WATCH: Bearcats Bound Orientation Gets Underway at UC on June 27

Orientation website

Orientation Hotline: 513-556-2486

Wear your favorite walking shoes and bring an umbrella, because Cincinnati’s well known for the changing weather. Those are just a couple of tips for the thousands of new freshmen and their parents who will be converging on the University of Cincinnati’s campus for Bearcats Bound Orientation June 27 through Aug. 11.

Check-in begins at 7:30 a.m., Monday, June 27, outside the Great Hall on the fourth floor of Tangeman University Center (TUC). The official welcome gets underway at 8:30 a.m. in the Great Hall. As students enter the Great Hall, they’ll take a walk through the “Tunnel of Awesomeness” created by 29 Student Orientation Leaders (SOLs) and six Student Orientation Coordinators (SOCs) that will be guiding the families through orientation.

Sarah Leggesse, director of Bearcats Bound Orientation, says the SOLs and SOCs have undergone an intense training process for the summer job that runs from early morning into the evening. As they lead students and families through orientation, the SOLs and SOCs share their own personal story about what it’s like to be a student at UC, as well as the challenges and successes they personally have encountered in college.

Early spring figures indicate that UC’s anticipating a freshman class for the main campus that’s 10 percent larger than last year, but is in line with the strong GPA, ACT and SAT goals that UC has established to build retention and graduation rates.

Early confirmations also indicate the freshman class is growing in diversity. UC Admissions expects 4,300 freshmen on the Uptown Campus this fall.

Bearcats Bound Orientation will also be an opportunity for incoming students to contribute to the community, with the UC Bearcats School Supplies Drive. New students are invited to bring new school supplies to check-in. The drive will benefit local elementary and middle school children. The benefit drew an overwhelming response from new students last summer.

UC begins fall classes on Sept. 21. UC’s formal freshman Convocation welcoming ceremony will take place at 2 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 18, in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.

Bearcats Bound Orientation Information