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48 Shades of Lightning
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Out-of-State 101: Packing
So, you've done all your dorm shopping (or most of it) and move-in day is fast approaching. This is going to be an extremely stressful day when it arrives, as you'll be hurrying to get everything out of your car and three floors up to your dorm-- at the same time everyone else is attempting to do the same thing. This is the cherry on top of the stress of packing. Here are a few things I learned while packing for my freshman year:
Get rid of unnecessary packaging. That plastic bag with the zipper that your new bedding came in (with that giant piece of cardboard in the middle to keep it looking nice in the package) is just taking up room. The box your desk lamp is in is doing the same, especially if its an LED versus a light bulb that does need the extra padding. If you get rid of all of this you in turn have less boxes to shove in your car. This one kinda seems like a no-brainer.
Try and fit everything into two or three big boxes. I'm talking about the big Amazon or Walmart boxes. This can really reduce the number of trips you have to make. provided you have access to a cart.
Ask local businesses about saving boxes for you. I lived two blocks away from a busy liquor store. i asked them to save boxes for just a day and I ended up having too many! If you can get your hands on it without buying it, why would you? Additionally, these boxes will be more manageable, as they fit less stuff than the large boxes will and be lighter. There are options.
Really think about how much space you have in your vehicle, and think about who is going with you. Going to orientation, there were five of us and the dog in the car, with barely enough room for our luggage. One of my stresses was fitting all the crap I need to take with me and also fitting the persons and luggage in the second time around. Thank God for luggage racks, but now I have to figure out how to fit my stuff in the space the luggage took up the first time.
If you find yourself in trouble with the last one, Unpack. Repack. Repeat. Go through it everything again and decide whether you really need some of the stuff you originally said "yes" to. This was how I ended up fitting everything in a couple of boxes.
Get creative. You don't need to put everything in a box, necessarily. I have all of my bedding, towels, bath mat, shower curtain, etc in my hamper. I also have a little storage ottoman, and I've already put it to work. Don't leave negative space-- nest it!
That's it for this article! You can also read this on Uloop or watch the video version soon on YouTube. Thanks for reading!
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Out-of-State 101: Dorm Shopping
Dorm shopping is the favorite of many incoming freshman, and for good reason. Moving to a dorm is basically moving out and freeing yourself as an adult to make your own decisions about your life and the way you live it. With that said, you'll have to fit basically an entire house in a teeny-tiny living space, maybe even half a bedroom if you're one unfortunately stuck with the smallest dorms in existence. Being an out-of-state student adds another layer to this complexity and ingenuity, as you have to figure out how you'll transport all your new living items from very far away if you're like me. By no means did I get this one perfectly this year, but freshman year is all about learning experiences. This is what I'll do differently next year:
Steal lists. Most of us have no idea where to even start with dorm shopping, but the internet is our best friend. Lists are never scarce on websites like Pinterest, and as you look at many of them you can get a good feel for what you'll really need in college. Additionally, the lists titled something along the lines of "Basics" or "What I REALLY Used in College" will likely be the bare-bones necessities lists, if that's what you're looking for. Check out my own shopping list.
Buy bedding first. The first thing you're going to want to do after you spend more than 20 hours in a moving car is sleep in a real bed. Bedding is also probably going to be the biggest expense, and you want to purchase it early on in the summer if you can to ensure that you'll have it before move-in, especially if you buy on Amazon and have it shipped. My dorm hall has full xl sized mattresses, and bedding for this was even harder to find than twin xl items. Because of this, I bought all queen size bedding, but I also bought clips to hold the fitted sheet to the right size. I did this for two reasons, the first being that my bed at home is a queen size, so I can use the sheets when I'm back at home (which will be twice or three times a year) and because full xl bed sheets with a decent thread count are impossible to find.
Think about what's immediately necessary and what might break on the trip. Personally, I'm not going to stick a brand-new $150 printer in my trunk and pray for the best. Check stores local to your new city and see what kind of small appliances or fragile and expensive items you can wait to purchase when you get there (I also recommend arriving early to do this shopping if at all possible). This goes for things like toilet paper and soap as well. If you know you're going to need it from day one, go ahead and purchase it, but pack it somewhere you know it'll be safe.
Order online. Most stores that have a website will have a much larger selection of products, colors, etc. than they will in store. If they have free and/or two day shipping, it's definitely worth the gas and time you save going to a physical store and hunting the items down yourself. Amazon has to be by far my favorite online shopping website-- the selection of products from so many sellers and the low prices honestly can't be beaten.
However, be aware that if you make large purchases online, they will most likely not all come in one delivery of a couple of large boxes. I made this mistake when I ordered most of my items from the Walmart and Amazon websites and ended up having deliveries every day (and even six deliveries in one day). I'm sure the neighbors and the postman have very strong opinions about me.
Chill out on the decorations. If You've only ever visited your campus one time, as in my case, you won't truly have a great feel for how much space is going to be in the dorm. Buy the basics and necessities first, and figure out how to make your room Tumblr-worthy after you know exactly how much space you're working with.
Keep a ledger of what you're buying and how much you're spending. This is just a helpful tip if, like me, you're working a minimum wage job all summer to afford this stuff and aren't paying for any of it with your parent's money.
Look at the department store discount sections. There are so many useful things to be discovered here. For example, in the last chance section of Macy's (70-80%) I found a personal coffee pot and a 30 piece Pyrex dish set.
If you already have it, DO NOT BUY A NEW ONE. This one is pretty self explanatory. If you already have one to take with you, why buy a new one?
You can also read this on Uloop or watch the video version on YouTube.
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Out-of-State 101: Orientation
I counted down the months, weeks, days, hours until my family left for orientation. Out of sheer excitement, I was packed days ahead of schedule. Coming from Colorado, the place I'd been my entire life, all the way to Lexington, KY is the most exciting thing I've had happen in my life for quite a while. It's been one hell of a ride (we were on the road for more than 24 hours) but it's just made me that much more excited for the school year to start. Now, as I go to the University of Kentucky, orientation was over the summer, where as some school shave it the day before classes start. Hopefully, this advice can apply to both situations.
Give yourself enough time to get there and have a relaxation period, especially if you're coming from more than a thousand miles away like I am. My orientation dates were a Monday and Tuesday, but my family left the Friday before. The time change is not going to be kind to your sleep schedule. We arrived late Saturday morning, giving us Saturday afternoon to unwind, get settled into our accommodations, and sleep from the all-nighter we'd pulled, which leads me to the next point:
Making the trip in on straight shot is not a horrible idea. In the middle of the night, roads (especially those in the big cities or busy interstates) will be completely clear, except for the semi-trucks which are a given. This means there is little to no stop and go and you get more miles to the gallon. My parents have always told me it's a good idea to travel at night, especially with children, to avoid the "are we there yet?" every five minutes. This was true, as my younger brother slept through most of Kansas, and all of Missouri, and was quiet. Additionally, we brought our dog along (the primary reason we didn't fly out to KY). He slept through most of the trip as well, relieving most of his anxiety. Lastly, you save time-- lots of it. We turned hat could have been a three day trip (like the last time my parents made the trip) into a one day escapade. However, one should only be this ambitious if there's more than one driver in the vehicle that can take over if the other becomes too tired (please don't try and do this by yourself).
Take a day for exploration. For financial and logistic reasons, I was never able to visit University of Kentucky before orientation. Again, I suggest that you allow an extra day for visiting and exploring the campus if it's your first time ever even seeing it. Find a map, a tour, or both. I didn't want to be that freshman on the first day of orientation, since most of the class of 2022 were native to Kentucky or the surrounding areas and had already been able to visit the campus more than once. Get lost once or twice, though, discovery is okay.
Leave early to beat traffic. Orientation sessions are rarely on the weekends, when traffic is a little less congested. As my sessions were on a Monday and Tuesday, early in the morning, roads were extremely congested with the morning rush hour. We hardly left with enough time to spare as we' hardly recovered from the day before. I was sure we would be late for the first day (thank goodness we weren't).
Talk to people. The first girl I was antiquated with simply asked me if we had the right building, we had a conversation, and ended up sitting next to each other and chatting until our groups split up. Had I shut down the conversation, none of that would've happened. Additionally, you will play ice-breakers (just like the first day of high school classes). Do not refuse to participate and set yourself aside as anti-social, because you will be labelled as such, and you'll have an even harder time. I hate coming up with a "fun fact" about myself as much as anyone, but the ice breakers are there to do exactly that: break the ice and open up conversation with the new people around you. You'll never meet any new people if you close yourself off to them. If you click with someone, ask for their number right away, you don't want to lose touch with them! When you go home it'll be a while until you'll get to see them in person when classes start.
Utilize the resources provided at orientation. During lunch, UK had a huge interest fair, where most, if not all, clubs and available services had a booth and information booklets. Plus, many of these booths also have free swag, like cups, magnets, bumper stickers and the like. My favorite was the stainless steel straw given out by the recycling club, and the 25% textbooks coupon given out by the UK bookstore's table. Additionally, later in the afternoon, the university provided interest sessions on subjects like living on campus, financial wellness during college, Greek life, and many more. These are all provided to you for a reason, as you'll need these skills and groups to make it through college with a solid network and support system, both internal and external.
That's it for this article! You can also read the original post on Uloop or watch the video version on YouTube soon. Thanks for reading!
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9 Things I Wish I Knew While Applying to College
Welcome to Senior Year, the most intense of your high school career.
High school students, please take my advice. In applying for college, there were so many things I should have and could have done differently. It's too late for seniors now, but this is a great time for juniors and underclassmen to start thinking about these things, and to have some advice from someone who very recently went through the experience as they come up to this majorly stressful time in their lives. Many of these things I didn’t even know until after the process, but they would have really helped me to avoid many breakdowns.
1. Start applying for everything your junior year.
Not every college will allow juniors to apply. However, if a school or scholarship foundation does allow this, absolutely take the opportunity! Many people I know in my current class were already accepted by the start of senior year. Meanwhile, I was struggling to meet deadlines.
2. Prepare early.
Applying your junior means you’ll need to start preparing as early as the beginning of that year. You’ll need letters of recommendation, and don’t even ask for one unless you’ve already prepared a resume. You’ll need multiple letters, so ask at least all the teachers you’ve had for more than one course, or other teachers who have known you for more than one school year. Another thing I’ve come across, that I never thought I would, is a request for a peer letter of recommendation. Usually, teacher recommendations cut it, but I struggled to find a fellow student I trusted to write it well and on time. I was not the most social student in high school, and I didn’t feel close enough to anyone to ask them to write this recommendation for me. Start thinking about the possibility that you may come across this, and think about who you’d trust to write it. Get more than one, from different students, similar to multiple teacher letters. The variety of letters allow you to choose the most appropriate one for each college or scholarship you are applying for.
3. Get a second opinion on writing pieces.
Have your English teachers read your innumerable essays. Thankfully, some of those you’ve already written can be minimally adjusted to fit a new prompt, but you won’t be so lucky with others. Your English teachers should be willing to proofread and provide suggestions for your essays, as well as be an essay advisor for those applications that require it. I didn’t start having my teacher check until after I’d already applied for colleges, and I feel as though it really would have bettered my chances for getting into big-name schools. However, I had her check all of my scholarship essays, and they became more powerful and eloquent after her suggestions and corrections.
4. Know specifics.
After each college releases their admissions decisions, make sure you understand what does and does not constitute your acceptance of admission. Some colleges determine this to be your signing up for orientation, your enrollment deposit, or your acceptance of a scholarship. If you’re still waiting on other admissions decisions, you don’t want to accidentally accept admission at a school by applying for housing or financial aid, only to find out you also made it into a school you’d prefer to go to. You can always back out, but there’s still the possibility that you may have to pay a fee, or your scholarships may have already been sent to that school, leaving you penniless for your first year at the college you switch to. Make sure you know what constitutes acceptance at each school to avoid this, if this situation applies to you.
5. Apply for all the extras.
That said, apply for housing, meal plans, financial aid, and special programs as soon as possible. Many of these selections are first-come, first-served, and even if you decide not to go to a certain school, it is better to have applied early than applying late to the college you do choose, and then having to struggle to find a place to live, for example.
6. Balance college applications with scholarships.
During, and even after, the college application process, you’ll be simultaneously working on scholarships. Scholarships.com is one of the best websites to find scholarships you qualify for, and to sift through them to find ones you actually want to apply to, in my opinion and the opinion of many of my peers. Apply to any and every scholarship possible, and make sure to stock up on manila envelopes and stamps, as many of the scholarship packets will be sent via snail-mail. You can also continue applying for scholarships while you’re in college, so don’t stop after you’ve reached your first year tuition, and keep working on them.
7. Stay in the loop.
Talking to your peers and teachers may seem like second nature, especially for social butterflies. However, this social interaction gives you a hidden advantage. Staying in the loop with those around you can tip you off to scholarships, colleges, and special programs you may want to apply to.
8. Get a planner.
A planner will be your saving grace. They’re a great idea for students, regardless of the college application. You’ll still be doing homework for school in addition to all of the college and scholarship deadlines you’ll have to keep track of. If you want to stay sane, get a planner, or make your own in a bullet journal.
9. Take care of yourself.
Lastly, and most importantly, don’t get so wrapped up in the process that you forget to take care of yourself. Remember to make time for your friends and family. They will be the ones supporting you through the process, and through the years you are actually in college. Don’t become so engrossed in the work that you push them away. Don’t forget to make time for yourself, either. It may be tempting to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to finish that last essay, or a homework assignment. You’ll be much better off, more focused, and more productive if you go to bed at a decent time, eat a meal, and keep up with hygiene. It’s easy to be stressed out and neglect yourself, but in the end, it is you that you’re working for.
Good luck!
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