College of the Pacific

Your First Year

At many larger universities and colleges, students get “lost” during their first year.  We work hard to prevent that from happening in The College by providing one-on-one faculty advising, small class sizes where it's harder to "fall through the cracks", and accessible academic support services.

We also encourage our first-year students to explore a variety of subjects through our General Education Program.  Some students enter college knowing exactly what they want to do for their degree and for a career.  If that's you, terrific; we'll help you succeed in your chosen path.  Other students, however, are not quite sure where they want to end up when they begin their college journey.  If that describes you, don't worry; you've also come to the right place.  Our General Education Program provides all our students with a broad foundation in the Liberal Arts and Sciences.  You don't just take a narrow set of courses in your major.   You are also exposed to all the major areas of learning.

Why is this such a good idea for college students?  Your college years are a time of growth as well as learning.  It's not uncommon for you to discover your true passion or calling in the course of your college career.   The College understands this.  In fact, this is why we give you the option of enrolling as an "Exploratory" student without a specific major.  The General Education courses you take in your first year, as well as your first two Pacific Seminar classes, give you the background you need to make an informed choice about your future path.

Our General Education program is also a great idea for those first-year students that are certain about their major.  A broad exposure to Liberal Arts and Sciences learning will give you a solid foundation in rhetoric, analysis, and problem-solving from a variety of perspectives.  These are skills that enrich any career path, and give our alumni a real competitive edge over students trained in narrower programs.  Our General Education program gives our graduates the flexibility and confidence to innovate within their career paths, and to continue to succeed as their chosen field evolves and changes.

Click below to see a video about the Pacific Seminar program, which all our first-year students take part in.