Trials and Tribulations (Part 12)- College Summer Orientation Registration

After careful thought and deliberation, I thought others would find this interesting about our battle with Asperger Syndrome. If anyone would like to post about their trials and tribulations, please leave a link so we can read your story. :)

This is written in the third person.


All new students (including transfer students) to UMBC are required to attend Summer Orientation. During Summer Orientation students will be provided valuable information about UMBC which includes navigating academic life at UMBC. Orientation is mandatory for all new students. Orientation is also the student’s only opportunity to register for fall 2014 classes. It is a full-day of opportunities for students and their family to discover everything that UMBC has to offer and learn more about UMBC. Back when M’s parents went to college, Summer Orientation was not available or required. M’s parents were therefore apprehensive about this and thought paying $125 to attend was rather excessive and should be provided as a free service.

Transfer Course Selection Day- Transfer Sample Program

Family Orientation- Family Sample Program



Summer Orientation Registration was available on Monday, March 24, 2014. Registration is online and of course it was not working correctly. M had the same problem when signing up for Housing online. He had to call Housing and they had to fix the problem and post the Housing Application online so he could access it. M called UMBC Undergraduate Orientation and was told that online Summer Orientation Registration was not working and to check back the following day to sign-up. M checked back the following day and on the webpage it was posted: Registration for Orientation and Placement Testing for students enrolling in Fall 2014 will open on Wednesday, March 26 at noon. Please check back at that time. On Wednesday, March 26, M checked back at the designated time and it was still down. He then called UMBC Undergraduate Orientation and was told that it was still not working and to try back on Saturday to register. M’s mother was not amused and persevered. Lo and behold, the website was working at 2 PM on March 26.


There are many hoops to jump through to attend Summer Orientation at UMBC. To register you must do the following:

1. To reserve your space for Summer Orientation you must complete the online Registration Form. When you log into the registration form, you will be able to select which dates you prefer to attend Orientation Course Selection Day. Reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

2. You will receive an e-mail confirmation immediately after completing your online Summer Orientation Registration. The date you select should not be considered confirmed until you have printed your confirmation information online or received it via e-mail. Closer to your Orientation Course Selection Day, you will also receive a hardcopy confirmation with a parking pass and other important details in the mail.

3. There is an orientation fee of $125 that students will submit with their $100 enrollment deposit. This fee covers the cost of orientation materials, food, and staffing. If you have not already done so, log into myUMBC to accept your admission and pay your $225 enrollment deposit and orientation fee.


After completing the required registration and paying the fee to attend Summer Orientation at UMBC (M did that when he accepted their offer of admission online on March 14, 2014 and submitted his $100 enrollment deposit and paid his $125 fee for Summer Orientation through his myUMBC account) M’s confirmed date for Summer Orientation is June 11, 2014.

*TIP: The earlier you go to Summer Orientation the better your chances of getting the courses you want because you sign up for your classes during that time. M made sure he registered for the earliest session available.