Starting university can be daunting. Whether it’s the excitement of further developing your intellectual passions, living on your own for the first time, or feeling like you’re finally becoming an adult, it can be a lot to take in. Where are you supposed to go? What are you supposed to do? How do you make the most of your time here? Luckily, we at Imprint are here to offer up some wisdom we wish we had known when we first attended university.

Student Support Services 

The university is highly invested in your success and plenty of support is available to ensure you’ll thrive in its competitive environment. If stress is getting the better of you, Counselling Services is only a phone call away at 519-888-4096. If you prefer to have someone your age to talk to, Mates has you covered with upper-year mentors available to smooth your transition and support you. Need career advice or resume feedback? The Centre for Career Development can help you with all that and more. Perhaps most importantly, find out who your academic advisor is — they’ll be invaluable in helping you realize your educational goals. We highly encourage you to research everything the university and WUSA offers — you’ve already paid for it with your tuition, so it’d be a waste not to use it!

Take advantage of the recreation facilities

The Freshman 15 might be a myth, but you can never be too safe! Engaging in regular physical activity also has the upside of making it much easier to meet new people. As a competitive weightlifter who pretty much lives at the Physical Activities Complex (PAC) fitness center, I have met the majority of my friends in the gym by simply striking up a conversation about lifts, nutrition, and whatever else. PAC also has a climbing wall, pool, and various courts that have open recreation times for various sports. CIF, in addition to another fitness center, also has an ice rink and field house. Furthermore, there are plenty of athletics clubs to choose from. From Muay Thai to breakdancing and archery, the possibilities are endless!

How to find (bird) courses

Sure, there’s the Waterloo official academic calendar for the entire course catalog, but how do you actually determine which ones require less time commitment to succeed academically? Look no further than uwflow, a website that has thousands of ratings for the most popular Waterloo courses, which makes it easy for you to pick classes that have engaging professors, interesting syllabi, and straightforward marking schemes. Course selection for your future terms will never be easier. 

Working on campus

If you’re looking to work part-time at university, it’s hard to beat the flexibility of campus jobs. Make sure to check out WUSA’s job board at the end of every term to see if there are any openings. Waterloo’s recreation facilities also employ front desk staff, lifeguards, personal trainers, event staff, and climbing wall attendants if you have these specialized skills. If you want something more intellectual, cold-emailing your professors could help get you paid while building some resume material in the process.

Don’t be afraid to take a step back to go forward 

It’s normal to be gung ho about starting university and hit the ground running, but temperance can be a great asset. While you might also feel pressured to grind through courses you might potentially fail, always take note of the drop with WD (withdraw) and drop with WF (withdrawal failing) dates, which are the deadlines that will determine what grade shows up on your transcript if you drop a course. This is important to know as they will be factored into your GPA differently: WD won’t be included in the calculation, whereas WF will be weighted as a 0. If your troubles are part of a larger problem of not enjoying your program, consult your academic advisor for your options and the potential to transfer into something more up your alley. 

Money, money, money, must be funny

There are many ways to pinch pennies as a student. The one that helped me the most was simply waiting until a week after school starts before deciding to purchase textbooks. Many courses provide enough material on their own and some professors will explicitly make this clear on the first day of class, allowing you to avoid unnecessary expenses. If it’s compulsory, check online for old editions that get the job done just as well. If your meal plan includes flex dollars, they can also be used at select off-campus vendors like Dominos, William’s Fresh Cafe, and Campus Pizza.

Quick residence hacks

• Make use of the 50 per cent discount on all food items for your meal plan in your first year — this will disappear come your second year!
• Detergent pods are much easier to carry around than those giant jugs, so consider purchasing them instead.
• Invest in a good mattress topper as it might just save your life. (Dorm beds aren’t the most comfortable.)
• Scan the bulletin boards in residence buildings from time to time — Residence Councils often host events like pool tournaments, petting zoos, and seasonal activities that are great places to mingle. 
• If living with someone you don’t know in res, make very clear roommate agreements — room changes won’t be accommodated in the first month of the term.