Hi, New Bears!

It’s Sarah again, back with another blog about SOAR! Another important piece of information for you to know about attending SOAR is what to bring. Everything I’m going to mention are things that we recommend that you bring so that you have a comfortable time on campus. I’m going to break the things you need to bring with you down into categories: for overnight, for the day, and for registration.

For Overnight
When packing your bag to stay overnight, there are a few things that we would recommend you bring with you! It’s first important for you to understand what the room you are staying in will provide. The room will be set up with clean sheets, a blanket, a towel, a washcloth, and a pillow with a pillowcase! The rooms are sometimes a little bit chilly, so we would recommend that you bring your own blanket and your favorite pillow to make your stay more comfortable.

If you plan to shower, you will need to bring your own toiletries with you! A quick reminder if you missed my last blog, but make sure to remember that you will be sharing your room with another incoming Bear!

The rooms are set up with the basic necessities, so we’d recommend that you bring your own devices to connect to the Wi-Fi. You could bring a game to play with your roommate and suitemates for the night, or you could bring your favorite book and spend some time diving into the story. I would recommend that you bring something that entertains you!

For the Day
When you are packing for the day at orientation, pack comfortable! You will be doing some walking around campus and there will be a section of the night that you will be able to participate in a variety of activities at the Foster Recreation Center on campus. If you plan to participate in any of the active games, we recommend that you wear clothes that are comfortable through the day or bring a pair of clothes to change into at that time. We’d also recommend that you wear shoes that are comfortable to walk around in.

Sometimes the rooms that the presentations are in throughout the day get a little bit chilly, so I’d also recommend that you bring a lightweight jacket with you during the day! No need to bring a heavy winter coat, but if you get cold easily, this is one of the biggest recommendations I would make.

For Registration
At SOAR you will be meeting with an academic advisor and getting registered for your first semester of classes (whoop whoop)! We recommend that you bring a copy of your transcript that includes any dual or transfer credit you are bringing with you to the university. This will make sure that your advisor is able to help you most accurately when picking courses to register for.

Another thing that you need to bring with you to registration is your BearPass log-in and password. You will need both of these items to log-in and register for classes. If you do not know this information yet, you should reach out to the Computer-Services Help Desk and they will be more than willing to help you find this information.

I hope that this helped you a little more when it comes to knowing what to pack for SOAR so that you have everything you could need! Feel free to reach out to our office if you have any additional questions about what to bring to SOAR. As always, bear up!

~Sarah

Sarah Farrar
Training and Development Assistant
New Student Orientation & Transition Programs
sarahfarrar@missouristate.edu
(417) 836.7628

Hi again, New Bears!

If you missed my last blog, I shared the important things you need to complete before attending SOAR so that your experience is as seamless as it possibly can be. Check it out here to make sure that you are coming into SOAR prepared.

What to Expect When You Arrive at SOAR

The focus this week is going to be what to expect when you arrive at SOAR so that you have a better idea of what you are walking into! It’s totally normal to feel a little bit nervous walking into orientation because it is one of the first steps to the next chapter of your life, but I hope that knowing what to expect will help ease some of your nerves.

The first step to attending orientation is arriving on campus!

When you arrive, you will be parking in Lot 15. We will have signs pointing you towards the parking lot placed around campus and we will have SOAR leaders in the lot to direct you to your first stop. Once you have parked, you will grab your overnight bags and walk over to Hammons House and get checked in!

At check-in, you will be given your student handbook that contains important information for you, name tag that you will wear the next two days, schedule that orientation will follow, and room key for your overnight stay! After you get your room key at check-in, you will go straight to your assigned room and sit your stuff down. All students attending SOAR will stay in Hutchens House the first night. Hutchens House consists of four-person (two room) suites, so you will be staying with three other incoming bears!

This will be a great opportunity for you to meet other freshman and get a taste of the college experience. If you want to know more about the lay-out of the rooms, check out Hutchens House Information. In my next post I will share more about what to bring with you to your SOAR session to make it a comfortable stay, but let’s continue with what to expect!

Once your bags are in your room, you (and your family members if they are attending with you) will walk over to the Plaster Student Union and are encouraged to spend some time walking around the campus expo and speaking with different representatives from around campus. At the expo, you will have the opportunity to speak with many different organizations and departments that can help you be more successful and get more engaged during your time on campus.

Campus expo is the only activity that will happening on campus before we kick the day off all together in the theatre in Plaster Student Union. From there, we will follow the orientation schedule that is given to you at check-in!

During your time at SOAR, you will learn more about attending college at Missouri State. There will be a healthy balance of informational sessions and opportunities to spend time with other bears with similar future aspirations. You will be placed in a group based on the academic area of study that you have declared!

I hope that this information made you feel more prepared about what to expect when arriving to SOAR this summer! We can’t wait to meet you and see what the next four years have in store for you at Missouri State University!

Like I mentioned earlier, the next blog will consist of the things that we recommend you bring to SOAR with you to make sure you are comfortable during the process. As always, Bear Up!

~Sarah

Sarah Farrar
Training and Development Assistant
New Student Orientation & Transition Programs
newbears@missouristate.edu
(417) 836-7628

Hello, New Bears!

First, congratulations on your acceptance into the University! College is a beautiful experience where you will have the opportunity to discover your passions and who you are. Although you still have several months before you come to Missouri State, the fun starts now!

If you’re reading this blog – you have registered for SOAR (whoop whoop). Now you might be asking yourself: what is SOAR, how should I prepare, what am I going to be doing, should I come with friends, and I’m sure the list continues.

This blog series will hopefully help answer any questions that you might have! Throughout the next few blogs, I am going to be taking you through the different aspects of SOAR so that you feel confident in your preparedness and more comfortable upon your arrival.

The first thing that I want to share with you are the things that you need to get done before you come to SOAR! There are a few things that you should complete before attending so that your process at orientation can be the seamless.

The things that should be done before you attend are complete your housing application or commuter exception form, send your final transcripts, and take placement exams. Now let’s talk about each of these tasks.

1. Complete the Housing Application or Commuter Exception Form

The first thing to understand about housing on campus is who is required to live on campus. If you are a single student, under 21 years old, and have completed less than 27 credit hours AFTER high school graduation, you are REQUIRED to live on campus and need to complete a housing application! The applications opened on November 1^st, so if that list describes you – go ahead and click this link to go straight to the residence life website and learn how to apply for housing! Getting this application done before SOAR will lift your housing hold and fast track your registration process.

If that list describes you but you are a local student that was planning on commuting to campus, you NEED to complete your commuter exception form before attending SOAR. This link will take you straight to the website that will walk you through how to request an exception to the housing policy listed above. If you scroll down to the “Commuter 2023-24” exception type, you can select that form to see all of the requirements to being a commuter. You will need to either sign the document in the office or get the document notarized.

If you have any questions about the housing application process or commuter exception form, pleased reach out to the residence life, housing, and dining office. You can contact them via email at residencelife@missouristate.edu and via phone at (417)836-5536.

2. Send your final transcripts to Missouri State’s Office of Admissions

The next thing that will help your SOAR process be as smooth as possible is going to be requesting that your high school and previous college transcripts are sent to Missouri State’s Office of Admissions. In most high schools you can ask your counselor or another staff member to send your transcripts but speak with the staff at your high school to ensure that they are being sent over. For the transcripts to arrive in time for your SOAR session, please send them at least two weeks before the date you register for.

If you have college credit that you are transferring to Missouri State, you will need to request those transcripts from the college that you took the course through. Your dual-credit professor should be able to help, as well as the advisement office at the university that you received credit from. If you are having trouble figuring out how to send your transcripts, contact the office of admission via email at admissions@missouristate.edu or via phone at (417)836-5517.

If you are afraid that your transcripts are not going to arrive on time, you can always err on the side of caution and print out your transcripts and bring them with you to your SOAR session. This will help your academic advisor have a better idea of courses to register you for and which courses you should not be in.

3. Take Placement Exams if needed

If you took the ACT/SAT and felt confident that your scores were reflective of your level of knowledge, you do not need to worry about this section. If that doesn’t describe you, continue reading along! Placement exams can help you identify what level of math, English, and foreign language course you should be in when you start college. I am going to make some direct links to each of those placement exams so that you can read more about each one and determine if you would like to take a placement exam: Math Placement Exam, English Placement Exam, and the Foreign Language Placement Exam. These exams MUST be completed at least ONE WEEK before your SOAR session in order for the scores to impact the course you will be registered for.

Okay, I know that seemed like a lot, but there are really only those three things that you need to complete before attending SOAR! If you have any questions, you are more than welcome to reach out to our office via email at newbears@missouristate.edu or via phone at (417)836-7641.

In the next post I will be discussing what you should bring to SOAR with you and what the days will consist of! As always, bear up!

Sarah

Sarah Farrar
Training and Development Assistant
New Student Orientation & Transition Programs
newbears@missouristate.edu
(417) 836-7628