First-Year Seminar

You take the same classes, prerequisites for upper-level classes, pre-business classes (if you want to go into business), general education requirements, etc. However, you do not need to go through the hassle of registration. We will register for you and make sure you work with some of the best professors on campus.

Most Baruch students must share an advisor with thousands of other students. SEEK students have their own counselor who stays with you through graduation and often beyond. He or she provides personalized academic advisement, helps you choose your courses, your major and your minor, and helps you develop a plan for your life after you graduate. They will be there for you, to help and guide you, no matter what concerns you may have. The counselors at SEEK are very experienced in what they do and extremely devoted to their students. You will get the kind of attention that college students often desire but rarely receive.

Your Freshman Seminar is different than the Freshman Seminar that general students attend in that it is lead by your counselor, as well as one or more peer mentors. The peer mentors are generally successful sophomores or juniors in the SEEK Program. They will share their experiences and insights with you and be there to answer your questions. They will be especially helpful to you during your adjustment period, introducing you to their lives and helping you establish your own place in the program and at the college in general.

The Freshman Seminar class meets once a week throughout your freshman year. You will acquaint yourself with the College’s requirements, learn about Baruch majors, academic regulations,and college services; and will be given a blueprint for success as you learn the skills necessary to be an active learner and to excel academically. Through an examination of educational and personal issues, you will develop the skills necessary to make wise personal and academic choices. You will see that the challenges you face in college are the same challenges you will face throughout your lives. The coping skills you learn in Freshman Seminar will serve you throughout your life.

You will see that Baruch–and all colleges these days–emphasizes the importance of strong communication skills. Therefore, in your Freshman Seminar, you will have your first opportunity to make an oral presentation. SEEK even has its own communications specialist who will work with you as you develop your presentation.

Finally, in the spring semester, you will be asked to explore your interests and goals and focus on understanding your values, empowering you as you look toward making decisions about your major and career. You will explore career options and take a career test to reveal your personal strengths and the careers that are best suited to your personality. You will also receive training in Microsoft Excel, which will hopefully be helpful no matter which career you chose. We spend a good deal of time making sure you have a great chance of passing Baruch’s Excel test, the Simnet, early in your college career.

You will soon see that everything you do in college will influence your goals, hopes, and dreams. Freshman Seminar helps you prepare for college, and college helps you prepare for the rest of your life. The class and its instructors, as well as your classmates, are there to guide and support you.

During your freshman year, you will take most of your classes with the same people, those in your Freshman Seminar. Some courses will include only those in your Freshmen Seminar; others will have a larger student population including both SEEK and non-SEEK students in addition to your seminar group. This means that you will get to know a cohort of students to study with and rely on for support. Research has shown that having this support system in place is essential for success in higher education. Most students develop friendships that continue throughout their college careers and often after they graduate.

Your freshman year allows you to explore the options and opportunities you will delve into during your college years. You will have the chance to study a variety of general education courses that will help you build your foundation of knowledge and help you develop the thinking skills you will use throughout college and the rest of your life. You will meet and interact with a cross-section of the university in campus-wide social and cultural events. You will attend lectures and workshops concerning professional careers and interact with important leaders in business and politics, both on a national and international level.