Advantage events prepare freshmen for college life

move in day

It won't be long before new Bearcats start unpacking their bags
on Move-in Day, the first of four days of Advantage program
events designed to help freshmen and transfer students prepare
for a successful college career at Northwest.

Students attending Northwest for the first time start the new academic year Thursday, Aug. 23, by moving into residence halls and taking part in Advantage 2007, a series of orientation activities lasting through Sunday afternoon. Fall trimester classes begin Monday, Aug. 27.

Stretching over four days, the Advantage program gives freshmen and transfer students a chance to familiarize themselves with the campus, get acquainted with classmates and learn about programs and opportunities designed to ensure their college years are active and successful.

After moving in between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Thursday, freshmen will spend the next two days picking up computers and textbooks, touring the library, participating in orientation classes and otherwise preparing for their first trimester of college.

New Bearcats will also meet with faculty advisers, peer advisers, residence hall assistants and fellow students while participating in a number of events leading up to the New Student Convocation at 2:45 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26, in Bearcat Arena.

Weekend highlights include the football season opener, when the Bearcats will face the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 23, under the newly installed lights at Bearcat Stadium. Pre-game ceremonies will include the dedication of a new synthetic playing surface named in honor of Head Coach Mel Tjeerdsma.

Two social gatherings will take place after the game from 10 p.m. until midnight: a dance party at the Memorial Bell Tower featuring Country Faith and a mixer at the J.W. Jones Student Union hosted by the Alliance of Black Collegians and the Hispanic American Leadership Organization.

The annual Merchants Fair, which introduces new students to local businesses and organizations, will take place from 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, Aug. 25, on the Memorial Bell Tower lawn.

Nearly 500 first-year students will move into the recently completed residence complex near the intersection of Fourth Street and University Drive on the southeast end of campus. The new complex comprises Hudson Hall to the south, Perrin Hall to the north and a connecting area called Hudson-Perrin Commons. Together with Roberta Hall, the row of student residences is known as East Complex.

Two aging residence halls -- also known as Hudson and Perrin -- were torn down to make way for the freshman complex. The building names honor Nell Hudson, Northwest's first woman registrar, and Alice Perrin, the school's first dean of women. New Hudson-Perrin is the first residential building on the Northwest campus built especially for the use of first-year students.

For a complete Advantage 2007 schedule, go to www.nwmissouri.edu/admissions/orientation/advantageschedule.htm. For more information about attending Northwest, call the Office of Admissions at (800) 633-1175 or (660) 562-1051 or e-mail ota@nwmissouri.edu.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Brown,
News Bureau Manager
E-Mail: abrown@nwmissouri.edu
Phone (660) 562-1704
Fax (660) 562-1900

Northwest Missouri State University
219 Administration Building,
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468

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