Plan Ahead

Before I started college I heard so many horror stories about the cafeterias having bad food and that the good food on campus was pricey. Well I’m not sure who started passing that around, but in my school’s case that isn’t entirely true. I’ll admit the student cafeteria isn’t amazing, but most days it isn’t entirely horrible. The best part is they have tons of choices. My friends’ colleges also have lots of choices in the cafeteria so there’s something for everyone. Make sure that you get a meal plan if your college offers one. Even if you are commuting it would be good to have one. My friend commutes and she is always hungry after class. Who wants to drive on an empty stomach?  When you’re picking your meal plan make sure you choose carefully. Don’t pick a huge plan if you don’t usually eat a lot because it will just be a waste of your money.  With my meal plan I get 14 meals per week. If I go home on the weekend I have some extra meals to use during the week and it isn’t so much extra that I won’t be able to use them. So, I’m not wasting my money paying for a huge meal plan.

            If you are not a morning person and somehow wound up with an early class then I would advise you to keep cereal or pop-tarts in your room. I have a class at 8:30 in the morning and I am not in the mood to go get breakfast that early, especially if there’s bad weather. On weekends it’s nice to get a nice hot breakfast from the cafeteria but it’s not so nice when you find yourself deciding between breakfast and an extra half hour of sleep.

            Okay so I don’t want to sound like I’m preaching or anything but it’s so important that you don’t skip meals. I haven’t even been in school a full month yet and I have done it quite a few times. Sometimes it’s by accident. For example, one night I was working on a paper and I was so absorbed in it that I totally missed dinner. Sometimes it’s not on purpose though. Once it was raining and I didn’t feel like going out so I didn’t eat. It caught up to me though because at ten o’clock that night I was digging through my room for snacks because I was hungry. Along with some cereal for breakfast I keep some peanut butter and bread in my room just in case I miss a meal.

            If your campus has more than one cafeteria, check if the school has a website that posts the menus so you can find the place serving something you will actually enjoy. Go to http://www.dineoncampus.com/ and see if your school has posted your menu on the website. It has a whole list of schools to choose from. Bon Appetit!

The Dirty Truth About Laundry

If you’re like me then your mom has done your laundry for you for your whole life. If not, well then you’re lucky to know how to do laundry before going to college. If you don’t know how to do laundry though don’t freak out. It’s actually not that hard. With laundry the most important thing is to not shrink your clothes. Some people hang certain types of their clothes on a clothing rack to air dry to prevent shrinking, so make sure you know which of your clothes can’t go in the dryer. Personally, I wash everything in cold water and if I’m not sure if something can go in the dryer then I hang it on a rack just to be safe.

            Another important thing about doing laundry at college is to not wait until last minute to do your laundry. You may think, “Oh there’s tons of washing machines. I can wait a few more days to do my laundry.” Well my advice to you is that if you have some free time during the week, do your laundry.  In the beginning everyone waits until the weekend to do their laundry, so if you do your laundry on a weekday then you won’t have to stand in the laundry room with your wet clothes waiting for a dryer. Trust me, it isn’t fun.

            Here is a very important tip: DO NOT leave your laundry sitting in the washer or dryer for a long time after it is finished. If all of the other washers or dryers are full the people WILL take your clothes out of the machine. It can get very frustrating when all of the dryers are full of other peoples’ already dried clothes, and it can be even more frustrating to walk into the laundry room and find your underwear on top of a dryer for everyone to see.

            If you find yourself sitting in your dorm one day and you totally forget how to do your laundry there is a website that has some great tips. www.campusclothesline.net has a video tutorial on how to do your laundry plus tips on stain removal, how much soap to use, and how to care for your clothes. Good Luck!

Don't Stress About Moving In

Welcome to my blog.  I am new at this so bear with me if my first few posts aren’t so great. I have heard that college is a hard transition and in the past few weeks that has proven to be very true. I am a college freshman and I am living on campus. I moved onto campus on September 1^st so I have been at school for about two weeks. I plan on using this blog to write about some of the experiences that I have had so far at college so that you can learn from my mistakes and I will try to give you some tips along the way.

Move in Day. It’s a pretty big deal for freshmen. You’re leaving your home, family, and everything you feel comfortable with to live in a dorm with a bunch of strangers. Tip number one: use plastic drawer storage bins. They fit great in most dorm closets and if your bed can be raised then they fit nicely under there too. You can keep clothes, snacks, and pretty much anything else you want in the drawers. One thing about the drawers that I would not advise is to fill them up before you move in. I saw someone trying to carry their plastic drawer up the stairs and it looked heavy. One of the drawers popped open and their stuff almost fell all over. That would have been embarrassing. It is much easier to carry the drawers to your room empty and fill them as you are setting up your dorm room.

Roommates.  If your college gives you your roommate’s information before move in day I would strongly advise you to find them on Facebook or send them an email. It will make everything a lot easier on move in day of you know at least a little bit about him or her. Thankfully, my roommate, Angela, and I get along amazingly.  We talked on Facebook before move in day and knowing that we had some things in common gave me one less thing to stress about before leaving for college.   

I hope these tips can help reduce the stress for at least one person on move in day. As I think of some more useful tips and experiences I’ll post them here for you. J