Find answers to commonly asked questions about First Year Inside (FYI) Puget Sound.
This program is by invitation only. The Office of Admission will directly invite a select group of students who their counselors see as a best fit for the program.
FYI does not cost anything for participants. Tuition, housing, and food during the ten-day program are all covered by FYI.
FYI is a ten-day for-credit program that occurs prior to Orientation for incoming first year students. In 2025, the program will run from Tuesday August 12 through Thursday August 21. Move-in day for FYI students is Monday August 11.
To receive academic credit, FYI students must participate fully for the entirety of the program.
Fifty first year students are invited to participate in FYI each year.
Yes, this is a residential program. All incoming first year students who are participating in FYI will move into their permanent residential hall when they begin the program. The program is set up for FYI participants to have their room ready for early move-in at no additional cost. This also means FYI participants will be settled in prior to Orientation week.
The FYI curriculum focuses on three aspects:
- Oral and written communication,
- Quantitative reasoning, and
- Student success.
Students attend several mini-courses and workshops during the day that explore these three aspects. In addition, students participate in afternoon, evening, and weekend activities aimed at cohort building and community exploration. Current Puget Sound faculty, staff, and student leaders support all components of the curriculum.
Yes. Participating incoming first year students will obtain 0.5 units of academic credit towards graduation by fulfilling the expectations of the program and meeting the academic requirements of the FYI curriculum. Tuition and any course materials for this course are fully covered.
This will depend on your sport and season. If you are interested in participating in FYI as a student athlete, contact us directly (fyi@pugetsound.edu), so we can discuss your specific athletic requirements and determine your ability to participate in FYI.
Students will have a few hours of personal time in the afternoons and evenings and during the weekend. Your ability to work while participating in FYI will depend on whether you can align your work schedule to the FYI schedule.
The Orientation program differs significantly from the FYI program. However, as part of the FYI onboarding, incoming first years and their families will experience some aspects of orientation. FYI students will join the rest of incoming first year students for a week of Orientation. Any Orientation program components covered during FYI will be waived and students will receive a formal notification of this waiver prior to the start of Orientation.
If you have more questions regarding the program, please send an email to fyi@pugetsound.edu and someone will respond to your inquiry.
Each year FYI will need current Puget Sound students to be student leaders for the ten day- program in August. Each spring the director of FYI will be looking for student leaders. Student leaders must be rising juniors or seniors, be in good academic standing, engage in leadership across campus, and someone who desires to be a mentor for incoming students. If you have interest you may reach out to the current director at fyi@pugetsound.edu to inquire about student leader opportunities for the coming summer.
Each year FYI will seek faculty to teach the Oral and Written Communication (OWC) class, and the Quantitative Reasoning (QR) class for the ten-day program prior to orientation week. OWC faculty will also advise their cohort of students from the FYI program, which will include a .25 GPS course in the fall. QR faculty will teach for the ten days in the summer only. If you are interested in supporting FYI please contact the current director at fyi@pugetsound.edu. Faculty will be selected in the spring semester prior to the FYI summer program.