How StartStrong Prepares You For a Successful First Year of College

At Meredith, we like to make sure you start your first semester strong. This is why we have the StartStrong Pre-Orientation Program. You’ll have the chance to connect with your new community and set yourself up for a successful transition into college life. 

All new first-year students must attend StartStrong, and for a good reason! In this blog post, we’ll walk you through what you can expect from StartStrong, and how your family members can even join in on the fun.

What will I do during StartStrong?

Here at Meredith, you’ll discover your strengths in an empowering community and pursue a career that best suits your passions. StartStrong is a way for you to lay the foundation for a successful transition from high school to college.

During your day-long orientation, you will:

• Meet with your enrollment counselor to talk about your fall course schedule
• Discuss your top strengths and how to make the most of them 
• Learn more about academic technology at Meredith
• Get your student ID 
• Meet the student advisor who will guide you throughout your first year
• And get to know your new classmates!

What can my family do during StartStrong?

StartStrong also offers sessions for your family because you going to college is a significant change for them, too. Don’t worry, though. Your parents will have a different schedule than you, so you’ll still be able to go off on your own and get to know your classmates. 

So, parents, what will you do while your student gets a taste of college life? Well, you will:

• Learn how to help your student successfully navigate the transition to college, especially in the first semester
• Get an overview of student accounting services, and schedule an individual financial aid package discussion
• Connect with many of Meredith’s student services, including tech services, study abroad, disability services, and more

What should I do to prepare for StartStrong?

Step one: choose your session.

The first step to starting StartStrong is finding and registering a session that works best for you. There are four sessions available:

• Saturday, June 4, 2022
• Monday, June 13, 2022
• Thursday, June 16, 2022
• Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Submit StartStrong Registration

Step two: Take the online placement exams:

Once you’ve submitted your enrollment deposit, you’ll need to request your MyMeredith Student Account and Meredith email. Once you’ve received your accounts, you’ll be able to log in to MyMeredith and take the placement exam. 

Here are the exams you will take:

• If you took more than one year of Spanish or French in high school, you must test in that language. 
• If you took a language other than Spanish or French, you will not test. 
• The English Department will contact new students who need to take the online English assessment.
• The foreign language placement exam opens on April 8 at 8 a.m. Please complete your testing as soon as possible.

You must complete the placement exam(s) before MIDNIGHT on May 22.

Step three: Participate in StartStrong!

After registering for StartStrong, the admissions office will confirm your date of participation. From there, you can start hyping yourself up for an exciting day. 

We look forward to seeing you soon!