Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[nawee]

Hello,

In my country, there's a welcoming system for freshmen. Each second year student will be assigned a freshman to look after. And the assigning of freshmen is done by matching the last 3 numbers of the second year student and the freshman. So xxx123 will be paired with yyy123. They are called "Reference Number Brother/Sister". Do universities in the US and the UK have something similar? If so, what are the second year students and the freshmen in this context called?

Thanks,

Nawee

[cgage2]

In the US:
I think maybe 75-100 years ago, there may have been something like this. Now maybe some exclusive, high dollar private colleges might do this. But most universities in the US have become impersonal, uncaring diploma mills where no one knows each other or cares. There are sororities and fratenities for students with money or sometimes special merit. These organizations sometimes assign upperclassman/women.

[Mister Micawber]

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Well, not all universities are uncaring, Nawee, but the one-on-one system seems to be rare indeed. Here are some more common scenarios:


Freshman Welcome Day Set For Aug. 23

When Texas A&M University welcomes new members of the Aggie Family, it does so with more than just words.
The university has set Wednesday, Aug. 23, as Freshman Welcome Day and encourages all incoming freshmen to arrive on that day.
Beginning at 8 a.m., the new college students and their parents will be met by teams of volunteers armed with dollies and carts. The volunteers, including students and staff, will help the students move into their residence hall rooms.



Freshman orientation: The buildup to life at MIT

After a week of pre-orientation events that included building sandcastles and Tinkertoy projects, the Class of 2010 will all be on campus this weekend to kick off Orientation 2006, which officially begins Aug. 27.

"It is always a lot of fun," said Elizabeth Young, assistant dean and member of the orientation committee. "Orientation is a good way to start the year."

Among the week's highlights is the "Annual East vs. West Water War," featuring 10,000 water balloons. There will also be at least a dozen opportunities for the newest faces at MIT to mingle and mix at a variety of nightly theme parties and meals.

Roughly 50 percent, or 500 members of the class of 2010 have spent the past week on the MIT campus participating in a variety of pre-orientation activities sponsored by various departments and special programs.
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_________________
"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
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Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's