First Year Toolkit

How to accept your offer

So, you’re ready to accept your offer? Future You will thank you for choosing Lang. You can accept your offer on the U of G’s Admissions website. Once you’ve accepted your offer, check out the Registration Guide for New Students. and Information for First-Year B.Comm Students. Throughout July and August, we will guide you on all the next steps and ensure that you’re prepared for your journey at Lang. Follow us on social media (@langbusiness) so you don’t miss out on any information.

Picking your courses and how to use WebAdvisor

 Course Selection begins June 28. We strongly recommend that you select your courses as soon as the enrollment window opens as popular courses fill up quickly! Check out the Registration Guide for New Students and the Information for First-Year B.Comm Students page for your required courses and course sequence.

Creating the Future You starts in your first year. We want you to explore different courses, pursue your passions and maximize your potential. In your first year, you will take a series of introductory business courses. The variety of courses that we introduce to you allows you to gain knowledge in many different aspects of business. Many of the people you meet within the classroom will become your friends outside the classroom. Beyond the classroom, we encourage you to get involved with organizations and clubs that are of interest to you and explore our beautiful campus.

Academics

Course load

A full-time course load is 5 courses or 2.5 credits per semester. Note: for your first year you will be taking 4 courses as your Intro to Business (MGMT*1000) is double weighted (1.0 credit course).  A part-time course load is possible, however, we encourage you to speak with a Program Counsellor first. As a full-time student, you can expect approximately 15-20 hours of class time per week, including lectures and seminars. Remember though, that for every hour of class time, you will be spending an additional 2-3 hours doing readings and completing assignments.

Introduction to Business

During your first semester, you take a course called Intro to Business (MGMT*1000). This double-weight course explores broad topics in a hyper-collaborative and team-based approach. In your lectures, you’ll study theory and topics in management, specifically around sustainability and responsible business. You then take these topics and apply them during a hands-on, collaborative seminar to examine them further.

Throughout your semester you will do a deep dive into an industry or sector, which culminates in a capstone competition called the Great Ethical Dilemma, where you and your teammates will pitch viable solutions to an ethical challenge facing a real business in front of real executives. In past years, executives from Nike, Air Canada, West Jet, Hudson Bay Company and more have come to Lang to hear student pitches. While it is a pressure-filled competition, our faculty and student teaching assistants are incredible resources to help guide you along.

STARTonline.ca is a great place to learn about all our programs and services and connect with people in the BComm program before September.

Financial Services

For questions related to tuition, scholarships, bursaries or OSAP, check out Financial Services.

Lang offers plenty of entrance scholarships based on your average, financial need, and more. The Lang Undergraduate Entrance Scholarships (9 scholarships at $5,000 each) are awarded to students who have made a significant contribution to their community and embody the values of the Lang School and UofG’s mission to Improve Life.

Orientation Week

Orientation Week will take place from September 3rd to September 10th, 2022. It will include various activities within your program and residence. It is an opportunity for you to learn more about campus, meet your lifelong friends, find the buildings you’ll be going to class in and so much more. More details and the full schedule will be released in mid-August on GryphLife.ca.

Events and student clubs

GryphLife.ca is where you can find all the campus events throughout the year. It includes over 300 clubs and organizations for you to connect with or get involved with, including Lang organizations. Did you know there is a student club for every Lang major, hobby or special interest?

Food

According to Maclean’s annual student satisfaction survey we have the #1 rated food on campus! We have a variety of options such as Creelman Hall, Bob’s Dogs, Booster Juice, The Bullring and so much more. Students can also purchase a meal plan for on campus dining.

Residence

You can take a virtual tour of our 9 different residence buildings and find more information on the Student Housing Services website.

Campus Lingo

You’ve probably heard some words while touring campus or at one of our info sessions and wondered, what is that? Well, we’ve got a campus lingo guide just for you! Check it out here.

Mac Buildings

If you’ve been to campus, you know that the U of G campus is stunning. However, there are lots of building names that sound similar - MAC, MACS, MACK, MACK’s, MACN. You’re probably wondering, how am I supposed to figure out the difference? Not to worry, you’ll get the hang of it all after a few months. You can find all the different campus acronyms here.

"Guelph-y"

There are lots of things that make U of G unique like we thank the bus drivers when getting off the city bus, we hold doors open for people even if they’re just a bit too far away - we call these things as "Guelph-y." Many of our students describe our community as warm and welcoming – “it feels like home.” We pride ourselves on community and collaboration. We also have The Cannon, otherwise known as Old Jeremiah. The Cannon gets painted almost every night and we encourage you to add this to your U of G bucket list. The rules are simple, you can only paint it between dusk and dawn and you must guard it for the night otherwise someone can paint over it. 

There are so many ways for you to get involved, create connections, and make the most of your experience outside of the classroom here at Lang. The Lang Students’ Association (LSA) represents all Commerce students and is our primary student organization. In addition to the LSA, we have 12 other organizations you can get involved with. Whether you want to join the club associated with your major, refine your case competition skills, or develop your skills as a young professional, we’ve got something for you. We encourage all incoming students to get involved in at least one thing outside of the classroom in their first year.   

• Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics Students' Association (LSA)
• Accounting Students' Association (ASA)
• ACE Guelph
• Guelph Entrepreneurship Society (GES)
• Guelph Sports Management Association (GSMA)
• Guelph Women in Leadership (GWIL)
• Government, Economics and Management Association
• Hospitality and Tourism Management Student Association (HTMSA)
• Jeux du Commerce Guelph (JDCC Guelph)
• Management Economics and Finance Students' Association (MEFSA)
• Management Student Association (MSA)
• Marketing Management Students' Association (MMSA)
• Real Estate Students' Association (RESA)
• Guelph Student Investment Club (GSIC)
• Government Economics & Management Association (GEMA)
• Guelph Sales Students' Association (GSSA)
• Enactus
• My World, My Choice (MWMC)

Here at Lang, we’re all about teamwork. We’re here to support you both inside and outside of the classroom. Whether you want to get a jump start on your job search or explore a different major, we’ve got resources to support you.

Academic

As you’re building the Future You, the BComm Program Counselling Office is here to support you in selecting appropriate courses to take, changing majors, adding minors or certificates. Adding a minor or certificate to your major will provide you with a unique combination of complementary skills for your career.

You can find the 2022-2023 Academic Calendar here.

When applying to Lang, you can either apply directly into one of our specialized majors or as “undeclared”. Students in the undeclared option must declare a specialized major by the end of semester two to gain access to required courses in semester three.

If you know you want to add co-op to your Commerce degree, we recommend applying directly to the major (and its co-op option) that suit you best - instead of choosing undeclared. You'll be able to switch majors during your first year.

Career

The Business Career Development Centre (BCDC) is an exclusive service offered to BComm students. They provide one-on-one career coaching, assist with resume writing and interview prep, building a professional online presence, and provide access to various workshops and networking opportunities. Visit their office to pick up a Lang branded digital business card!

Wellness

The Student Wellness Department is here to support you if you’re not feeling like yourself. They offer resources for students with accessibility needs, counselling services, both individual and group, health services with on-site nurses and doctors, physiotherapy, chiropractic services, massage therapy, educational services and sexual violence support.

John F. Wood Centre

The John F. Wood Centre for Business and Student Enterprise is the place for you if you’re interested in being an entrepreneur. We support students in their start-up journey through funding and resources.

Student Experience

Student Experience has a number of Advisors that can guide and assist you in navigating the university system, explaining and clarifying institutional policies, describing the overarching expectations of students, and facilitating connections with other campus or community supports, resources or services. You can find their Cultural Diversity, Indigenous, International, Off-Campus Living and Sexual and Gender Diversity Advisors here.

We asked our Lang students what advice they would give to their first year self and here’s what they said.

• At the beginning of each week, schedule a few tasks to complete each day throughout the week to help you manage your time so you don’t feel overwhelmed.
• Get involved with the Lang clubs in your first year. It will help you to meet people and build effective time management skills from the get go!
• Don’t be afraid to take on one thing outside of classes. Learning to be busy and manage your time is an awesome skill to have, and joining a club or team is the perfect way to meet people and learn practical skills.
• At the beginning of the semester, put all your due dates in a calendar. This way you won’t miss a deadline.
• Add your classes and deadlines to your Outlook Calendar.
• Introduce yourself to your professors and learn how to succeed in their class. They are there to support you and challenge you to excel.

We know as parents/guardians you may also have some questions and we’re here for you too. The Student Experience Department has created a guide for parents/guardians and we encourage you to check it out to better understand your students journey and to answer any outstanding questions you may have. Read the guide here.