally satisfying. Your list should also include a wide range of courses. This is an ideal time to explore new subject areas or pursue topics that interest you.
Day 3
9:00 – 11:00
Register. The next morning, you will meet again with your academic advisor at our registration site. As you make a final selection of Fall courses, your advisor and peer advisor are there to guide you in your choices.
Congratulations and Welcome to LSA!!!
What to Bring
Accommodations
Placement Exams
Participants with Disabilities
Directions to East Quad
Transportation
From the North
Take US-23 South to M-14 West (exit 45)
Take M-14 West to Exit 3 - Downtown Ann Arbor. This exit turns into Main Street
Take Main Street South to Packard (approximately 1.5 miles and turn left (Southeast).
Take Packard to Hill Street (approximately 1⁄2 mile) and turn left (East).
Take Hill Street to East University (approximately 1⁄4 mile) and turn left (North).
East Quad is on your right.
From the East
Take I-94 West to State Street (exit 177)
Turn right (North) on State Street
Take State Street to Hill Street (approximately 2.3 miles) until you reach Hill Street, and turn right (East).
Take Hill Street to East University (approximately 1⁄4 mile) and turn left(North).
East Quad is on your right.
From the South
Take US-23 North to I-94 West (exit 35), then I-94 West to State Street (exit 177)
Turn right (North) on State Street
Take State Street to Hill Street (approximately 2.3 miles) until you reach Hill Street, and turn right (East).
Take Hill Street to East University (approximately 1⁄4 mile) and turn left(North).
East Quad is on your right.
From the West
Take I-94 East to State Street (exit 177)
Turn right (North) on State Street
Take State Street to Hill Street (approximately 2.3 miles) until you reach Hill Street, and turn right (East).
Take Hill Street to East University (approximately 1⁄4 mile) and turn left(North).
East Quad is on your right
Link to Detroit Metro Airport
Parking Close to East Quad
Orientation participants will park in the Ann Arbor city structure at 650 S. Forest Avenue between Willard and South University. To get to the structure from East Quad after turning onto East University from Hill St., continue one block until you reach Willard. Turn right on Willard and proceed two blocks to S. Forest. Turn left on Forest and the parking structure is on your left. See the Summer Orientation 2005 brochure (available in March) for more information about parking for Summer Orientation.
During Orientation you will take placement exams in Chemistry and Language. You should have taken your Math placement exam before you come to campus. It’s important that you take the placement exams and try and do as well as possible. In some cases, doing well on the UM Placement Exam will exempt you from a course or a requirement or give you the opportunity to earn additional credits.
Chemistry Placement
The Chemistry Placement Exam will either recommend that you start with Chemistry 130 (General Chemistry) or Chemistry 210 (Organic Chemistry). Your placement is determined not only by your Chemistry Exam score but also your Math placement and your SAT or ACT Math scores. The majority of students are recommended for Chem 130. Lecture section 400 of Chem 130 is a smaller lecture section with an extra hour of class designed for students who might be coming with a little less preparation. LSA does not require Chemistry. Credit is not granted for the Chemistry Placement Exam.
Note: Chemistry 125/126 is the lab class that goes with Chem 130. It is recommended but not required that these general Chemistry classes be taken together. Chemistry 211 is the lab class that goes with Chem 210. You should enroll in both the lecture and the lab for Organic Chemistry.
Math Placement
The Math Placement Exam will either recommend that you start with Math 105 (Data, Functions, and Graphs) or a Calculus class which is most often Math 115 (Calculus 1). Your placement is determined not only by your Math Exam score but also your SAT or ACT math scores and your high school grade point average. Math 105 is a preparatory class for UM Calculus. You may be strongly recommended for Math 105 or tentatively recommended. If you are recommended for Math 105, your chances of success in Calculus without taking Math 105 are poor. You may also be strongly recommended for Math 115 or tentatively recommended. In all cases, a Math advisor will be available during Orientation for consultation. If you have AP credit for Calculus you may want to consider taking honors math or a different course in the Calculus series. LSA does not require a Math class. Credit is not granted for the Math Placement Exam.
Language Placement
The following language placement exams are given during Orientation: French, Spanish, Italian, German, Latin, Hebrew, and Russian. If you have previously studied any of these languages, you should take the placement exam at Orientation. If you know a language other than these, ask your advisor about taking a placement exam in the Fall. The language placement exams will advise you to take a certain level of language. You must follow this placement unless you and your advisor have determined otherwise. It is possible to place past the fourth semester of language and thus place out of the LSA foreign language requirement. Please take this test seriously and make sure that you complete the entire test. Credit is not granted for the Language Placement Exam.
Sweetland Writing Center Directed Self-Placement
To assist students in choosing their first writing course at the University, the Sweetland Writing Center administers the Directed Self-Placement Essay and Questions. The Online program asks you to (1) Read an article of about 10 pages; (2) Write a 2-3 page essay in response to a prompt based on that article; and (3) Anwser a short 10-question survey about your writing experiences. You will do this on-line before you come to campus. Click here if you have not done this yet. If you are not feeling confident about your writing experience you might want to select SWC 100.
AP Credit
It is important to discuss your AP exams with your Academic Advisor during Summer Orientation. In some cases, credits can be earned only upon completion of additional course work or following a conversation with a Concentration Advisor.
AP scores and credit policies are subject to change with changes in university policies.
Your LSA academic advisor will be a primary resource for you from the time you meet at orientation to the time you graduate. He or she will keep in contact with you through individual appointments and regular e-mail messages. Your advisor can get to know you better if you share some things about yourself, such as academic interests, career aspirations, learning and study strengths and weaknesses, and relevant personal issues. You can begin by completing the online Academic Planning and Interest Survey.
You and your advisor will work to create a plan that will allow you to discover and pursue your academic interests. Through this process you will be able to decide on the concentration best fitted to your skills, interests, and future goals. Your advisor can give you tips on how to manage the demands of a large university and make use of campus resources. If you experience academic difficulty, your advisor can explore available options with you.
Meet with your advisor to:
LSA Advising Services
Welcome to the University of Michigan! We can confidently say that you are about to enter a new phase of your life where you will learn more about yourself and your place in the world than you probably ever imagined. Have you ever thought about what it would be like to read a couple hundred pages a week in a textbook? Where are good places to go on a Friday? What is the professor for Econ 101 really like? Is it actually possible to pull off a fifteen page essay in one night? Or maybe what it is like to have new opportunities about a subject open up before your eyes? Do these thoughts get you excited? Nervous? Maybe a little scared? Well, as part of orientation you have a GREAT resource right at your fingertips. We’re called academic peer advisors and we’re here to provide just a little more help. Not that the academic advisors aren’t great resources, they are! But, as current students we know what it is like to be in your shoes. Ask us questions about classes: which ones are good to take, which ones are fun, who is a good professor to take, etc. We are also a great resource for any questions you have about campus life, but are afraid to ask (don’t worry, we won’t tell your parents!). We’re here to make your transition to this university as smooth as possible… and remember, we’re going through much of the same things that you are. Good luck and enjoy your years here at UM! We look forward to meeting you at orientation.
Living in close proximity to anywhere from 75 to 1,350 other students, and even just sharing a room with one other person can bring their own set of challenges to productive and effective studying. Adaptability and flexibility are key to making a successful transition to college life in many ways, and study habits are no exception. Whether you find that you work best alone or in a group, in absolute quiet or with lots of background noise, putting in the effort to find out what environment works best for you and then finding the times and places that provide this will be rewarded many times over. All of the reshalls have lounges and computer facilities, but you should definitely consider also going further afield.
As for advising, there are many resources right in your reshall to assist you all year long. Each residence hall will have an Academic Peer Advisor (APA), who is an experienced student who has been trained to answer questions related to academics in the college. You should also be on the lookout for special programs and workshops organized by your APA, sometimes in collaboration with other reshall staff, e.g. Resident Assistant (RA) and Minority Peer Advisor (MPA), or in concert with a living learning community in the hall, e.g. MCSP (Michigan Community Scholars Program) in Couzens, LHSP (Lloyd Hall Scholars Program) and HSSP (Health Science Scholars Program) in Lloyd, and WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) in Mosher Jordan. Topics can range from study skills and time and stress management to internships and study abroad to resume writing. Some reshalls also have an Engineering Academic Peer Advisor. Be sure to find out who and where the advising resources in your hall are.
After you leave orientation, the University isn’t really done orienting you and helping you get settled. Once you come back to campus be sure to take advantage of these other resources.
Move-in help comes from Housing to smooth your move.
Welcome Week activities will help you learn your way around campus, meet other students and have fun.
Festifall takes place the first week of school on the diag. All the student organizations have tables so you can collect information about clubs and activites.
Don’t forget that the Advising Center always has a Quick Question advisor available from 10-5 everyday to answer any quick concerns you might have. You should also start receiving email messages from your advisor and can communicate that way.
To buy books for classes you will probably want to go to Michigan Book and Supply, Ulrich’s Book Store or to the Michigan Union Bookstore. Here are some general tips.
The local book stores do have book lists, but you might want to wait until the first day of class and you have received the syllabus to make sure that there aren’t changes to the list.
Can I use AP credit for distribution?
No, AP credit gives you general credits toward graduation and sometimes fulfills prerequisites for other courses but can not be used for distribution.
How do I try out for Marching Band?
Marching Band auditions are held on the third day of Orientation. For more information, contact Maggie St. Clair: mstclair@umich.edu; 734-764-0582.
Can I take an art class or a music class?
Yes you can. Some classes in the School of Art or the School of Music are actually set aside for non-art or non-music students. You can look these classes up at:
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/cg/
What is an average course load for first-year students?
12-18 credits is considered full-time and costs the same amount of money. Most first-year students take 12-15 credits. Don’t be afraid to take fewer credits first semester as you make the transition to college.
Can I take back-to-back classes?
Yes you can. At Michigan, classes finish on the hour and begin at ten minutes past the hour so you have a ten minute passing time. Classroom buildings that are on central campus are all within this walking distance. If you are going between north and central campus then you need to leave more room in your schedule.
What are the advantages of a First-Year Seminar?
First-Year Seminars are small (about 20 students per class) classes that are discussion based and are taught by professors. This is a chance to get to know a faculty member well and to study something in depth from the very beginning of your college education.
Do I have to take Math?
You do not necessarily have to take a math class. Some majors require it or you might want to. Our Quantitative Reasoning requirement can be fulfilled with other types of classes, economics, astronomy or statistics for example.
What is the difference between English 124 and 125
The biggest difference is that English 124 is literature based and English 125 is non-fiction based. Both are writing courses but if you enjoy writing about literature you should pick 124. Some other course options for your first-year writing class are History 195 (The Writing of History), Classical Civilization 101 (The Ancient Greek World – honors section only), and Comparative Literature 122 ( The Writing of World Literature).
What is SWC 100 - Transition to College Writing?
Students who seek a more individualized and gradual introduction to college writing may want to take SWC 100: Transition to College Writing offered by the Sweetland Writing Center before a First-Year Writing Requirement course. This course provides intensive one-on-one feedback on writing assignments, as well as the creation of an electronic portfolio, which enables students to integrate technology into their learning and reflect upon their development as writers.
Does my AP English credit meet the First-Year Writing requirement?
No, AP credit does not meet this requirement.
What if I can’t take First-Year Writing during the Fall semester?
If you can’t take your writing class during the fall then you will register for the class during the Winter term.
What are language retro-credits?
You might be eligible to receive retroactive credits in French, German, Hebrew, Latin or Spanish if you place into the fourth term of that language or higher. You must take the appropriate language course and receive a B or better to be eligible for the credits. You might receive up to 8 credits. Talk with you advisor for more details.
Can I take language pass/fail?
You may take all but the fourth term of the language you are studying for proficiency pass/fail. You must receive a C- or better to pass a class that is taken pass/fail. Because you must take the fourth term for a grade, be careful about taking earlier terms pass/fail. Language is cumulative so you need to make sure that you learn as much as possible in order to go on and be successful in the subsequent class.
Do I have to take the General Chemistry Lab (Chem 125/126) with the General Chemistry class (Chem 130)?
You do not have to take these classes together although it is preferable to do so. You may split them up and take the lab in a subsequent term. If you are a pre-med student, then you are required to take the lab at some point.
What should I take if I am pre-med?
Most pre-med students start the fall term with General Chemistry (Chem 130) and the General Chem Lab (Chem 125/126). You do need to take the lab for Medical School. If you have AP credit for General Chemistry or test out on the placement exam, then you might take an introductory Biology course (Bio 171 which focuses on Ecology and Evolutionary Biology or Biology 172 which focuses on Cellular, Molecular and Developmental Biology) or Organic Chemistry (Chem 210/211). Another science you could consider would be Physics. Try out our pre-health web site for more details and be sure to discuss your options with your advisor at orientation.
What are the pre-reqs for transferring to the Business School?
There are three required classes for the Business School:
Typical first semester classes would be writing and math.
What are the pre-reqs for transferring to the School of Engineering?
The School of Engineering requires a First-Year Writing course, two completed semesters of calculus at UM, Physics 140/141, Chem 130/125/126 or Chem 210/211 and Engineering 101. Engin 101 requires an override for non-engin students. You will probably not be able to take it first semester. An Engineering advisor holds office hours in our office weekly.
What are the pre-law requirements?
There are none. You may take whatever you like and still apply to Law School.