What to do if I'm going to miss orientation

[booknerd101]

I'm going to be missing O-Week for Melbourne Uni because I'm going to be overseas, and I'm feeling really nervous about not being able to attend because I felt like it was a good opportunity to get used to uni life. I was wondering if anyone had any tips/advice on how I can make sure to not fall behind/not miss out on activities such as signing up for clubs and events, getting my schedule etc?

Is missing orientation a really big deal and will it be really difficult for me to start university without having attended O-Week?

Thank you in advance!

[Aaron]

Is missing orientation a really big deal and will it be really difficult for me to start university without having attended O-Week?

Short answer: no.

I remember my orientation day and the only useful thing I personally found was the tour (but then again, with all the tech advancements all it really takes now is the download of an app and off you go). Orientation week/day usually is also a good opportunity to suss out clubs/societies etc. too but they don't just showcase during this time either. So while you might miss out on meeting some people on your first day etc, it's not the end of the world and you won't be disadvantaged academically.

You may also want to check whether you have additional attendance requirements for your course - e.g. physical attendance at an enrolment day etc... it's really important you check whether you need to do this (usually instructions are contained in your offer letter/email). If you're overseas in most cases you can nominate a proxy to attend on your behalf.. but it should all be detailed in the letter/email and you can go from there. Most just do it online now but there are still some who like to do it the old fashioned way