A faint beeping noise is what pulls you out of a deep slumber; beep beep beep … As you groan and turn over in bed it dawns over you; it’s the first day of school, a fresh new start to a brand-new year, at a brand-new school.
Panic sets in, how will you ever find your way around? What if you get lost? Or make it to class late? Where will you go for your hour-long break between class? Where do you even park??
Fear not! I have the perfect guide for you so that when it is that first day of school, you breeze through it like a seasoned fourth year student.
Now, I know what you’re thinking…
“How can this blog post possibly help me in my own situation… they’re probably going to speak about their own university the whole time”.
Wrong! I am going to try my absolute best to generalize. Using my own university as a reference for examples; I will be giving you ideas of where to go for certain things and where you could possibly find things. Needless to say though, our lovely commentary section is where everyone will write their own experiences, and there I hope, you will find your specific answers. Besides universities and colleges are, for the most part, very similar in foundation, they usually have the same facilities or centres for outreach. We got this!
The essentials to look into before your first day:
Transit/Parking:
When it comes to getting to and from school, you want to make sure you have a game plan. Are you driving? Or are you taking transit? Will the regular bus suffice, or will you have to take a larger chain of bussing?
Well, first take a look at finances, is it worth your while driving? Your school will most likely have a parking system, be it either metered parking or paid parking. As an example, York University has a parking services, and under their website they do have a lay out of the parking spots and their costs.
Now, if transit is the way to go then of course we need to look at bus costs. In Toronto there are many options to bus in and out of the city. TTC, GO, and VIVA being some of the most common. And one of a many number of perks of being a student there are always discounting and pricing for you. If it isn’t the school itself, transits often offer Student Passes.
Google your local bus system up, call and ask for information on student fares or deals. You never know!
Making Your Way Around Campus
Campus, a vast land of unknowns and hidden places just waiting to get you confused and lost. As the years go by though, you will find that those places become less scary and you use them to your advantage for short cuts or just quiet places to study between classes.
Before you start at your new school, you will have to pick out your courses according to what you need to do to finish of the year off. When you are done making that schedule or even during the making of your schedule, browse your school’s website page. Chances are they have a map of campus that lays out where every building is, both academic and otherwise. Here’s a huge tip, look at that map before you start planning!
Chances are that you will be able to plan your schedule accordingly so that it minimizes the running around from building to building and that way you can be a little more relaxed when going to and from classes. In many schools there will either be a student centre, or a building with a food court of sorts for you as a student to enjoy and relax in.
Take advantage of all the fun groups and events around you, learn more about your campus and look through the student webpages of your school, they’ll always be happy to tell you about the buildings they worked so hard to build to make you happy and comfortable with your schooling experiences.
All in All…
Enjoy! Have fun! Explore and do your research! You’re journey only starts here, this is the beginning of a long trip of ups and downs and you just need to be positive! There are no bad experiences, just things to learn from, and moments to cease. Look into the things your school has to offer, help those around you and reach out to those that may know more than you.
Sound of in the comment section! What school do you go to? What fun places and things are there for people to explore? Help a fellow student out.
Works Cited:
York University Student Centre, yusc.ca/.
GIPHY. “Search All the GIFs & Make Your Own Animated GIF.” GIPHY, giphy.com/.
“Home.” York Federation of Students, http://www.yfs.ca/.
“Post-Secondary Students Fares And Passes.” TTC, http://www.ttc.ca/Fares_and_passes/Fare_information/Seniors_students_and_children/Post_Secondary_Students/index.jsp.
“Quick Links Menus.” Maps Directions Keele Campus Comments, maps.info.yorku.ca/keele-campus/.
The Journey Begins ! 