Blog

As summer ends and classes are around the corner, I am sure many of you are thinking about how you plan on navigating that vast campus of the University of Michigan. With multiple buildings, halls, and floors to go through, finding your way around can be overwhelming and confusing. While the University of Michigan provides many resources to help acclimate new students to college life, like orientation days and campus tours, that isn’t always enough. The purpose of this blog is to help you navigate your first week at U-M and also help find your place in a sea of 33,000 undergraduate students.

Something that really helped me when I first moved onto campus was just walking around. My roommate and I decided that we wanted to explore and make sure we knew where all of our classes were, and it made the biggest difference. We walked around all of Central and North Campus looking for all of the buildings and rooms that we had to go to, and it made the first day of school a lot less stressful. Instead of wandering campus like a lost puppy, I felt confident in where I was going and where I needed to be. With such a large campus, there is a chance that as you continue your academic journey you won't know where a building or classroom is, even as a third-year student. That is OK! Personally, there were many times, even as a second-semester sophomore, that I circled a building three times before realizing where my class was. It will all come naturally, and the maze of campus will soon turn into a familiar, comforting place.

Explore your on-campus housing as soon as you get the chance to. The facilities of on-campus housing have lots of study areas, student lounges, and computer rooms for you to use. It wasn’t until my last month of living in Bursley that I learned about a craft room and student lounge that had billiards and a ping pong table. I highly recommend you use these areas to your advantage and check out other residence halls. Some have more facilities like practice rooms, a movie theater, and a game room. It wouldn’t hurt to see what you may be missing out on in your residence hall.

Focus on making one friend/acquaintance in each of your classes. Sometimes you may struggle on an assignment and need some help. Talk to students in your class and lean on each other for support. Study groups are easily accessible, and if you are taking historically difficult classes, like Math 115, you are going to want help from others.

GO TO FESTIFALL! Festifall is the University of Michigan's student organization fair and that is where you can sign up and fill out interest forms to the hundreds of student orgs that are offered. On Aug. 26, 5-8 p.m. (North Campus) and Aug. 28, 2:30-5 p.m. and 6-8:30 p.m. (Central Campus), you can walk around and see what student orgs interest you and what you want to be a part of. This is often how many students meet new people and make friends as well. When I was a first year, I knew immediately I wanted to join Michigan Club Swim and made a beeline for their table. I ended up joining and making the most amazing friendships that I will never let go of. Student orgs help make the University of Michigan a lot smaller and often open up a lot of doors in terms of making connections and networking. If you walk around and don’t see a student org you are interested in, you can also start one of your own.