College is hard! There are so many things I wish I had known about my college before starting that could have made the transition from home life to college life so much easier. Keep reading to learn University of Louisville freshman tips that can help you adapt to your new life!
It can be tempting to bring your entire wardrobe with you to college. Here’s my first of what will be many University of Louisville freshman tips, leave the majority of your closet at home! Trust me when I say that you will not want to spend 20 minutes picking out the perfect outfit for the day at 6 a.m.. The dorms, especially the traditional dorms like Threlkeld Hall, Miller Hall, and Unites Tower, have very limited amounts of space so it is super important to only bring the necessities. If you forget something, it is not difficult to go to the store and get what you need. If you go home, switch out your clothes! Pack mostly summer and some fall clothes. Then, over Thanksgiving or Christmas break, switch them out for some warmer clothes.
I cannot stress this enough. The syllabus is your friend. The syllabus is the epitome of University of Louisville freshman tips. When in doubt, look at the syllabus. Most of the time, professors will upload the syllabus a few days prior to classes starting. The syllabus will tell you which books are required. It will tell you everything you need to know for that class. It will tell you due dates, policies and the professor’s contact information. Keep the syllabus on your phone, on your laptop, in your backpack, and on your desk. If your professor has not uploaded the syllabus to Blackboard by the day classes start, shoot them an email and ask when they will upload it. They may still be working on it, but they will likely admire your enthusiasm and responsibility.
You will not want to be waiting in line for half an hour to buy your Intro to Biology textbook 10 minutes before the class starts. Do it the day before because the bookstore gets crazy with everyone buying their books last minute. Avoid the University of Louisville Campus Bookstore as much as possible because it is much more expensive there than it is anywhere else. However, if you find your textbooks online at a cheaper price, they will price match. The best place to buy books on campus is at Gray’s Bookstore by the Ville Grill and Card Towne. If you sign up for their rewards program, they offer 10% cash back on every point ($1) earned. That’s $0.10 for every dollar you spend at their store and when you are spending $400 in textbooks, those points add up and you can use those points as a discount for later purchases. They also have a 10% military discount for anyone holding a military ID (active duty, retired, or dependents). Money saving at it’s finest in this list of University of Louisville freshman tips!
College is expensive and the University of Louisville does a great job at helping their students pay for college by setting up payment plans with the Bursar’s Office. When you get your bill, you will see it under “My Account” in ULink. If you are paying anything out of pocket, you can call or email the Office of the Bursar and they can help set up a payment plan for you to pay your bill. They want you to be successful and they will do everything they can to help you get to that point.
Any city can be scary and dangerous. Especially for females in this day and age. Louisville has a crime rate 6% safer than other US cities with 100% being the safest. Purchase mace at your local department store. It is not expensive and lasts awhile (get this one on Amazon). It is so important to have fun in college, but life is even more valuable than an education. When going to parties, make sure to have a sober friend, or take it on yourself to be that sober friend. That way, someone can monitor how much the group is drinking. This will ensure no one is at risk of alcohol poisoning and can know when it’s time to go home. Phi Tau and PIKE are two frats known for tainting the alcohol so, I recommend you go somewhere else if you’re party-hopping.
Just don’t do it. If you aren’t a morning person or if you have other options for class time, this is a major factor of the University of Louisville freshman tips. Avoid 8 a.m. classes. It has been scientifically proven that the average person’s brain is not fully functional until 10 a.m.. Do your grades a favor and avoid them. You will thank yourself in October when you don’t have to wake up while it’s still nighttime outside.
Having someone who is doing the exact same thing as you is so helpful. Pooling a group’s knowledge of material together is super effective in helping students to grow academically. College is hard enough as it is so it is important that students work together so they can succeed together.
Put that refund check in your college savings account and don’t touch it. It may be a lot of money, it may not be. It doesn’t matter. Save it and use it for next semester because you will not want to be collecting pennies in order to pay for textbooks when the time comes.
I will say it again: college is hard. It can be stressful especially when you begin to tally up homework, projects, studying, extracurriculars, having a job, paying bills, and maintaining a social life. Things add up fast and if you ever get overwhelmed, students and faculty at the University of Louisville have free access to the Campus Counseling Center by the baseball stadium. It is so close you can walk to it from campus. In addition, Health Promotion through the University also brings puppies for students to play with to unwind during finals week. Another important asset to the University of Louisville freshman tips list: play with puppies whenever you have the chance.
Please don’t skip class. It’s not worth it. For every class skipped, that is approximately $98 that you wasted. Not to mention there may be random quizzes, important information about a test or quiz, or even just an important lecture that may be vital to your success in that class. The risk is not worth it at all. If you consider missing a class, E-mail your professor ASAP. You should only miss a class if you are severely sick, if you have a sporting event through the University, or if someone died. Otherwise, it is not worth it to skip a class. Is a nap really worth $98?
Get involved! The University of Louisville boasts about how many diverse groups and clubs there are that are accessible through OrgSync! There are some great leadership opportunities for freshmen such as Freshmen Lead and Taskforce Freshmen. Freshmen often get the short end of the stick in clubs and organizations because they are the newbies and still have a lot of learning to do. Freshmen Lead and Taskforce Freshmen are great programs because they give freshmen the chance to organize and lead volunteer events. There is an LGBT support club that it is open to anyone as long as you support LGBT members! There are clubs for African Americans, Vietnam Asians, students studying abroad, feminists, and students in a specific major. If you can’t find a club that interests you, then start one! But just as it is important to get involved, you don’t want to get too involved. If you try to join every club there is, you can get so overwhelmed. Therefore, it is not the best idea to add “join every club there is” to your “University of Louisville freshman tips” list.
This is such a helpful resource and it would be a waste of an opportunity not to use it. The CDC helps you to find jobs, co-ops, and internships. You can go on their website to set up an appointment. They are very friendly and receptive to your questions and concerns. They are also willing to work with your schedule if something unexpected pops up.
These people are there to help you. They want you to succeed and all you have to do is reach out to them. Freshmen are required to meet with their adviser before registering for classes in the spring. It is such a great opportunity to meet your adviser face-to-face and connect with them. You will have them there to support you for the next several years so you should get comfortable with them! Talk to your professors! Talk to upperclassmen! I’m sure they would love to tell you about what they do and don’t like about the university, their major, their clubs, etc.
REACH tutoring is free. SI Sessions are free. The Math Resource Center is free. The Writing Center is free. The Speaking Center is free. These programs are meant to help you. REACH does tutoring for a vast variety of subjects. SI Sessions (Supplemental Instruction) are instructed by students who previously had the professor and the same course and passed it. They can provide insight into how the professor will set up exams. The SI Leader is there to answer questions. Ask! The MRC is open from 9 am to 7 pm and the tutors are often math professors or graduate students studying math. The Writing Center is in the library and you can schedule an appointment on their website. Then, the Speaking Center is in Strickler hall.
Louisville is an extremely diverse city! Go out and explore! But make sure you do not go out by yourself and always carry mace with you for your own safety. The best regions of Louisville are the Highlands, Germantown and St. Matthews. The worst areas are Downtown, Audubon Park, and Portland. Old Louisville has a massive art fair every year in October called the St. James Art Fair on 4th Street. It is amazing! Listen to number 15 of University of Louisville freshman tips to have yourself some fun once your studying is done.
The University of Louisville is a testing location for all of the standardized tests (i.e. ACT, SAT, MCAT, LSAT, etc). Sometimes, it can be hard to find time in those busy high school years to take a standardized exam and you may be dissatisfied with your current score. While the ACT and SAT really don’t matter too much after you have been admitted into college, that does not mean that employers, admissions officers, etc. don’t look at those scores. If you feel that you could do better, it may not be such a bad idea to retake them. Taking them again won’t hurt you academically. And if you can’t afford them, ask your adviser if they have a waiver code!
Do this and graduate sooner or take some extra electives and get a minor. Save money! Although the University of Louisville is great for summer courses, if you are on a budget, taking classes at a school like JCTC or Bellarmine would be just as useful as courses at the University (except cheaper). The University of Louisville is very flexible in this sense. If you are considering taking college courses to get the obnoxious General Education courses out of the way, shoot your adviser an email! They will be more than happy to help you do this. Advisers are there to help you succeed in college and if helping you get classes out of the way over the summer will help you do that, then they will gladly pave the way for you. Just make sure that any credits you take will transfer. This would only be a problem if you are taking classes out of state.
Attention: Important safety advice for the list of University of Louisville freshman tips. The Campus Escort Service has signs posted all over the University. They also have blue posts that have buttons on them. If you are ever in a bad situation or feel uneasy, hit that button and someone will come to your aid ASAP. UofL also has an app for any smartphone called ULMobile. This app has a button that says “Emergency” and this will also help get you in contact with someone who can help you. Another useful app is called CardSafety . There are tabs labelled “What To Do” which provides several different situations and what to do if they happen. “Crime” which has information on how to prevent becoming a victim of crime, what to do if a crime happens, and how to prevent thefts, tabs on links, maps, and a Dialer which has a really big button that calls 911. Lastly, it has two smaller, but still large buttons that call a safety escort or the university police. Please download these apps. It doesn’t matter if you are male, female, transgender, genderfluid, it doesn’t matter. Everyone can be at the risk of an attack or crime and it is better to be safe than to think it won’t happen to you. It can. Also, sign up for RaveAlerts . These will send you texts if there is a crime in the area, if classes are cancelled, etc.
The TARC is the bus system of Louisville and there are stops around campus! If you need a ride, just show the bus driver your student ID and you should be good to go! This is especially helpful if you are going to a basketball game. There is a bus that will pick you up right by Kurz Hall and drop you off in front of the KFC Yum! Center.
It rains in Kentucky a lot. You can usually pick out the freshmen by who is walking around dripping wet with soggy shoes. Get a decent umbrella, too. Not one from the dollar store because the cheaper umbrellas have a tendency to flip inside out. Then, you are stuck pushing your umbrella against the wind to make sure it doesn’t flip inside out. By that point, you are getting poured on because your umbrella is out in front of you. Then it all turns into a disaster. Trust me on this and get a good, sturdy umbrella. You will thank me and this list of University of Louisville freshman tips later.
Miller hall, I know for a fact, has super comfortable memory foam mattresses. If you are going to be living there, ignore this. However, the rest of us are not so lucky and are stuck in these awful springy mattresses that have almost no padding on them. Splurge on a comfortable mattress pad. You can get this one from Bed Bath and Beyond. It is expensive, but worth it. I promise. Then, if you know for sure you are not going to have a Twin XL bed next year, you can sell it to a freshman in need! If you are going to do this, make sure you get some bed sheet grippers so your fitted sheet doesn’t fall off.
The Student Recreation Center offers exercise classes at the gym. These are so nice because you can watch other people struggling to get through that biking course, too! The gym is free and is open until 11 p.m. so you have no excuse not to go. They have rooms for badminton, two basketball courts, and two floors with exercise equipment. They also have really big windows that look into the weight room. This way you can walk really slow and look at the hot guys with really big arms.
If you don’t know it, you don’t know it. Don’t sacrifice sleep for cramming if you have an exam the next day. It never works. You will do better if you get a full night of sleep before the exam than you will if you were cramming all night. This will only cause you to go cross-eyed during the exam from sleep deprivation.
Here’s s a good one for the list of University of Louisville freshman tips: Talk to people! Even if you aren’t an extrovert, try to meet people. College is meant to really pull you out of your comfort zone. Get your lab partner’s number so you can study and hang out together. Ask that cute boy if he wants to go to the SAC for food. Talk to that person sitting next to you in lecture. Ask your club members if you can carpool with them to the next event. College can be really miserable if you are sitting around in your dorm playing The Sims and eating Skittles all day. Make friends! It will be so worth it.
Your professors are there to help you! If you have a large lecture class, sometimes information is thrown at you 100 miles a minute. It’s hard enough to keep up as it is, let alone think of questions to ask. Go to your professor’s office hours! It is a great way to develop a relationship with them which is really helpful when you need references for a future job or position. Not to mention they can probably give you tips for exams or even put you in contact with their colleagues for opportunities for co-ops, internships, even careers.
This may sound like something a high school teacher said to you, but it is true. If your professor asks you not to use your phone during class, don’t do it. It’s rude. They are going out of their way to teach a class. If you’re that one person who does not care about what they have to say and you would rather be checking Twitter instead of earning a degree? That’s rude. Don’t do it. If you were standing up in front of 200 people giving a lecture on virology, how would you feel if half the class were sitting on their phones? It would make you feel pretty bad, wouldn’t it? If you wouldn’t like people doing it to you, don’t do it to them. Please turn your phone off or on silent when in class. It’s really distracting when someone is trying to FaceTime you while others are trying to learn about metabolism.
This is key. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? Most of the dining places on campus don’t open till around lunch time. If you have an 8 am class, it can be hard to get in a meal. Try to get some food in your dorm so you don’t starve. It doesn’t have to be “breakfast” food either. Remember that the calories are the important thing, so as long as you have something that can get you through until lunch, you should be good to go. Whether it is leftover pizza or a couple granola bars, it doesn’t matter. Also, it is really important to have a snack while studying. A lot of the dining locations on campus close between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. so when you are up late studying, you might get hungry. The POD at University Tower Apartments is usually open until 11 p.m. so grab some study snacks!
I do this on a regular basis. The Humane Society is about 20 minutes away from campus and they are always in need of people to come play with the animals. They get plenty of volunteers but not enough people spending time with the animals. When you go, there is a sign-in sheet on the desk. You sign your name, address, and the time you signed in. Then, you can hang out, feed and play with all the animals you want. They have 2 cat rooms, a cat condo, and several dog pens! It’s so fun and it’s free. As long as you don’t do anything you are not supposed to, the employees will enjoy having you around!
I know it can be tempting because the boy in room 205 is so hot. If you hook up with him now, it is going to be really awkward the rest of the year. You don’t want to be in a bathrobe with a towel turban walking to take out the trash only to walk into the guy you were sleeping with last week, then he ghosted you. It’s really awful, I promise.
Studies have shown that college students are just overall happier if they have a fish! PetSmart has Bettas for very cheap ($7-$20 depending on species). They also have tanks, rocks, and décor for a grand total of $25-$30. One jar of food should last awhile and they are very easy to upkeep. If you are going on vacation, Walmart has a set of 4 weekend feeders for $3 that last for 2 weeks with one fish. Although, Bettas can survive 3-4 weeks without food). Make sure you do your research before making this commitment though. If you don’t think a fish is what you need, get a plant! Plants are great for cleaning air which can boost your immune system and prevent disease. You can get an indoor plant at just about any department store. However, the University of Louisville does not allow tree plants of any sort. Grassy plants are the better plant in this case.
The fun doesn’t stop on this list of University Of Louisville freshman tips. Every year, Louisville has a World Cultures festival by the river. It is a coming together of cultures from around the world so they can share food, music, apparel, and traditions. There is an annual Art-Walk festival in Portland that has exhibitions of hundreds of different artists and craftsmen. The Kentucky Derby Fest-a-Ville is a 10-day festival all about bourbon, horses, and music! Cincinnati, although a bit of a drive, has tons of concerts and events all the time! As does Nashville and Knoxville!
Don’t let your stinky, dirty laundry pile up. It’s gross. Please just do your laundry. Friday or Saturday nights seem to be the best time because most of the in-state students have gone home for the weekend and no one is on campus. Avoid Mondays because this is when the in-state students are all coming back. You will also want to download the laundry app for smartphones. It’s free, easy to use, and gives you times and status of the washers and dryers on your floor.
Trust me when I say that it is not easy being healthy in college. It is expensive and the meal plan is not very helpful in making healthy choices. On the other hand, the Ville Grill has a salad bar that is pretty good. Olilo in the SAC has all organic, healthy food. Aqua at the SAC has sushi. The POD at UTA has deli sandwiches and fresh fruit available. However, you also have the pizza bar at the Ville Grill, Wendy’s, Panda Express, hamburgers at the SAC, Chick-fil-A, Papa Johns, and Twisted Taco. The unhealthy definitely outnumbers the healthy here. It’s not bad to eat unhealthy sometimes. It’s when you are eating Twisted Taco every other day that you begin to feel not so good. Eating healthy is so important to the University Of Louisville freshman tips. College does not enable healthy eating, but you are in college to become a smarter person. Use that newfound knowledge and find a way stay health!
Cars are expensive: insurance, gas, repairs, and whatever else may happen along the way. So remove the middleman and get a job on campus! Most jobs that support students like Student Success Ambassadors, SOSers, and Peer Advisors require a minimum GPA of 2.5, so you will have to work hard to be able to get a job on campus. It is so much easier to manage your time and they usually pay fairly well with a minimum wage of around $10 an hour. Even if you don’t meet the minimum requirements, apply anyways! It shows initiative and determination. You may be more apt to get the job the next time you apply!
College is a time of exploring new types of people. You could be missing out on so much if you are still with the “boy you are going to marry” that you met in the 4th grade and have been going to school together ever since. That’s great, but you may come to realize that there are better matches for you out in the untouched world of college. The University of Louisville has really great ways of meeting new people. Who knows, maybe that boy you met in your General Biology class could be the “boy you are going to marry.”
Again, this is a great way to network and meet people with a similar mindset. There are different events that can put you in touch with people in your major or who have the same interests as you. I really recommend you go to as many as you can. They are also super informative! Welcome Week frat parties usually start at 9 p.m. on Thursday of Welcome Week and they are some of the best parties of the year. My personal favorites include TKE, Lambda Chi, Sigma Chi, and Sigma Epsilon.
Your Student Success Ambassador will send you an E-mail sometime over the summer. They are there to help ease the transition into college. They will send you weekly E-mails with tips and tricks for succeeding at UofL. Sometimes, they will send you information about events on and off campus. Respond to them! They want to hear from you. Also, if you want to become an SSA, the employers look at how often you reply! They also make great friends and are really helpful if you need advice. Your SOSer is your personal SSA during orientation and Welcome Week. They are trained in everything UofL and make themselves available whenever you need them to answer your questions. They are there to help you. Let them!!
As a University of Louisville freshman tip, always keep this in mind. Students, professors, advisers, and just about everyone there wants you to ask questions. This is not high school and it is not annoying or nerdy when you ask questions. It just shows that you actually care about your education. Questions do not have to be about academics either! Your SSA and SOSers are there to answer your questions so don’t hesitate to ask! Their jobs would be really boring if no one asked questions.
Have a hard copy and a digital copy. I recommend Erin Condren’s LifePlanner or Student Planner by Plum Paper if you are on a budget. For digital, I recommend Google Calendar because it is simple, clean, and can be backed up to your google account. Add syllabus dates, appointments, and anything that is vital to your day to day life.
Scheduling study time is great. It shows responsibility and it makes you feel obligated to study instead of doing it “whenever you have time.” When you set aside time, you have no excuse not to study. The library is always a great place to study because the third floor has booths that are walled. This allows you privacy so that you can eliminate distractions. There are also rooms for group studying and a Starbucks on the first floor that is open until 12 a.m.. The library closes in some areas at 3 a.m. so try to find a good spot and get comfortable for a while.
I know this sounds cheesy. For some reason everyone hates to read, but even just reading for 20-30 minutes a day is great for you. Reading has been proven to benefit academic growth and intelligence. That is priceless, especially in college. The library has a program where you can find a book on their online database, rent it, and read it through your computer. This is also helpful for that research paper in English 101. Although it has to be returned at some point, it usually comes in a PDF form. Download the PDF to your computer and read whenever you want without worrying about having an overdue book. If computer books are not your thing, you can still rent the book online but go and pick it up at the library desk. Reading is great and while some may argue that it is not fun, it is good for you!
I know that space heaters are not allowed. However, in the traditional dorms, you can’t always adjust the heat so it might be a good idea to sneak a small one in. It is super important that you turn it off whenever you are not in the room. Set a timer to have it automatically turn off after x amount of hours. It is also handy to have a fan in the room during the summer months because it gets hot.
The Speed Museum has awesome and interesting events all the time! Some of the events you probably should not go to such as weddings, receptions, meetings, and conferences. However, the museum is host to After Hours at the Speed which is this really cool series of events and shows every third Friday of the month from 5-10 p.m.. Also watch for movies showing at the Speed Theater because UofL students get in for free. Free is our favorite word in this list of University Of Louisville freshman tips.
Sometimes, signs will be posted around campus about a lecture by a guest speaker on some topic that people find interesting. Usually, it is free! So, why not go? You may be a biology major but after going to that lecture on ancient vases and cups, you may just find that archaeology is your calling instead! It is intended to expand your horizons. Not to mention, it is full of random fun facts to bring up when you need a conversation starter.
It is free. There is no reason why someone would not want to get tested for HIV. It is one of those diseases that can not show symptoms for a very long time so it is important to get tested so you can have sex safely and responsibly. It would be a real bummer if you had sex with a person who had no idea they had HIV because they didn’t get tested and now you have it because of their ignorance. You can make an appointment with the Campus Health Center.
These are great! It is super nice to destress and get a quick massage after you have been stressing about that exam all week. You may just be surprised at how much stress you have been holding in until the masseuse works all those knots out. It is great and super cheap!
I cannot stress this enough for University Of Louisville freshman tips. College students have a stigma of being broke. This stigma is not wrong. So even if you are at Target or Payless, ask for a discount because you never know how much it might save you. Also if you have a military ID! Locations with guaranteed student discounts are Qdoba, Chipotle, Subway, Burger King, Waffle House, and many others. It can’t hurt to ask!
This is very handy! When you get enough change, you can turn it into the CoinStar at Walmart or Kroger in exchange for gift cards! You can also use change for tipping, laundry, or vending machines. Instead of turning change into cash, save it! I promise it will come in handy at some point.
Please do not do this. Try to avoid carrying cash in general. Homeless people will expect you to have money and if you don’t carry a purse, they might believe you. You will get many of the little silicone card holders that go on the back of your phone and they are super handy. If you don’t like the ones the campus has, these ones on Amazon are great. If you just carry your driver’s license, ID, Student ID, and a credit/debit card, you can remove a purse altogether. You can even squeeze a few hidden bills in there as well. If you encounter homeless people, which is guaranteed to happen at some point, tell them you don’t have money. Sometimes they can get mad if you don’t acknowledge them and can attack you. Tell them you don’t have anything and be on your way. There is a large homeless population in Louisville, so be cautious of this.
This is the last and most important on this list of University Of Louisville freshman tips. College is meant to be the start of a whole new experience for you! Enjoy it! But not too much because you also don’t want to drop out during your first semester. The University of Louisville has great programs, clubs, and academics that are just waiting for you! Make mistakes, learn, and be happy! It will be hard at first but it only gets better from here!
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