The University of Blog

Oh my goodness, for a sweets fiend like me, it is a paradise (or an undeniable hell when it comes to calories). The dining rooms are ridiculously full with cookies, frozen yogurt, ice cream, cake and pie. In addition, for the salt fan, there are potato chips, fries, and nachos. The common denominator here is that they are unhealthy and there are plenty of them.

So, the alternative to eating all of the good-yet unhealthy-food is to choose healthier options. Good tips are to always have breakfast and to always have two meals of the same food. This means to always have a salad or sandwich for lunch. Limiting your options helps make you feel fuller. Eating different ethnic foods (pizza with tacos for example) does not signal your body that you are full as fast due to the different spices.

Then limiting the junk food options is also smart. For example, have dessert once a day or once a week. Treat yourself, but don’t overindulge. I have learned firsthand that I feel like crap if I eat too much chocolate.

Knowing what you will eat or planning meals is also a good idea. This makes sure that you know how many calories you are eating and you can stick to your plan. The menus will be available online (once the site is updated).

The key is moderation. Have dessert, but limit to a few times a week. There are SO many options that it is wise to stick to one type of ethnic food. And balance protein (meat or cheese) with carbs (bread or pasta—wheat is always better) with GOOD fat (olive oil or almonds). Use the options (including your meal plan) to your advantage.

Being away from home for the first time means one thing: doing laundry by yourself. There is no mother to help and I hadn’t learned how to do laundry until entering college. The price is $1.00 to wash and $.75 to dry. Be careful about finding one that works though, because the dryers can be shotty. And keep track of the time on the washer and dryer. Students have no problem taking the clothes out of the dryer if they need one. It is up to you if you want to sit in there with your clothes. A couple people do, but they don’t have the most comfy place to study. I think if you pay attention to the time, it is not bad to just come back and forward the laundry.

In Mark Twain, the Laundry room is downstairs in the basement. There is one room that takes just coins and another that takes student charge. I just use my ID because it is easier, but all of them also take coins. I choose to do laundry every week because it is easier to find a couple of washers rather than four. It seems to work out pretty well.

The biggest, most important thing that a college student needs is money. One way to achieve this easily is to have a job on campus. Every job on campus is within walking distance and is very convenient. Some options include the Recreation Center. They have meetings a couple of times each semester to hire students.

Another good option is through work-study. This goes through the financial aid office. Many journalism majors have work-study with the Missourian or other Journalism departments. This is a great opportunity for them to get to know many people whom they will be working with later on.

Several other opportunities include calling alumni through the Alumni Association as well as being a tour guide. Also writers for The Maneater get paid after they write a certain amount of articles. Good for experience and a bit of cash.

If you would like to branch out of the campus, there are many opportunities available. Shakespeare’s Pizza advertises about how they need people, and it is within walking distance to campus.

All of these are reasonable options for students looking for jobs. Check one out and make some money.

Each semsester a student pays about $80 each semester for the use the Student Health Center. Many students do not use it. It seems silly to waste so much money. Therefore, it is a great idea to go to the Heath center… a lot. For the flu, go. For a scratchy throat, go.

Last semester I got strep throat when I had never had it before. Living in the dorm exposes students to a host of new germs. Thus going to the Heath Center for sickness is a good idea. I’ve gone a few times and it is all included. It just takes a call for an appointment (a good idea to avoid the wait). It’s not just when sickness hits either. I’m not afraid to admit (just a little embarrassed) for going for having a few too many pimples.

In the infamous words of infomercials: BUT THATS NOT ALL! The Student Heath Center offers classes in stress management and relaxation. Then there are classes on living a healthy lifestyle. So for the fee, it’s worth it to go.

This weekend we had a movie night. It is cold outside and no one feels much like going out. Therefore, it is a great thing to do to take advantage of a roommate’s extensive movie collection. DVDs are the staple here.

I haven’t started collecting DVDs because of the price: once I have one, I will have to have ALL of my favorite movies. On a college budget, that is not really possible. However, since many people come in with movies, it is great to share them with people on the floor. And there is nothing better then watching a good movie surrounded by friends, drinking hot chocolate and seeing it snow outside.

AND we were able to buy 5 DVDs for $20. Movie Gallery was closing. Talk about a discount. Need ideas? Try a best movie list.

I took a ton of AP classes while I was in high school and it really helped. That is because of Mizzou’s application of the AP scores to fulfill requirements. If you are in high school and deciding whether or not to take the AP exam at the end of the year, do it! Yes it is expensive, but it is so worth it. The test costs about $82, but if it gets you out of English 1000 or another class, it could equate to hundreds of dollars. If you take the class, take the test. It seems silly to put yourself through all the work of taking a demanding course when you could get something really good in the end.

Ellis library is a nice place to study to get away from massive distractions. I know that if I am at my desk between my computer and TV, then I am not as dedicated to study. During finals week the library is really crowded, but it still is a nice place to be. There are plenty of comfy chairs plus tables for group work. The library also has free wifi so it is possible to work on your laptop there.

If you cannot study around other people, head up a floor to the stacks. Here, they have individual study desks and it is deathly quiet. If you are distracted easily, this is not a bad place to be. I can’t stand the deathly silence, but it woks for a lot of dedicated students.

Yes the school is very large (28,000 students from every state and 100 countries), but still Mizzou is very manageable It is easier to make a big school smaller but it is impossible to make a small school bigger. One way that the school is made smaller is to participate and to get involved. There are TONS of opportunities to get involved.

One way students get involved is participating in clubs. The Missouri Students Association (MSA) is the student governing board of the University. Meetings are held at least once a week. MSA decides upon common ordinances as well as fun things for students to do.

Almost every Friday night from 8-12, MSA hosts all night events. Events include craft night, spa night, and room decorating night. I have been to several of these, but they have been somewhat disappointing with lots of lines and sparse materials. They do include free pizza from Shakespeare’s. This is definitely a highlight of these Events.

The biggest transition from high school is how much free time there is. High school keeps students occupied from 8 until 3 every day, but in college, this isn’t true. You pick your own classes and especially the times for the classes. This is great and last semester none of my classes started before 11 a.m. If you aren’t a morning person, avoid morning classes. It’s that simple, but it leads to lots of extra time.

How to use this time becomes the new question. Great ideas are spending it productively. But how do you do that? Working out for a little each day is a good idea. Also, doing homework early and getting it out of the way will lead to more time watching movies or hanging out in the night. The biggest thing to remember is doing everything early and that way no cram sessions or freak out sessions are not necessary. It freed up a lot of time for me when I didn’t leave everything until the last minute. Finding ways to use that time productively will save a lot of headaches in the future.

It is all on StarMU. Kind of a complex program if you don’t know how to work it. It is most compatible with a windows computer but it will also work on Mac. The thing about enrolling for classes that sucks is that is goes by classes: seniors first, juniors second, etc. However, for all freshman it is random. And that is no fun because classes fill up quickly. So, when you have your date (they will email a registration date to you) register that day and as close to that time as possible. That way you can get in before other people. And pay bills on time or by Dec 15, they will drop you from all of your classes (different for Spring semester). No fun.

Know what classes you are taking BEFORE you enroll so you won’t be scrambling to figure it all out and have back up choices. If a class is filled up, don’t worry: keep trying to get your choice by checking StarMU religiously. This year a lot of students couldn’t get into Principles of American Journalism (a huge lecture hall that every journalism major has to take) and so those not in the class will keep checking StarMU even into the year for an opening.