Wilderness based outdoor orientation programs have been offered atcolleges and universities to incoming freshmen since the 1930s. Althoughthese programs appear to impact students in a positive way(e.g. self-efficacy), little research has documented whether these programsfacilitate change on college student perceptions of life effectiveness.This exploratory study examined a 4-day wilderness basedprogram at a university in the southeastern United States. Threegroups of students were studied over the course of a semester usingthe Life Effectiveness Questionnaire (LEQ) (Neill, Marsh & Richards,2003). When compared to a control group, the two groups of studentswho participated in the wilderness oriented program had higher scoreson six of the eight LEQ dimensions (e.g. time management, emotionalcontrol) and overall total than students who did not participate at boththe beginning and end of their first semester of college. Conclusionsand implications for practice are made to promote proactive planningmeasures for improving outdoor orientation programs.