U.S. News and World Report, author of "America's Best College" rankings, named Ball State University as a top institution for first-year freshman experiences for the sixth consecutive year.
The Ball State Freshman Connections, program has several options for new students on campus including Early Start, Accelerate and the Cardinal Leadership and Service Seminar (CLASS).
The purpose of these programs is to ease the transition from high school to college by bringing students together in smaller groups through seminars, leadership development programs and other skills courses. These programs can be crucial, as studies show that freshman usually decide within their first two weeks at a university whether or not they will return for another semester.
Coordinator of Freshman Connections Melinda Messineo said she has high praise for the programs.
"The connection programs that we offer are very distinctive and have proven to be great networking tools for new students because they break into smaller groups during the activities," she said. "Our programs also have exceptional participation rates among students and they are very popular. We have even seen a link between Connections and higher academic success."
Messineo also mentioned the Common Reader program, in which all incoming students are given a book to read prior to freshman convocation during Welcome Week. This year's book was "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah. The book was chosen by a panel of both students and faculty members. The author will have a discussion on Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in John R. Emens Auditorium and will be open to the public.
The CLASS program lasted three days and allowed freshmen to get a head start on campus. Freshman Mackenzie Morris participated in the CLASS program.
"Being part of the CLASS program was a great experience," she said. "It really helped to ease the transition from high school to life on campus," she said.
Morris also said she was able to listen to a guest speaker and volunteer about five hours at a local food bank.
"I loved being able to move in early," she said. "It really made things easier. It was also really great to meet so many people, although we were always very busy. Things got a little hectic. I would certainly recommend this program to future incoming freshmen. The information you receive is priceless - everything from studying tips to the best food on campus. It was great."
Accelerate is another freshman program that also offers the early move-in incentive. Freshman Tiffany Hendricks spent most of her time in Woodworth Commons working with her residence assistants in hall activities.
"I feel that I made a good choice being part of the Accelerate program," she said. "I would recommend this program to freshmen because it allowed me to get comfortable with campus beforehand without the craziness of move-in day. I feel that it helped us develop social skills as well."
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