2021 Next Stop GW #1 - Welcome new families!

Congratulations! It's official, you and your student have joined the GW community! We can't wait to get to know you this summer and beyond. As a native DMV'er (ie: what us locals call the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area), I am excited for your student to make D.C. their new home. 
I came "home" in 2015 when I accepted a role to work at GW. Prior to then, I had worked in Fraternity & Sorority Life and Residence Life, but still felt like I was looking for my niche in Student Affairs. Well, six years later and I think it's suffice to say I fell in love with Orientation and transition programs -- and found my niche! That is my hope for your student, to find their niche while a student at GW and I have a very good feeling they will.

I don’t know about you but this past year to me has felt like a roller coaster with all the loopty loops and twists. Through it all, my colleagues, the rest of the Orientation team, and I have been preparing for you and your student’s arrival to campus and while we have a lot to do this summer, the fall can’t come soon enough. Our roles are to help orient, connect, and support you and your student through their transition. This transition may look different for each student and that's okay. We will be here every step of the way - ready to guide your student through this exciting next step in life.

This email newsletter will be in your inbox at the beginning of each month through August. As your student transitions from high school into college, this newsletter is your primary resource for communication from GW about your incoming first-year student. The newsletters will provide you with information we sent to your student to complete, community updates, and links for you to join upcoming webinars. We know that some of you have already joined the university’s GW Families newsletter. That is also a great resource to help you get more general information about GW. Please keep in mind any deadlines you see in that newsletter is geared to our rising sophomores, juniors and seniors.

We hope this is one way you and your student stay on track this summer and remain connected to your new community! See you online this summer and in person the week of August 22.

Your student’s first-year summer checklist is in their admitted student portal.

PRO TIP: encourage your student to write down their login information to the portal and keep it
in a safe place - this is different from their netID (GW email). They will use both often.

Tasks Your Student Should Complete This Month:

• CLAIM their NetID and password. Your student needs this to create their GW email.
  • Note: Your student will need their GW email to search for a roommate, apply for housing, register for classes, and more. They should claim it by Thursday, May 6 to participate in the housing process.    
• REGISTER for First-Year Fall Orientation
• COMPLETE the GW First Year Academic Interest Survey
• SIGN-UP for a date/time to register for your fall courses.
  • Their session will be virtual.
  • Note: First-year students in the School of Engineering and Applied Science are pre-registered for fall courses. See the online orientation module for more details.
• APPLY to live on-campus in our Residence Halls.
  • Note: Applications will open May 17.
• REGISTER with Disability Support Services, if your student would like additional support to
  accomodate a disability for their classes or living on campus. 

Important Forms to Discuss with your Student:

Student Account eBill Authorization Form

• If someone other than the student will be making payments to the university, the student should add them as an authorized user on the account. The student is the only one with the ability to grant access to the eBill system.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

• Once enrolled at GW, students have the right to inspect and review their own education records, as well as designate who has access to their student records outside of GW. We encourage you to have a conversation with your student about FERPA prior to arriving in August. To complete the form visit go.gwu.edu/ferpa. 

Upcoming Important Dates:

We know that some of you are eager to plan ahead. Here are important dates in addition to the academic calendar (i.e. Thanksgiving, finals, and winter break dates) to add to your calendars.

• Aug. 1: Submit mandatory health immunization form to the Health Center's medical portal. 
  Note: The COVID-19 vaccine is mandatory for those who plan to be on campus in-person this fall

• Aug. 1: Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) waiver period begins and closes on September 12. Review insurance options.

• Aug. 5-7, 9-11 (time blocks vary): Class registration for first-time, first-year students.
  Note: there is an equal distribution of courses and class seating availability among all registration times. Your student should select a date and time that works best for their schedule - there is no advantage for signing up for an earlier date and time.

• Aug. 20-22: First-Year Move-In Weekend
  **Your student will select a move-in date and 3-hour timeslot later this summer. We encourage you to wait to book your flight/train until after you student has a confirmed date & time.

• Aug. 22-29: First-Year Student Orientation Week
  Orientation activities will be in-person with some online components. To help keep the number of guests on campus at a minimum as we return to more in-person campus activities, we will not be offering in-person family & guest orientation activities during this week.

• Oct. 1-3: Family and Alumni Weekend
  We'll be celebrating our bicentennial year!

Helping you stay up-to-date with campus and community happenings.

Health Update: Students who are in person this fall must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19

We are thrilled about the comprehensive on-campus experience we will offer our students, including in our classrooms, residence halls, laboratories, libraries and studios. We also know students will need options, and we will incorporate flexibility into our fall plans wherever possible to meet the varying in-person and remote needs of our community. As we continue to make progress this summer with our reopening plans, updates and information will be communicated and available at this website.

READ the university's vaccine requirement announcement and the FAQs, including a section for international students.

Celebrating 200 Years of History!

Congress established our university's charter on Feb. 9, 1821. In February, we began our eight-month celebration that will culminate during Alumni & Family weekend the first weekend in October.

WATCH our bicentennial kick-off event to catch up on GW's history and watch a short film narrated by GW alumna and actress Kerry Washington. Yes, that Kerry from the TV show Scandal.