Welcome Day will take place August 7, 2009 from 9AM to 4PM

By JEREMY HAN, INSIDERS AGENT

Welcome Day is a great opportunity to visit the campus, learn about university life, learn about common transition issues and meet upper years.

There are many things to do during Welcome Day:

• Library Tours

Take a tour of the libraries, see what resources they have for you to use. Libraries are a great place to study and you should get accustomed to them as soon as possible.

H.G. Thode Library of Science Engineering (Every 30min between 10AM - 11:30AM and 1PM - 1:30PM)
Innis Library (Business) (Every 30mins between 10AM – 2PM)
Mills Memorial Library (Humanities and Social Sciences) (Every 30min between 10AM – 2PM)
Health Science Library (No organized tours but feel free to visit)

• David Braley Athletic Centre (DBAC) and Ivor Wynne Centre (IWC) Tours

Take a tour of the athletic centre and see the facilities that you will be able to use during your time at McMaster. The facility fees are already included in your supplementary fees except for the use of “The Pulse” and Rock Climbing.

Tours of both centres are offered from 9AM to 12PM.

• Residence Hall Tours

Take a tour of the residence you will be living at for the next 8 months. Meet upper year students who will show you a typical room as well as a common room and a washroom. This is your chance to see a normal room at the residence and to start planning what to bring, what will fit and where to put things.

Tours are offered between 10AM and 2PM.

• Hamilton Tours

Take the HSR on a tour of Hamilton, the city you will be living in for the duration of your McMaster studies. During the tour you will be shown some of Hamilton’s entertainment hot spots and important transfer points in order to commute back home such as the GO Station downtown.

Tours are offered every 30 minutes between 10AM and 2PM.

• Debunking the Myths: Student Panel

There are many questions and myths floating around in a first years mind. This is the time to find out what’s true and what’s not.

Located in Hamilton Hall 302.
Sessions occurs from 10AM to 11AM and again from 1PM to 2PM.

• First Year Parent Program

This session is for the parents. They will meet university personnel and upper year students. They will discuss support services available to students. This session will help ease the parents of their worry. It’ll show them that their kids are not alone in university and there are myriads of services that will help keep them safe and help them to succeed.

Located in Hamilton Hall 109.
Sessions occurs from 10AM to 11AM and again from 1PM to 2PM

Note: While you are at “Debunking the Myths”, your parents can be at the “First Year Parent Program”.

• Living Off-Campus/Society of Off-Campus Students (SOCS)

Living off-campus in your first year? This session is geared towards you. You will receive tips on living in a student house, commuting, learns about SOCS and what they can do for you and more.

Located in Chester New Hall 104.
Session occurs from 10AM to 11AM.

• Your Home Away From Home

Living on campus in your first year? This session is geared towards you. Learn about various aspects of the residence community, the student leadership system, the Inter-Residence Council (IRC) and tips about living on campus.

Located in Chester New Hall 104.
Session occurs from 10AM to 11AM.

• Information Fair

The information fair is a great way to learn about many of the student services, McMaster Students Union (MSU) services as well as student clubs. Learn about financial aid, food services, off-campus resources, the Emergency first Response Team (EFRT) and more.

Located in the McMaster University Student Centre.
Fair begins at 9AM and ends at 2PM.

• Taking Effective Study Notes

This sessions will help you learn how to take effective study notes in order to facilitate succeeding in University.

Located in the CIBC Hall in the MUSC.
Session occurs from 10AM to 11AM.

• First Generation Program

Are you the first person in your immediate family to attend post secondary education? This is the session for you. Learn how to deal with the challenges first year university can present. Get answers to the questions you have concerning student life.

Located in CIBC Hall in the MUSC.
Session occurs from 12PM to 1PM

• Finances Matter!

This session will focus on financial aid opportunities available through McMaster and provide information on completing your online payment agreement, making the payments and managing your student account.

Located in Chester New Hall B147.
Sessions occur from 10AM to 11AM and again from 1PM to 2PM

• Titles Book Store

Titles will have a tent setup with their computer vendors in front of the MUSC. Drop by and see the promotional deals available to first years.

Titles will also be open from 8:30AM to 5PM. You will be able to buy your MacPasses while you are there.

Also, for a campus map: http://www.mcmaster.ca/welcome/med/campusmap.pdf

look around for student's wearing maroon jump suits!!

I highly recommend going to Welcome Day! I went in first year and it helped me out-- A LOT!!

Also, if you're living in residence be sure to hit up the residence tours (where you will be your AMAZING IRC representatives). Also, the IRC will have a table to you could meet me and a few others on the council. SO pumped!!!

hi!

Welcome day was awesome. Made a lot of freinds and learned a lot about Mac!

Is there any volunteer opportunities during this day?

Originally Posted by patelp

hi!

Welcome day was awesome. Made a lot of freinds and learned a lot about Mac!

Is there any volunteer opportunities during this day?

Welcome Day
We are going to need lots of volunteers for Welcome Day! More information about volunteer duties will be posted soon.

Information hasn't been posted yet. But keep on checking this site: http://fye.mcmaster.ca/leadership.html

This is somewhat unclear on the schedule they posted on Mac's site. Is each session 1 hour? (except for the ones where it mentions half-an hour), But if it's like that, it's kinda hard for people to attend all the sessions they want.. including myself =S

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

This is somewhat unclear on the schedule they posted on Mac's site. Is each session 1 hour? (except for the ones where it mentions half-an hour), But if it's like that, it's kinda hard for people to attend all the sessions they want.. including myself =S

I posted all the times for the sessions. I think they are mostly 1 hour long.
You'll have to choose which sessions you want to see the most.

Yeah I saw the times, I was just hoping some wouldn't be an hour long so that i could attend al the sessions I wanted. Argh, I was hoping it wouldn't be that.. But Oh well. I guess you're right

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

Yeah I saw the times, I was just hoping some wouldn't be an hour long so that i could attend al the sessions I wanted. Argh, I was hoping it wouldn't be that.. But Oh well. I guess you're right

Some of them are provided twice. If you plan things right you can probably attend most of the sessions you want.

Yeah, you're right, I'll just have to set up a schedule to include as many sessions as possible. Thanks!

Ooh, are parents allowed to go to the sessions as well (the ones besides the parents' one)?

Yeah parents are definitely allowed to attend all the sessions!
Don't forget to visit your residences to get a general view of what your room looks like & plan what you may and may not want to bring!

Ooh Thanks Cristina!
Definitely! That's one of priorities that day. But are we allowed to visit our assigned residence building and/or see the type of room we're in (e.g. I have bunk&loft), or would we just see any random sample room in any building?

Sara, All 12 residences will be open, so you can go to Moulton and visit that. For Moulton, you'll probably be taken to a single room, a bunk & loft, the bathroom, and a common room (the basics). You probably won't see your specific room because really it would be chaos if everyone went to the room they were supposed to be in. So you'll just see a sample which probably looks identical to your room. Usually the corner rooms are a little different (usually bigger) than other rooms.

Originally Posted by Cristina_n13

Sara, All 12 residences will be open, so you can go to Moulton and visit that. For Moulton, you'll probably be taken to a single room, a bunk & loft, the bathroom, and a common room (the basics). You probably won't see your specific room because really it would be chaos if everyone went to the room they were supposed to be in. So you'll just see a sample which probably looks identical to your room. Usually the corner rooms are a little different (usually bigger) than other rooms.

Ooh thanks a lot Cristina! Sounds good, I don't mind not seeing my room. I'll see it for 8 months anyway . As long as I know what to bring and such! Thanks a bunch, I'll be sure not miss it!

It's really helpful to bring a measuring tape. Some reason people tend to freak out about if a fridge will fit in their rooms or not, or if they wanna bring anything special in. Digital cameras are also very useful lol.