Your climb begins here.
Welcome first-year student to Western Carolina University and to Western Carolina PEAKS. This residential living first year experience is designed with you in mind to help you adjust to college life, get you connected within your building and your freshman class, as well as helping you succeed as a student at Western Carolina University. The primary goal of PEAKS is to make your transition from high school to university life as smooth as possible by helping you connect with other first-year students who share your interests, as well as sharing with you the essentials for being an academically and personally successful student here in the WHEE!
As a member of the Western Carolina PEAKS community, you will typically reside in Buchanan Hall, Scott Hall, Walker Hall, or Balsam Hall (Honors), along with other first-year students. In these halls there are residence life staff members who are excited to get to know you and provide guidance on how to make your first year at Western Carolina University the best it can be. Staff members who work with Western Carolina PEAKS care about your success.
As a first-year student, you will have plenty of opportunities to meet new people and get involved through programming on the floor, throughout the building and the entire Western Carolina PEAKS community. Western Carolina PEAKS has many traditions that we look forward to sharing with you; Great American T-shirt Exchange, Western Carolina PEAKS 5k Nigh Race, Human Development Leadership Retreat, C-Store Buyout to benefit the local community table and many more.
Need assistance with helping you adjust in the classroom? As a first-year student, you can expect help from the Academic Initiatives office to provide study-tips, resources, and overall guidance to how you can achieve success in the classroom. For more information on the Academic Initiatives Office, check out this page.
As an additional option within the Western Carolina PEAKS experience, residing in one of our themed living-learning communities (LLCs) provides residents with the opportunity to engage in academic content focused on an area of interest. While enrolled in the LEAD course associated with the community, LLC residents will engage in intentional programming designed to connect course content to principles of leadership. LLC residents benefit from intentional faculty involvement, challenging but supportive courses that will prepare you for college life, as well as activities designed to help you connect the ideas shared in your courses with the campus around you. It's also a great way to meet other first year students with similar interests! For LLCs offered this fall, check out this page.
We look forward to meeting you at orientation and in the fall!
