Spring 2025 Orientation FAQs

NSO Experience FAQs

Who is the New Student Orientation experience for? 

Our New Student Orientation (NSO) experience is designed to welcome all new students, families, and supporters who are entering in the January semester of 2025. First-Year, Transfer, and International students all come together to participate in this orientation experience with the opportunity to engage with information and resources geared toward their individual needs.

Do I need to register for a Spring (January) 2025 New Student Orientation (NSO) experience?

Submit your Advanced Enrollment Deposit (AED) to Michigan State will automatically get you connected with the Office of New Student Orientation. Students will complete a series of five checkpoints as they prepare for the upcoming semester. An optional in-person Orientation program will be made available to students. Once you have paid your deposit, you will receive a confirmation message to your email account. Please review this email as it contains information about next steps.

What should I do if I have a general question about orientation?

If you have questions about orientation registration, check out our General NSO FAQ page for more information. If you did not find the answer you were looking for or if you have further questions, please contact us.

NSO Experience Specific FAQs

Where can I find information about the New Student Orientation experience?

Programming and planning is still underway for the Spring (January) 2025 NSO experience. Students, families, and supporters will hear from the NSO office throughout the Fall 2024 semester.

What will my New Student Orientation experience be like?

Your New Student Orientation experience will consist of completing five checkpoints. Checkpoints 1-4 will be completed virtually with an optional in-person experience being provided to students the week before classes begin. Your first part of the NSO experience will be available in October in Desire2Learn, or D2L. This asynchronous content will help prepare you for the rest of your NSO experience and beginning your first semester.

In D2L, you will also review information about your College/major that will prepare you for your academic advising appointment. Once you complete your D2L content, you will be able to get more information about your virtual academic advising appointment. Your College will send you more information about your academic advising appointment via your MSU email once you have completed your D2L content.

General New Student Orientation Experience FAQs

How can I best prepare for my New Student Orientation experience?  

Students can begin preparing for their NSO experience now by completing their checklist items. Check out our First-Year, Transfer, and International student checklists. There are a handful of items we recommend students complete prior to their New Student Orientation D2L experience and during their first semester as a Spartan! Make sure you are completing the required items on the checklist and reviewing the suggested items for additional opportunities.

How can my family and supporter get more information?

NSO will communicate with them via a series of bi-weekly e-newsletters leading up to the semester.

Families and supporters can review the Family and Supporter Orientation FAQ page for information about our upcoming experience. We also have a Family and Supporter Resource page that includes helpful information from various campus partners we know you want to hear from.