20 Hacks To Make Your Life Easier At The University Of Kansas
Are you ready to begin your career as a Jayhawk? The University of Kansas is a great school with great traditions. There are also challenges that you are facing that are unique to KU life. The following are 20 hacks to make your life easier at The University of Kansas!
1. Skip Trendy College Pubs And Hit The Eldridge Hotel For Cheap Deals on Beer
Hotel bars and college students may not seem like a winning combo, but it works at the Eldridge. They always have great domestic beer specials. Besides, they were serving up PBR drafts before they were trendy.
2. Make Campus Housing Affordable by Applying For a Room at a Scholarship Hall
In addition to regular housing, KU also offers up campus housing. There, in exchange for a few hours a week of chores, students get a significant housing discount.
3. Speaking of Dorm Life Connect With Your Future Roomies
Don’t wait for move in day! Find your roomies on social media and get to know them. You’ll be surprised how many details you can get hammered out by communicating early and often.
4. Signing up For a Free Trial? Use a Gift Card!
Have you decided to test drive one of those monthly loot crate deals, or the premium version of your favorite streaming service? Free trials are great, but they usually want a debit card number. The problem is that if you let them have the one attached to your checking account, you are stuck paying the bill until the cancellation goes through. Use a gift card, and then forget all about it.
5. Indulge Now Pay Later And Get an Amazing Massage at Watkins Health Service
KU has a great massage therapy school and all those students need lots of practice. Even better, students pay discounted rates.
6. Don’t Try to Conquer Mount Oread Without a Decent Pair of Shoes
Kansas is full of flat land, but for some reason, KU is built on a giant hill. That’s a lot of strain on your feet. Invest in good shoes to help manage your daily treks up and down.
7. Save Data And Learn Where The Free WiFi Is
Nothing is worse that slow data and maxed out phone bills because you ran over your limit. Change the settings on your phone to find free WiFi wherever you go.
8. Get The Official And Unofficial Skinny on What You Can Bring to The Dorms
All dorms have rules about what you are allowed to bring. Then, there are the unofficial rules, AKA what the RAs really care about. That coffee maker you think isn’t allowed might be something virtually every student has in their room.
9. Subscribe to The Eat Cheap And Healthy Subreddit
This subreddit is full of great information on feeding yourself relatively healthy food on a budget. Even better, most of the information is geared for college students.
10. Ph.D. Candidates; Start Planning Your Dissertation on Day One
Don’t wait for your last year to start planning for your dissertation. The time to begin this process is right now. Start by making a list of topics and reading up on some dissertation writing tricks.
11. Throw Your Phone in Your Backpack And Take a Tablet to Class
Your tablet’s larger screen makes it more appropriate for taking notes. It can also hold all of the apps your phone can and then some. Consider using it in class instead of your phone, and you won’t be tempted to continually SnapChat your friends.
12. Don’t Assume That Living in a College Town Means Anything Goes
Yes, KU has a bit of a reputation as a party school. That doesn’t mean that the police on and off campus aren’t going to do their jobs. Minor in possession tickets are expensive. If you aren’t 21, think twice about drinking.
13. Obey The Rules And Get That Parking Pass… KU Enforcement is Ruthless
If you are going to park on campus, pay the few extra bucks and get the parking pass. You might get away with parking on campus without one a few times, but you’ll eventually start getting tickets. If you do, don’t try to ditch on paying them. Getting the boot is a real drag.
14. Don’t Pay Expensive Gym Fees When The Ambler Rec Center is Free
Your tuition pays for a very good education at KU. It also pays for free admission to the Ambler rec center. This includes all of the standard amenities you’d get in a gym. It also means you can spend your free time playing squash, taking fencing and judo lessons, challenging your friends to table tennis tournaments, and otherwise indulging in free and fun activities.
15. Don’t Drive Into Kansas City When Almost Everything You Need is in Lawrence
While it’s true that Kansas City is only a short trip from campus, don’t assume you need to head to the big city any time you want to have fun. Lawrence is a small town with a big city feel, and its nightlife is very student friendly.
16. Use Your KU Card For Free Transportation
In fact, Lawrence is so student friendly that anybody with a KU I.D. card can ride city buses for free. So, leave your car on campus, do your part to save the environment, and get your party on (or just run some errands) without spending your dough on gas money.
17. Bump up Your Credit Rating With a Secure Credit Card
You’ve heard the horror stories about college students running up thousands of dollars in credit card debt. On the other hand, how do you can’t build up your credit rating without actually using credit? One solution is to get a secured credit card. This way, your credit rating goes up, and you don’t have to worry about overspending.
18. Be a Good Dorm Mate And Get a Bathroom Organizer
Don’t be the roommate whose stuff is spread all over the bathroom. Buy a bathroom organizer for your stuff, and use it.
19. Swap Your Black And Red Pen Cartridges
Pen thieves are all around you, but they never make off with red pens. Swap your cartridges around so that your black and blue ink pens look like red pens. Nobody will swipe your writing utensils again.
20. Over The Door Shoe Organizers Are Lifesavers
Shoe organizers are actually pretty useless when it comes to holding your shoes. Fortunately, they are pretty amazing for everything else. They are great carriers for makeup supplies, art stuff, household items, even kitchen utensils.
These tips are guaranteed to make life better for any Jayhawk. Try them out, then pass them on to your friends!
Have you ever tried these hacks to make your life easier at The University of Kansas? Share this article to spread the knowledge to your fellow Jayhawks!
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