Program Overview

The Offices of the Dean of the College, Undergraduate Students, and  Campus Life jointly announced that beginning in the Fall of 2016, all incoming Princeton students will participate in a single, unified orientation program.  In Fall 2025, all incoming students will arrive to campus on Friday, August 22nd. Following move-in, parent and family programming will be held in various residential college spaces until 5pm on August 22nd. After 5pm, all subsequent programming will be for incoming students only.

After their arrival, all students will participate in academic programming and small-group, experiential learning experiences. Most of these experiences are held off-campus. These small-group experiences allow students to form strong bonds with other incoming students across residential colleges and with their student leaders across class years. Experiential learning encourages all students to engage in Princeton’s values—especially service to others and intellectual reflection—outside the classroom. Students are placed into their small-group experience based on their responses from their Orientation Registration.

During Orientation, students will participate in a rich array of programs that further explain and explore our community’s values and begin their academic path during their first year. This academic journey includes meeting with their academic advisors, Peer Academic Advisors (PAAs), and other Residential college staff. Students will then be able to discuss their academic goals with students and faculty from all departments during the Academic Expo and conclude with Course Registration.

Students then take part in Opening Exercises, followed by the traditional Pre-Read assembly.  Classes begin on Tuesday, September 2nd for all students. 

For specific Fall 2025 Orientation event details, please click here to view the Orientation calendar. 

Traditions

A walk across campus illuminates to even the casual observer that Princeton reverberates with history and tradition. The true beauty of Princeton’s traditions is that many of them were started by students. Whether the tradition is 250 years or 250 hours old, these rituals strive to create expressions of affiliation and belonging. It’s important to note that while we appreciate our past, as a learning community, we are called to think critically about where we have been and where our aspirations will take us.

Traditions can be as expansive as an entire class or as intimate as a residential college ‘Zee Group'. There is something quite unifying about engaging in activities that students were similarly participating in over two centuries ago. To learn more about some of our most long-standing traditions, visit the Princetoniana website; some of the traditions found there are just minutes old yet will be as indelible as those carved into the stones of our campus walls.

Seem unlikely? We’re fairly certain that the first group of Tigers who gathered on Nassau Hall steps on the eve before their graduation didn’t expect students to be following suit more than 265 years later. This place is yours—we can’t wait to see how you make it your own!

Unity

The incoming class and new transfer students encompass an impressive range of backgrounds and experiences— it’s the true benefit of attending a university with a global reach. During Orientation, there are numerous ways, both formal and informal, to get to know the fellow Princetonians with whom you will travel through this experience for years and the decades beyond.

The Orientation Welcome Committee hosts many social events during Orientation and the first few months of the semester. Please take advantage of these opportunities to connect with classmates. Incoming Class of 2029 officers are elected in mid-October, and until then, the Orientation Welcome Committee will plan events to foster class unity and inclusion. Upcoming social events will be posted on the Orientation calendar. Stay tuned and follow @OfficialPrinceton29 on Instagram to get a glimpse of the fun we have in store for you!