Mentorship Program for Freshmen Starting College Life

"Online Forum with Seniors on Academic Guidance"

Due to the entire aspect of running "non-face-to-face" classes throughout the Spring 2020 semester, freshmen students have still not been able to truly experience campus culture. For them, the Sogang Institute for Whole Person Education and Character Development Center are implementing "Online Forums with Seniors on Academic Guidance" from April 22 to June 1. Two sessions will be held for seven different colleges, making a total of 14 sessions, aimed at providing opportunities for freshmen students to learn and experience campus culture through exchanges with seniors and classmates.

During the sessions, freshmen watch videos created by seniors to introduce major disciplines and offer advice on ensuring a successful college experience, allowing them to learn about how they can effectively study their respective disciplines and prepare for exams, choose a student club, participate in extra-curricular programs and activities outside the university, and find out about multiple majors. In addition, an aptitude test is conducted online for students to gain individual feedback to help them choose a major and establish a career path.

As an example, Sogang Business School students produced a video on "Life Hacks for Sogang Business School Freshmen," introducing tips on how to prepare for a future career through participation in contests, academic clubs, and Seohyeonjeon (a CPA prep class). They also shared advice on how to gain important information on their own via social media and official websites.

In addition, students shared practical information needed for daily life once the school opens up again, creating videos that showcase decent nearby restaurants, the locations of gates and photocopiers in each building, and how to use Sogang's mobile applications, such as Sogang Talk Talk and Sogang University Mobile ID Card.

A freshman in the School of Natural Sciences who participated in the forum said, "Thanks to the videos and advice from seniors, I was able to address many of my own worries and concerns. Having a time to talk with seniors was also an opportunity to confirm my identity as a member of Sogang.“

Professor Kim Ji Young of the Sogang Institute for Whole Person Education, the supervisor of the online forums, said, "Through these forums, I hope freshmen will be able to prepare for their offline classes in the Autumn Semester and, in the longer term, plan for their next four years at university."

The forums are operated through real-time two-way communication using Zoom. In order to protect personal information, users can only participate in the meetings through invitations to join a closed meeting room. Information on specific colleges for each session and the forum schedule are as below:

▶ Application for "Online Forums with Seniors on Academic Guidance" for 2020 Spring Semester (Click)