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First Year Students
Welcome to Linfield College! We know that starting college can be exhilarating and frightening. You don't know who you'll meet, what classes you may take and what experiences you'll have, or what challenges you'll face. At Linfield, we work hard to guide you every step of the way, from orientation to graduation. We know that there are many facets to being a college student, including academic and intellectual growth, social life on campus, co-curricular activities, and much more. The Office of Academic Advising can help you explore what it means to be a student at Linfield College and succeed academically.
Being a college student is very different from being a high school student. You will have more autonomy to make your own decisions both academically and personally. There are increased academic expectations and a much wider variety of academic, co-curricular and social opportunities at which you can direct your time and energy. These changes and this transition can be difficult. For that reason, all first-year students are required to take and complete Colloquium, a course designed to help you make the transition from high school to college.
Colloquium will introduce you to Linfield faculty and students (new and returning), and to the expectations that the college has of the students. As a platform for beginning thoughtful academic inquiry, and making connections between a text and your own life, your first Colloquium assignment is to read the summer common reading text In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan. The book will be mailed to you with other Orientation materials n the spring. Plan to arrive on campus for Orientation Weekend with the book completed and ready to discuss your ideas with your Colloquium classmates.
Through Colloquium you will also learn about how academic advising works at Linfield. All Linfield students have a faculty advisor. Your Colloquium faculty advisor will be your advisor until you declare a major and choose an advisor in your major department. You must meet with your faculty advisor at least once a semester prior to registration. Because the Colloquium course runs from Orientation weekend until mid-November, your advising meetings for both fall and spring registration will be part of the Colloquium course.
Help your Colloquium faculty and peer advisors get to know you better by completing the Advising Interest Survey