Mustang News is Cal Poly’s award-winning, student-run media organization, which covers Cal Poly and the local San Luis Obispo community.
For future news and information, follow Mustang News on:
- X (formerly known as Twitter) and
- Bluesky
- Subscribe to The Roundup newsletter for a curated list of the most important news about Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo
This summer, all incoming first year students will attend Student Life Orientation (SLO) Days to learn more about academics, the different campus resources and what it means to be a Mustang.
Mustang News created a guide for all incoming students to help navigate SLO Days.
When and where are SLO Days
There are nine in-person sessions for first year students, with the first session from July 1–2 and the last session running August 8–9, according to the Cal Poly website. There is one virtual session on August 5, and this option is reserved for international and out-of-state students.
Cal Poly Scholars and students in the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) students will attend required special sessions. Students in the EOP will attend the August 8–9 session, according to the website.
For transfer students, there are two parts to SLO Days: The first part is designed to introduce students to campus resources and help with the transition to college life, the website says, and the second part is where transfer students meet with their college advisor.
The virtual transfer session will be held July 31, and the in-person transfer session will be held Aug. 1–2, according to the website. The college advising sessions will be held virtually on August 6–7.
What to expect at SLO days
For the in-person first-year sessions, and those who opt to stay overnight for the transfer session, students will be staying at the yakʔitʸutʸu residences. The triple rooms will be used, so students can expect two roommates.
Presentations will be held mainly in Chumash Auditorium, the Performing Arts Centers, and Spanos Theatre, while others will be held in various classrooms on campus and the recreation center.
Student attendees will be put in a group with a SLO Days leader who will bring their group to the different sessions and help guide students through the orientation process. Each group will have about 18 students, Director of New Student and Transition Programs Dale Stoker said, but this number may vary session to session.
During the day, there will be multiple presentations on various aspects of student life and academics. On the first night, there will be a movie night for students out at the yakʔitʸutʸu courtyard.
Students will eat at 1901 Marketplace, with options from barbeque to mediterranean. Lunch and dinner will be provided on the first day and a continental breakfast will be provided on the second.
Changes coming to SLO Days
This year, Cal Poly is offering an interpretative service for Spanish speakers, according to Stoker. There are a designated number of students set aside to provide translation services, when needed.
During the registration, students can indicate if they, or their supporters, have a need for these interpretive services, Stoker said. The interpreter will be with those who request it during the entire SLO Days experience. As of June 24, there are five requests for interpreters for the first SLO Days session.
“We’ve certainly seen an increase in this need over the past couple years,” Stoker said. “Especially as Cal Poly is moving to an HSI designation, we want to make sure that we are supporting our incoming students and their families.”
Additionally, there will be another joint supporter and student session, called “Reality Check: Navigating Alcohol and Other Drug Choices in College,” in place of the standalone supporter session.They made this change with help from Campus Health and WellBeing.
“Now we are really priming the students to have this conversation and be receptive to having this conversation with their family members so they can all be on the same page and just start to be prepared for really what the college setting may provide, or may have as opportunities for them and for them to make the best choices that they can make,” Stoker said.
Other joint sessions offered will be the opening session, “Student Life Essentials,” and the ending session “Now You’re a Mustang,” according to Stoker.
This year, transfer students will be able to bring supporters, and Cal Poly is offering an overnight option for transfer students to stay in the yakʔitʸutʸu residences, according to Dale Stoker, the Director of New Students & Transition Programs. There are 345 transfer students are currently signed up for the in-person session, and 159 students will be staying on campus overnight, as of June 24.
“We are going to hopefully continue to build upon that success this year and give those transfers that real residential experience that our first years get,” Stoker said.
How to sign up for SLO Days
To sign up for SLO Days, students must accept their offer of admission in the application status portal, according to the website. Afterwards, they will register on the application status portal.
The in-person overnight session for both the first year and transfer session is $190 and for the virtual session it is $100, according to Stoker. For supporters, the in-person session is $150 and the virtual session is $75.
Advice for incoming students
Stoker said that he hopes incoming students are excited when they come to campus. Cal Poly will have a hype team welcoming people on Grand Avenue.
“We are really intentional about how we even begin to engage students and supporters as soon as they step foot on campus, which is why we have this hype team that gets everyone excited at 7:30 in the morning just to even be on the Cal Poly campus,” Stoker said.
Stoker said people should bring a sleeping bag, pillow, bedding, toiletries, towels and a change of clothes. He reminded students that it gets cool at night in San Luis Obispo and to bring appropriate clothes for the weather.
Stoker’s advice for students is to come engaged and be open to meet new people and learn new things.
“If they do that, everything else will take care of itself and they are going to have an amazing experience,” Stoker said.
Advice from SLO Days Leaders
Civil engineering junior Aiden Varga is a SLO Days leader who wants to show new students what Cal Poly has to offer and what it means to be a college student.
“I really want to relate to them and be a kind of leader but also like a friend to a lot of them,” Varga said. “Just to show them that at college you have to self motivate and you have to stay on top of your classes because you don’t really have the safety nets you have in high school, so just kind of be like a friend, a more collaborative leader than authoritative.”
Varga’s advice to students attending SLO Days is to have fun and to put yourself out there.
Sydnie Sanchez, business administration sophomore and SLO Days leader, is excited to have the opportunity to welcome all the incoming students. Sanchez advised attendees not to be scared to be themselves, as it is a good opportunity to make friends.
“It’s a two day experience and so try everything,” Sanchez said.
