The One-Month-Before-School Post

Hello!

Alright, so as of yesterday, we officially are ONE MONTH away from school starting! Being a freshman, I know that this is an extremely exciting (and sometimes scary) time for all of us. Even a lot of the upperclassmen I know are all psyched to get back to the lovely weather and friends back in Flagstaff.

As of yesterday, many of us received our roommate and room assignments. For me, that really made going to college seem that much more real. This is really happening, and we only have a few weeks left!

As the move-in day gets closer, I know that there are many who are getting more and more scared, excited, and nervous for that day when we are actually college students. I know that I am getting tired of everyone in my town assuming that I’m still in high school because it just started and I’ve been helping my sisters go back-to-school shopping.

My friend who is the mod of the Life as a Lumberjack Tumblr blog was so kind to make a Master List of Freshman Questions which basically includes all of the most frequently asked and important questions mainly asked by incoming and future freshmen. I definitely recommend checking it out as it will help you immensely with the next few weeks.

Things are finally coming down to the starting point, and there seems like there is so much to do. Packing, buying dorm essentials, meeting new people, talking things out with roommates, the list goes on. Just take a deep breath. Stress is supposed to start along with classes, not before. Enjoy your last few weeks of summer, and get ready to have some fun Flagstaff style!!

Dorm/School Essentials

So as we have one month left until school, I’m sure many of you freshmen, like myself, are wondering what exactly we are going to need for our dorms and just for school in general? It’s hard to know exactly what to get for when we start the new chapter in our life at college, and sometimes it’s hard to figure that out.

I’ve found two different sites that help a lot with that sort of thing. One is FreshmanTips, which I find to be very helpful in a lot of ways to freshmen. There is also this other site that I got emailed to me by a college-finding website I signed up for in my senior year. I usually delete those emails, considering I’m no longer in high school, but this one caught my eye, and I’m glad I did.

The links to the pages are here and here. So you can take a look for yourself, but I will highlight the things that seem to have stood out the most to me.

1) Don’t bring a lot of stuff; only what you need. I feel like this has been repeated constantly for a while on every site that has tips for moving into dorms. This is really helpful because I probably would have brought a lot of stuff…and ended up with absolutely no space in my room. When I pack, I’m going to be sure I set aside plenty of boxes labeled “For Storage” until I get an apartment…

2) Shower stuff (shoes, carrier, ect.) is a must. Don’t go unprepared with just a couple of shampoo’s and conditioner. Make sure you have a special set of shower shoes and some sort of carrier for your shower stuff. Otherwise, it won’t be too fun.

3) Extension Cords. I know for Reilly at least, there’s only one or two outlets. Well, keep in mind that we are teenagers…actually, we’re human. We have a lot of electronics. It’s the 21st century. Bring plenty of extension cords, or plan on buying them.

4) A fan. It may seem silly. We’re going to Flagstaff, one of the coolest parts of Arizona, and it’ll be the middle of winter. However, keep in mind that NAU does NOT have air conditioning. We are also going at the end of August, one of the hottest months of the summer. Your room will get hot. End of story.

I think those are 4 of the most important things. Obviously, there are plenty more important things, but I feel like those are things that people overlook, and I certainly did.

If any upperclassmen have any other input, please let me know. 🙂

Polls

I have just added a new poll section to this blog. This is just to see what you guys think about certain issues and things going on around campus and town. If you have any suggestions to future polls, please email me at northernazcollegelife@gmail.com or comment under the poll. 🙂

These polls may give insight to future posts…so it would definitely help me to leave your opinion! Who knows, you could effect the outcome of the overall post (not like it’s life-changing or anything..). 🙂

Thanks!

NAU STAR Program 2011

Hey guys,

So in case you didn’t now, Northern Arizona University features a summer program in which freshmen may attend NAU for five weeks and take a few classes in order to further themselves with their credits into their majors. It’s a great way to get away from the heat, meet new friends, and get a taste of the campus and college life before everyone else gets up there in August.

For the past couple of weeks, I have been asking people who I know have attended STAR to give me short summaries on their experiences with the STAR program. I, unfortunuately, was unable to attend, so I have no feedback for you. However, I figured if you were someone who was considering doing it next summer or you want to see what you missed out on this summer, you’d be able to see what other students thought about it!

“Star was pretty much one of the best ways I could have spent my summer. I feel far more prepared for college and for life in Flagstaff in general. I surprised myself both personally and sholastically in ways I would never have if I hadn’t gone.” – Robert W.

“The STAR Program was a fun and productive way to spend my summer. I was able to get ahead in my credits by taking Fundamentals of Public Speaking and English courses as well as getting to now the staff, campus and overall feel of Northern Arizona University. I enjoyed the experience very much and I would suggest to everyone that can, apply.” – Jacob W.

“The NAU STAR Program 2011 was an Awesome experience for me. Not only was I able to take two college courses; but experienced living in the dorms. 
I was afraid of meeting new people, but little by little I opened myself to accepting new friends . Thanks to the STAR Program, I am ahead in my credits and have new friends that await at Northern Arizona University.” – Alexis T.

“Star made my summer so much better. I was able to get ahead of the rest of the incoming freshman and got use to the campus. I also got use to college life. I made a lot of friends that I will keep forever.” – Aaron S.

“Overall, the STAR program has to be one of the best and most fun experiences in my life. Sure orientation is helpful, but taking classes and integrating into college early was the most help out of the program. Come fall, I will be more prepared and ready to take on college unlike some of my peers. I took two classes, Rhetoric in the Media and Sociology 101 and labs that accompanied the classes. Personally, I loved my classes. My professors were nice and offered help when needed. The workload was not an issue at all. The labs however, I wasn’t too fond of. The labs were there to help students, but usually were a waste of an hour. What I disliked was the campus dining. It gets old after a few days and after a certain time the Hotspot would be the only option for dinner 😛 Another thing I disliked was my roommate. I’ve never had to share a room and having to suddenly share was difficult. Although we had our issues, I took it as a learning experience. And that’s basically what the STAR program was. A learning experience. I learned what college classes were like, learned my way around campus, and learned to break out of my high school self. I’ve made some great friends in the process as well. Because of all the life experiences that occurred in the short four weeks, I am so glad I decided to participate in STAR. 🙂 I had more fun in those four weeks than all my four years of high school.” – Cecilia (http://cecilia182.tumblr.com/)

So that’s it. 🙂 If you are someone who attended and wants to add something that wasn’t here, either comment or email me at northernazcollegelife@gmail.com and I will insert it into this post. 🙂