Michael Cohen '07 said arriving at Brandeis as part of the University's first midyear class wasn't easy. He remembers his own bewilderment, and encountering others students' confusion at the concept of a midyear student."It was confusing," he recalled. "We didn't know what was going on or where we were."

The upcoming graduation of that first midyear class in May invites a fresh look at how midyear students find their way at Brandeis. And as younger midyear students express similar disorientation, they can take solace in the fact that those midyears seemed to adjust.

"Now, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," Cohen said.

"After junior year or so [midyears] became assimilated with the Class of 2007. There are little snags here or there, but for the most part the midyear program has been ironed out," said Vikram Sinja, a midyear from the Class of 2007. He said the difficulties he experienced at the beginning of his Brandeis career were "growing pains" of the midyear program.

Ever since the first midyear class arrived here in January 2004, questions began to swarm over the mysterious arrivals of additions to the first-year class, who are admitted each year alongside the regular class that starts each fall. "What's a midyear? Why weren't you accepted for the fall?" are two questions many midyears say they are asked throughout their time at Brandeis.

When the first class arrived, students were promptly scattered into housing across campus, living in rooms previously inhabited by those who had gone abroad. Now in its fourth year, the midyear program currently houses its 90 or so students together in a dorm that was renovated before their arrival. While many say this arrangement, which started for the second midyear class, has contributed to a heightened sense of community among midyears, others say it has made it difficult for them to blend in well with the larger community.

Scheffres Hall was renovated for the Class of 2008 midyears, Gordon was renovated for the Class of 2009 and Renfield was redone for this year's class. Midyears disagree over whether living with other midyears has helped them build a community around each class, or forced them to reach out to non-midyears.

Sinha remembered the utter confusion when he first arrived on campus. After introducing himself as a midyear, "people would ask, 'What is that? and 'What does that mean?' They didn't understand why I was admitted for the second semester."

Despite this lack of understanding, Sinha said that now, most of his friends are non-midyears. Unlike Cohen, Sinha said he had an easier time meeting people through classes, clubs and parties.

Cohen said when he arrived on campus, professors could not appreciate the midyears' difficulties in adjusting to college life. "The professors just expected me to know everything," he said, and added that the administration's attitude was, "Start classes, have fun.'"

Sinha explained that three years ago, "Professors were always expecting that [all students] had already taken a college class. If professors knew that we were new to college, that would [have been] a more positive experience for everybody."

Christina Tom '10 said she has found that non-midyears are very friendly and welcoming. "People are really nice," she said. "When I'm lost, I ask, 'Can you help me?' I'm a midyear.'"

"Most of my friends are midyears, Coretta Garlowe '10, another midyear, said. "For one thing, it's a lot less scary. You can say, 'Are you a midyear? Because I think I saw you,' and chances are, at least at this point, they're probably desperate for someone to talk to."

Vice President of Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy said the midyear program was created out of necessity: "Our applicant pool has become more and more competitive," she wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. "There are a number of worthy applicants who really want to attend Brandeis that are left behind. We designed the midyear program to address this."

Eddy said one of the reasons Brandeis admits around 100 midyears each year is because "the buildings in our first-year areas accommodate that number quite nicely."

"Groups do well and find a sense of community when they number about 100," she said.

Brandeis students have become much more informed about the midyear program since the first class, more recent midyears said.

Midyears said that, during the last couple of years, the campus has seemed more prepared for their arrival. Midyear Darren Gallant '08 said that because students in previous midyear classes have educated students and faculty about the program, much of the ignorance surrounding the program has dissipated. Also, because they share a dorm, Gallant said midyears' arrival on campus is more noticeable,

Still, many midyears say they found it more comforting to immerse themselves in activities as soon as they arrived on campus and make friends outside the midyear class. Yuval Barash '10 admits while at first, he only had midyear friends, he now has made friends through his classes and club involvements. "People here are really friendly, so it's not really a problem," Barash said.

"I signed up for too many clubs," said Tom, a member of the ballroom dance team, the belly dancing club, the girls' volleyball team, Waltham Group and the ice skating club.

And Josh Figueroa '10 has already joined the pre-health society and is training to become an emergency medical technician so he can work with BEMCo.

For Brandeis' first midyear class, which didn't have its own dorm, befriending their non-midyear neighbors would have seemed the most likely outcome. But some said it was actually difficult to make friends in their scattered living environment. "Everyone already had an established friend base. They weren't really open to meeting new people," Cohen recalled.

It was also difficult for his midyear class to form a community, he said. "No one really knew who the other midyears were," he said. "I was stuck in Pomerantz One. I didn't have a Community Advisor. For us, it was like, 'Who's going abroad?' and 'What rooms are going to be vacant?'"

Because "no one knew what a midyear was," Cohen said it was initially difficult to become involved in extracurricular activities. "No one tried to recruit you [to clubs] because they thought that they'd already tried to recruit you and you'd said 'no,'" he said.

For some, adjusting to college life was made easier through jobs and internships they held or classes they took during their semester off.

Gallant says his first semester was a "time to grow and evaluate what I wanted out of college."

Tom said she spent last semester lifeguarding and teaching swimming at the YMCA in her hometown of Newton, Mass.

For Garlowe, who left her home in West Virginia to intern at a theater company in Cambridge, her busy work schedule made the transition into Brandeis life difficult. Because she was used to working nights, Garlowe spent little time with her friends. "When I came here, she explains, "I was like, 'Homework? Talking to people my age? What?'"

While the rest of the first-year class has one orientation in August, the midyear class has two orientations: one over the summer and another just before classes start in January. Some say the summer is a good time to meet others and to start planning for the upcoming semester. "We met over the summer and requested to be roommates, says Barash of his current roommate Josh Figueroa.

Michelle O'Malley, the director of orientation and first-year programs, said starting next year, however, midyear orientation will be held only before second semester, and not over the summer. O'Malley is working to expand the January orientation program, which already encompasses programs such as Brandeis Beginnings, residence hall meetings, advising meetings, evening social events and resource information sessions.

In recent years midyear orientation has also included presentations from Roosevelt Fellows, a room selection session, a Martin Luther King celebration and the midyear class photograph.

But Sinha said it "might be a bad idea" to eliminate the summer orientation program. "For the most part, I met people at summer orientation. Then I came back and reconnected with them. We weren't just thrown into college."

Midyear orientation has undergone some changes since its beginnings in 2004, O'Malley- said. "The area that has improved most over the years is academic advising. People are more familiar with the problems midyears may encounter."

Members of this year's midyear class have few complaints about Brandeis, but they did offer a few suggestions for allowing future midyear classes an easier adjustment to Brandeis. Garlowe recommends that Brandeis offer "more midyear events to get to know the other midyears better," and possibly a longer midyear orientation before the start of second semester.

Tom also proposed a few methods of making the midyears adjustment less overwhelming. "A more in-depth tour of Brandeis would have been nice," she said.

Next year's midyear orientation will include a Midyear Peer Mentor program, said O'Malley, who is creating the program. The program's purpose is to "create a deeper connection with the midyear students to a current student upon acceptance in March." O'Malley will advertise the position of midyear mentor, and post an application for the position on the Hiatt Web site. She will choose 20 midyear mentors to become January orientation leaders.

Cohen claims that "pride" is what has changed most between his experience as a midyear and the experience of more recent midyear classes. Now, [midyears] are proud," Cohen said. He likened the midyear program to a club. "'You're a midyear? I was a midyear too!'" he said.

For Tom, being a midyear is something to be proud of. Although Tom said coming to Brandeis was a "big transition," she likes to remind herself of the reason why she was chosen as a midyear. Dean of Academic Services Kim Godsoe told the midyears of 2010 that "[Brandeis] thought we were the most qualified to make an easy transition and graduate in three-and-a-half years."

Cohen summarized the Class of 2010's attitude toward being a midyear: "It's like a badge of honor.