Attending Preview Day? Don’t know what to do? Reading this post is a great place to start!

So, it’s that time of year again! Embry-Riddle is getting ready for its annual spring Preview Day, which takes place on Saturday, April 2. When I was a future student, Preview Day was scheduled for mid-March of 2020, which was unfortunately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, ERAU hosted a modified version of Preview Day. Instead of one day, students were encouraged to come on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday throughout the month of April. As a Women’s Ambassador, I ended up assisting with Preview Day as a first-year student, which was super fun. I even got to meet a few of you!

This year, Preview Day looks to be in full swing. We recently had Family Weekend at ERAU, where I met a few of my friends’ families. Preview Day is similar, but instead of parents having the weekend to explore ERAU, new students get one day to explore our campus. And as usual, campus tours are always running- you can schedule one here.

Why should you come to Preview Day?

Preview Day is a great time to tour the campus, see what ERAU has to offer, meet other students (both your classmates and current students- maybe you’ll even meet me!), and get some added bonuses like registering for classes early (if certain conditions are met- see the section below). Most of our facilities will be available for touring, so you’ll be able to see what the Embry-Riddle campus is like.

What happens at Preview Day?

To be honest, I never attended a preview day and last year’s modified preview day was a bit different. But as the name implies, it’s a day where you get a good preview of the classes. Usually, you’ll be able to tour the various colleges, see some of the clubs and organizations that our campus has to offer, and even get a look at some of our labs.

I know that some clubs and organizations are hoping to showcase their opportunities on Preview Day, so you might even find a student organization that you like. I ended up looking through various Instagram pages and wanted to join the ERAU section of the Society of Women Engineers, and I’ve been involved with them ever since freshman year. If you’re into it, definitely check out club social media pages!

How do I register for classes on Preview Day?

After paying your tuition deposit, make sure that you have all of your placement tests and transfer credit in! Without your tuition deposit, you cannot register for any classes, and without your placement tests/transfer credit, you can’t register for math (MA), communication (COM), or, if you’re an engineering major, your EGR class.

Everyone at ERAU takes general education courses in subjects from math to communication. The classes you take in your first year- and your entire time at ERAU- depend on how much credit you test out of or bring in. For example, one general education class that everyone takes is psychology, but I’d had a dual enrollment credit for it, so I never had to take it at ERAU. Sometimes you’ll have so much transfer credit that you can jump straight into a very high-level class- for example, I know a few engineering majors whose AP credit covered Calculus I and II and they were able to start Calculus III in the fall.

I’ll be honest- I only took the engineering placement tests since I was able to transfer credit in for the first class in the general education math and communication classes. If you’re an engineering major, like me, I highly recommend that you review all mathematics content up to trigonometry (basically anything before Calculus I). We use math a lot here.

If this all sounds a little scary, don’t worry! One thing that you’ll likely be able to see if you attend Preview Day is A Squared, or our tutoring center. Tutoring is provided to all students in general education courses for free, and it’s available for almost all general education courses (math, physics, and chemistry, for example).

What is the best dining location for Preview Day?

Starbucks hands-down for a quick pick-me-up during the day! Preview Day begins at 8 AM and continues through 3 PM, so you might want to grab a quick snack. And the Chick-fil-A here is pretty great if you’d like a meal, too.

What about the accepted student receptions? Are those the same?

Nope! While the accepted student receptions are a great place to also meet new students, they take place in cities around the country. I’ll be attending the ones in Edison, New Jersey (March 14), Long Island, NY (March 15), and Hartford, Connecticut (March 16).

If you can’t come to Preview Day- or even if you can- I highly suggest you come to an accepted student reception if there’s one in your area!

Is there anything else I should know?

Come to Preview Day if you can! If not, that’s okay too- check out the virtual campus tour if you’re unable to come during Preview Day. And if you are able to come to Preview Day, it’s great to have questions for current students- don’t be afraid to ask! Those of us who will be working on Preview Day do it because we want to help new students find their homes at Embry-Riddle.

I’ll see you in the next post… and hopefully at Riddle for Preview Day!