New Student Checklist: June 25 to September 4

"New Student Checklist: June 25 to September 4", June 25 2009

New Student Checklist: June 25 to September 4

By DANIELLE LORENZ, MACINSIDERS

Last year I wrote an article for all incoming first year students that gave them an overview of important deadlines from mid-May until the end of August. It’s a new year, and a new incoming first year class, so I thought I’d write (rewrite?) the article with information pertinent to 2009. You can still check out the previous article here.

Once McMaster gets your final grades from high school, you will get your final letter of acceptance. It is only until you have gotten this letter that are you actually considered a McMaster student, regardless of if you will already started choosing your courses.

In the meantime, there are a few things you can do to facilitate the new student process, and things to remember to do a little bit later in the summer. Trust me, by getting as much out of the way now as possible the easier life will be for you.

MAC ID
If you haven’t done it already, set up your MAC ID. You will need this to pick your courses. Course selection for first year students is June 29th until July 4th. You can check out what day your faculty chooses here. If You really want to make sure that you sign up for your MAC ID a few business days before your course selection just in case a) there are some issues and b) to offset any processing time that may occur.

OSAP
Will you need some sort of financial assistance in first year? If so, consult with the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). Find out your eligibility, and begin the application process. There are some scholarships and grants that you must apply for before a certain date. To have OSAP as a payment agreement when picking courses you must have applied by a certain date as well. MacInsiders user Danny Vacar wrote a great article about OSAP last May, and even though it is “dated” I suggest you read it. You can find it here. If you want more information, you can also consult with the OSAP website.

Easy Summer Orientation Program
If you have concerns about picking your courses, or first year in general, the First Year Experience Office (FYEO) is offering an orientation program focused on academics. The Easy Summer Orientation Program has sessions on academic success, goal-setting, decision-making, and an inspirational video. The program runs June 26, June 30th, July 2-3 and July 6-9th. To sign up, go to this website, and to find out more info go here.

None of the sessions mentioned above are mandatory, but it is a good way for you to interact with other first year students, and have some of your (and your parents’ concerns) answered by McMaster staff and upper-year volunteers.

Course Selection
A point I’d like to reiterate: if your MAC ID isn’t working you cannot choose your courses, access your McMaster email or register for the Easy Summer Orientation Program. If you are uninterested or unable to attend the Easy Summer Orientation Program, you can find your course selection dates here. In 2007 MacInsiders President/Founder Chad wrote an article about choosing courses that you should check out, whether or not you are going to the Easy Summer Orientation Program. You can read Class Selection Tips and Help here.

Use Our Forums!
If you are having issues, or have questions about courses, please post on the forums! Trust us when we say TONS of other first years have the same questions as you! Those going into second year had the same questions last year that you do now! MacInsiders is a great resource and no question is ever stupid here. And you may even meet some of your future classmates along the way! We just ask if your question is different than ones previously asked to post a new thread, rather than making existing ones super long.

Monies
High school is over for you now, so get off your butt and get a job if you haven’t already! University can be expensive so start squirreling away money now! You think I'm kidding. I'm not! If you aren't getting a job this summer, spend as much time as you can finding information about scholarships. Any money you get from scholarships or bursaries is free money that you don't need to pay back.

University Communications
In July, you will receive more information from McMaster in either a combination of postal mail and email or just email. This obviously will have occurred once the McMaster has gotten all of your final grades. If you are getting things in the mail, you will be getting a mixture of publications, info sheets and other tree-killing things. If you are getting things via email it will be in a mixture of attached documents and pdf files. Make sure you read every single item you get, as they are included for a reason!

MacPass
In aforementioned package you should get literature on your MacPass, your all-access pass to Welcome Week at McMaster. There are some items during Welcome Week you can only get into with your MacPass wrist band. There are two different pricings for MacPasses, one for on-campus students, and one for off-campus students. Early bird pricing (a $10 discount) is available until August 15th. You can buy your MacPass either when you are on-campus, or online, which is a new feature this year. You can get more information about the MacPass here, and you can get a sneak peak of what Welcome Week is about by checking out the FYEO website.

Residence
Between the end of June and mid-July your residence confirmation will become available. You may not get the residence you want…but your residence experience is WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT, and the building you live in truly doesn’t matter. I got my last choice of res in my first year but still love the building to this day.

Once you find out what residence you are living in, please check out our res-specific forums and start chatting with your new res mates! You may also wish to consult with our The Pros and Cons of Each Residence article, and our Residence Survival Guides, parts One, One-and-a-half, Two, Three, Four, and Five as well as Getting Involved at McMaster Part Six: Residence. These articles should give you some idea of what you should be thinking of in terms of residence, and a little bit of what to expect too.

Living Off-Campus
We know that not all first year students live on-campus in their first year, and so we've got you covered too! Check out our articles on the Society of Off-Campus Students (SOCS), and many different articles about living off-campus.

Photo ID for OSAP
If you are getting OSAP you will need some sort of photo identification to pick it up. Make sure you have a driver’s license or some other form of photo ID in the mail long before mid-August or you may not be able to pick it up as early as you would like.

HYPE
Are you a student with a disability? Then you should consider attending the HYPE conference from August 4th to 7th. HYPE (Helping You Personalize Education) is a FREE conference that aims to help students with disabilities by introducing them to learning strategies at university, time management strategies, adaptive technologies, the accommodation process and other important facets of university life. You can find out more info about HYPE here.

Welcome Day
Friday August 7th is Welcome Day! You should attend if at all possible. There are many different programs and sessions happening on that day, and they cover all avenues about student life. If you are living in residence, you will also be allowed to see a few examples of residence rooms in your res (but not your specific room). More information about the day’s schedule will be posted on the FYEO website closer to the day.

Horizons
If you aren’t doing anything from August 14th – 16th, come to the Horizons leadership conference! It is a way for you to meet your incoming classmates, stay in a McMaster residence building, get familiar with the McMaster campus, and experience the fun of Welcome Week two weeks before it starts. For more information on the applications and application process, check out the Horizons website. https://www.msumcmaster.ca/servicesa...ns/generalInfo Lots of people who post on MacInsiders will be leaders at the conference, so you can get to know them outside of the forums!

Last But Not Least...
Spend the latter part of August packing, posting on our forums (what? I’m allowed to self-promote!), and sleeping. You don’t get a lot of sleep during Welcome Week, so I suggest you start banking as much as possible beforehand. Welcome Week officially starts on Saturday September 4th at 8AM, so enjoy your last little bit of fun before university starts! All of your Welcome Week Reps are going to have a blast and are already PUMPED about Welcome Week 2009!