[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Welcome_Day08.jpg” caption=”Welcome Day will feature tours of the libraries, residences and David Braley Athletic Centre. Photo by Susan Bubak.”]Incoming first-year students don't need to wait until September to experience life at McMaster. Welcome Day on Friday, Aug. 8 will give them a head start on finding their way around campus and learning about the facilities and services available to them.

Tours will be offered at the libraries, residences and David Braley Athletic Centre. A panel of upper-year students will be on hand to debunk myths about university life, such as the dreaded “freshman 15.”

“We are also offering a session on how to take effective study notes by Dr. Richard Day, who is a renowned, tenured professor who won best professor of the year in 2007. This session will be very popular and very important to students' success in first year,” said Alison Pereira, coordinator, Summer Orientation/First Generation Programs.

She added that students who are the first in their family to attend university, known as “first generation students,” are eligible for peer mentoring and may qualify for a $1,000 bursary.

Learn about student services, clubs and off-campus resources at the Information Fair in the McMaster University Student Centre from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dollars and cents will be the subject of the Finances Matter session in Chester New Hall, B107 from 1 to 2 p.m. University administrators will also be available to ease the transition for parents as their children start the next phase of their lives.

Welcome Day runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at various locations on campus. For a schedule of events, please click here