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First-Year Experience

Discover your favorite spot on campus. Get involved with a student organization or club sport. Explore the city of St. Louis. There's a checklist of activities that we'll encourage you to do in your first year on campus that will set the foundation for your success at SLU – not just academically, but socially. 

The First-Year Experience at Saint Louis University helps you transition from high school to college by engaging you in the full SLU experience.

Let's kick this off right.

Embark On Your College Career with Confidence

Set your schedule. Meet a mentor. Make new friends. Orientation events are designed to make those first days at SLU fun, interesting and useful for your college transition.

  • SLU 101 Summer Orientation: This is your opportunity to live the life of a college student before it even starts. It’s a two-day, overnight campus visit that provides an authentic look at life on campus and sets you up for success from the start.
  • SLU 101 Transfer Orientation: College is not new to you, but SLU may be. We’ll answer your questions to ensure a smooth transition.
  • Fall Welcome, Fall Orientation: Starting with move-in and continuing through your first weeks on campus, fun Fall Welcome events help introduce freshmen and new transfer students to each other and to SLU. 
  • Winter Welcome:  If you are just returning to SLU from winter break, get back into the swing of things with a week of fun activities and events. Or, if you are arriving on campus as a brand new Billiken, this is your chance to really feel at home in your community as you learn how to get involved and stay connected. 

Connect with Your Community

Discover others who share your passion for the health sciences, your commitment to social justice or just your commute back home. Your community exists at SLU, and we’re here to help you find it.

  • Learning Communities: Constructed around a shared academic program or interest, our learning communities provide you with the opportunity to build study groups and make connections within your major.
  • Freshmen Commuters: Being exempt from the residency requirement doesn’t mean being exempt from campus life. Meet the community of commuters who still call SLU home.
  • First-Generation Students: Nearly 15 percent of our undergraduate students are First Billikens, meaning that they are the first person in their family to attend college.