FirstYears, It's Important to Get Off to a Good Start

Have an all-round campus experience. Because, after all, you learn best by being around people, and it's about more than just attending classes. This, in a nutshell, is the message that Annalisa Prencipe, Dean of the Bocconi Undergraduate School, aims to convey during the Welcome Days orientation event. She is talking to Italian and international first-year students who are preparing to start their college experience, often away from home, leaving their family, their city, and, increasingly often, their country, to come to Bocconi. The year that is about to start at Bocconi is a record season, especially if you look at the numbers of undergraduate applications, which have grown by a hearty 27%. The most represented countries? France, Turkey, Germany, China and the United States. This year they will be able to live campus life to the fullest, unlike their classmates last year due to the Covid-19 emergency. This year, thanks to the vaccination campaign and the introduction of the Green Pass, this is something we should hopefully be able to leave behind.

"Welcome Days are important moments to start orienting oneself in the Bocconi world, especially for students graduating high school who have never directly experienced university life," says Annalisa Prencipe. "For us Deans and Program Directors, it's an opportunity to share valuable information and advice for making the most of their university experience. One of the messages that I try to emphasize during Welcome Days is that, to benefit from the Bocconi experience to the fullest, it is essential to participate in campus life. It is important to actively and assiduously attend lectures, interact with faculty members and fellow students, become part of the large international community of students and researchers who work on campus every day, and take advantage of the numerous networking opportunities and direct contact with the world of professional work that Bocconi offers. The university experience," continues the Dean of the Undergraduate School, "is an opportunity for personal growth as individuals, not just a way to acquire valuable skills.
"At the beginning of the academic path it is also important to acquire a study method. To this end, I tell new students to start studying regularly right away, follow the instructions of the faculty and do not hesitate to ask Bocconi for advice and support to experience university life with peace of mind as successfully as possible."