Housing is a really big, important decision. UVU is an commuter university; meaning, we do not have any housing available on campus. All housing is off-campus. You have two options when considering where you want to live.
Option #1- Live at home. I know, it sounds lame to say that you are in college and you are still living at home with your parents. But financially, it could be one of the best options. You will have somewhere to do your laundry, there will most likely be food in the fridge all the time, and you will always have your parents available for advice or help. Of course, there are obvious downsides for living with your parents---but I don't really need to state those, do I?
Option #2- Live in an apartment. There are many options close to campus:
Summerwood Condominiums- Right across the street from UVU. http://www.summerwoodcondos.com/
Village on the Parkway- They have a free shuttle that takes you to and from UVU. http://www.villageparkway.com/
College Terrace- The closest housing to UVU. http://www.collegeterraceapts.com/
Wolverine Crossing- http://www.wolverinecrossing.com/
You can choose to live in an apartment with your friends, or at many locations, you can opt to have new roommates. This is your chance to make new friends! No matter who you decide to live with, be courteous. Be respectful of people's personal space. It is best to set apartment guidelines such as no friends over after 10pm or no loud music. Also, set up a schedule for cleaning. You can set specific chores to specific people or rotate who cleans what.
People commute from all over Utah. I have known people coming from Salt Lake and Spanish Fork. If you plan on commuting from a while away, remember that there is always going to be traffic on the highway. And occasionally, there will be an accident that will make you late to class. Travel, from no matter where you are coming from, gets worse in the winter. Always give yourself enough time to get to school. The best thing to do is the day or two before school starts, drive to UVU at the same time that you will be traveling on a normal school day. That will give you a general idea of how long it will take for you each morning (but I would add about 10 minutes to that time- you will be surprised how much traffic there is with students in the first two weeks of school).
To be quite honest, I chose to stay at home with my parents so apartment living isn't exactly where my knowledge is. Check out http://www.uvu.edu/campusconnection/pdf/CC_Booklet2010-2011.pdf . It has a lot of information on different apartment complexes, what you should look for when selecting an apartment, and other information about off-campus housing.
Next post: Campus Tours
An unofficial guide to attending Utah Valley University
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Full time tuition and fees per semester is $2,144. And that isn't including all of that photo paper you have to purchase for you photography class. Ah, so you are worried about how you are going to pay for this college education of yours? Yeah, most people are.
One of the best things you can do is apply for scholarships. And lots of them. First off, I recommend filling out a Free Applicaton for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. You could get (free) money from the government. But most importantly, a FAFSA is required to receive scholarships from your school or for you to be able to get a student loan. Important---very, very important. You can download it here ---> http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
There are many scholarships that UVU offers- freshman scholarships, transfer student scholarships, continuing student scholarships, etc. For more information on UVU scholarships, deadlines, and applications, visit http://www.uvu.edu/financialaid/scholarships/index.html .
If you happen to receive a scholarship from UVU, pay close attention to the things that you must do (you will be sent a letter). Don't make the mistake of forgetting to register for classes, because you will receive a letter telling you that you have lost your scholarship. And yes, I am speaking from personal experience. UVU scholarships have a GPA requirement. Basically, if you keep a certain GPA, you can keep your scholarship--and possibly have it renewed for another year.
While this may not benefit everyone, if you have a parent or spouse that works full-time or as an adjunct at UVU, you can get a tuition waiver. If this applies to you, visit http://www.uvu.edu/hr/benefits/pdf/TuitionWaiverTipSheet.pdf
If you still need more money to pay for tuition, fees, or textbooks, you can apply for a work study. Basically, it is a job-no more than 20 hours a week- that you work and and get paid for. There are many jobs all over campus and you get work experience! However, funds are very limited for work study so there may not be many jobs.
If you don't qualify to participate in a work study, try getting a part-time job on campus. It is great to have a job on campus! You get to interact more with your fellow students. Visit http://www.uvu.edu/hr/ to search jobs with UVU!
For more information on financial aid at UVU: http://www.uvu.edu/financialaid/aid/index.html
If you are still in high school, you have an excellent resource in your hands. Visit your school's counseling office. The counselors should be able to tell you about scholarships available for students your age. I know in my high school, they had a packet that listed scholarships for every month and all different areas. Take advantage of this early! Most of these scholarships offer you money that can be used at your leisure. You could take a check and pay for textbooks, housing, food, whatever you need to help you get through college!
**You can pay your tuition and fees at One Stop, at the Cashier's Office, or online through your UVLink account.**
Next post: Housing
One of the best things you can do is apply for scholarships. And lots of them. First off, I recommend filling out a Free Applicaton for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. You could get (free) money from the government. But most importantly, a FAFSA is required to receive scholarships from your school or for you to be able to get a student loan. Important---very, very important. You can download it here ---> http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
There are many scholarships that UVU offers- freshman scholarships, transfer student scholarships, continuing student scholarships, etc. For more information on UVU scholarships, deadlines, and applications, visit http://www.uvu.edu/financialaid/scholarships/index.html .
If you happen to receive a scholarship from UVU, pay close attention to the things that you must do (you will be sent a letter). Don't make the mistake of forgetting to register for classes, because you will receive a letter telling you that you have lost your scholarship. And yes, I am speaking from personal experience. UVU scholarships have a GPA requirement. Basically, if you keep a certain GPA, you can keep your scholarship--and possibly have it renewed for another year.
While this may not benefit everyone, if you have a parent or spouse that works full-time or as an adjunct at UVU, you can get a tuition waiver. If this applies to you, visit http://www.uvu.edu/hr/benefits/pdf/TuitionWaiverTipSheet.pdf
If you still need more money to pay for tuition, fees, or textbooks, you can apply for a work study. Basically, it is a job-no more than 20 hours a week- that you work and and get paid for. There are many jobs all over campus and you get work experience! However, funds are very limited for work study so there may not be many jobs.
If you don't qualify to participate in a work study, try getting a part-time job on campus. It is great to have a job on campus! You get to interact more with your fellow students. Visit http://www.uvu.edu/hr/ to search jobs with UVU!
For more information on financial aid at UVU: http://www.uvu.edu/financialaid/aid/index.html
If you are still in high school, you have an excellent resource in your hands. Visit your school's counseling office. The counselors should be able to tell you about scholarships available for students your age. I know in my high school, they had a packet that listed scholarships for every month and all different areas. Take advantage of this early! Most of these scholarships offer you money that can be used at your leisure. You could take a check and pay for textbooks, housing, food, whatever you need to help you get through college!
**You can pay your tuition and fees at One Stop, at the Cashier's Office, or online through your UVLink account.**
Next post: Housing
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Academic Advisors and Registration
It is so important to meet with your academic advisor right away! No matter what degree you are working towards, your advisor can help you with planning your college semesters and deciding what classes to choose. If you have any questions, they have the answers for you.
In your first meeting, your advisor will give you a sheet that has all of the requirements for you degree. It has all of the required general education classes that everyone has to take and it has all of the classes that you are required to take specific to your major. Most importantly, they have sheets that give you all of you options for each credit.
If you are coming to UVU straight out of high school, your recent ACT or SAT test scores will help to place you in classes. The only one that I really noticed this was math: my ACT test scores were high enough that I did not need to take a remedial math class and was able to go straight to MATH 1050 (which just happened to be my only math requirement for my degree). If you haven't taken the ACT or SAT, don't panic. You can take a placement test in the testing center. Your advisor can give you information on this.
An advisor can also help you with deciding what classes would be good for you and what teachers you might benefit from (even though I think every teacher offers something different for students).
An advisor will help you figure out what classes you want to take each semester. If you take a little time, you can map this out yourself.
To be considered a "full time" student, you must take 12 credit hours each semester. But my recommendation is you take 15 credit hours a semester. If you take 15 credit hours a semester, you won't have to take any classes over the summer.
But be warned: 15 credit hours can be a lot. Most classes are 3 credit hours, so that would mean taking 5 classes each semester (Of course, there are exceptions to that: my German 1010 class was 5 credit hours; my Health and Wellness class was 2; Math 1050 is 4 credit hours).
**NOTE: A credit hour is how many hours you sit in class in one week. So 3 credits means you are in class for 3 hours a week---the normal 3 hour class is Monday/Wednesday/Friday (MWF) for an hour each---well, at UVU, 50 minutes with 10 minutes before the next class. When you register, it tells you what days the classes are and what time it is at.**
Anyway, like I was saying, 15 credit hours is a lot. I started off my freshman year with 15 credit hours, plus I was coaching a high school dance team. If you are working or you know that you can't handle that much work, you should consider taking 12 credit hours and then take classes over the summer.
Remember: it is common knowledge in college that for every hour you are in class, that means 2 hours of homework. Which means 15 credit hours would be 30 hours of studying during the week. It seems like a lot, I know. But you will get through it!
Follow all guidelines from UVU for registering. Usually, you should be able to register for all of your classes as soon as you meet with an advisor. For every semester after that, you will have specific deadlines when you can begin registering. Registration days are based on credit hours. If you are a freshman (Under 30 credit hours), you will be the last to register. Seniors (80+ credit hours) get first priority because they are closer to graduation so every credit is important for them. Don't complain about this as a freshman. You will be thankful when you need exactly 15 credit hours to graduate and you get your pick of classes.
Registration can be crazy. Every semester, I would sit up at midnight waiting for registration to open so I could get all the classes I wanted/needed.
Here is my philosophy (or philosophies) on choosing classes:
In your first meeting, your advisor will give you a sheet that has all of the requirements for you degree. It has all of the required general education classes that everyone has to take and it has all of the classes that you are required to take specific to your major. Most importantly, they have sheets that give you all of you options for each credit.
If you are coming to UVU straight out of high school, your recent ACT or SAT test scores will help to place you in classes. The only one that I really noticed this was math: my ACT test scores were high enough that I did not need to take a remedial math class and was able to go straight to MATH 1050 (which just happened to be my only math requirement for my degree). If you haven't taken the ACT or SAT, don't panic. You can take a placement test in the testing center. Your advisor can give you information on this.
An advisor can also help you with deciding what classes would be good for you and what teachers you might benefit from (even though I think every teacher offers something different for students).
An advisor will help you figure out what classes you want to take each semester. If you take a little time, you can map this out yourself.
At UVU, we have two major semesters:
FALL- End of August to mid December
SPRING- Beginning of January to end of April
(17 weeks each semester, about 4 months).
Summer is broken into two parts:
SUMMER A-Beginning of May to end of June
SUMMER B-Beginning of July to mid August
(7 1/2 weeks each semester, almost 2 months)
*For the record: If you take 12 hours over the summer (maybe 6 in block A and 6 in block B?) you are considered full time over the summer. Taking 6 credits each block is like taking 12 credits in the Fall or Spring semesters*
To be considered a "full time" student, you must take 12 credit hours each semester. But my recommendation is you take 15 credit hours a semester. If you take 15 credit hours a semester, you won't have to take any classes over the summer.
But be warned: 15 credit hours can be a lot. Most classes are 3 credit hours, so that would mean taking 5 classes each semester (Of course, there are exceptions to that: my German 1010 class was 5 credit hours; my Health and Wellness class was 2; Math 1050 is 4 credit hours).
**NOTE: A credit hour is how many hours you sit in class in one week. So 3 credits means you are in class for 3 hours a week---the normal 3 hour class is Monday/Wednesday/Friday (MWF) for an hour each---well, at UVU, 50 minutes with 10 minutes before the next class. When you register, it tells you what days the classes are and what time it is at.**
Anyway, like I was saying, 15 credit hours is a lot. I started off my freshman year with 15 credit hours, plus I was coaching a high school dance team. If you are working or you know that you can't handle that much work, you should consider taking 12 credit hours and then take classes over the summer.
Remember: it is common knowledge in college that for every hour you are in class, that means 2 hours of homework. Which means 15 credit hours would be 30 hours of studying during the week. It seems like a lot, I know. But you will get through it!
Follow all guidelines from UVU for registering. Usually, you should be able to register for all of your classes as soon as you meet with an advisor. For every semester after that, you will have specific deadlines when you can begin registering. Registration days are based on credit hours. If you are a freshman (Under 30 credit hours), you will be the last to register. Seniors (80+ credit hours) get first priority because they are closer to graduation so every credit is important for them. Don't complain about this as a freshman. You will be thankful when you need exactly 15 credit hours to graduate and you get your pick of classes.
Registration can be crazy. Every semester, I would sit up at midnight waiting for registration to open so I could get all the classes I wanted/needed.
Here is my philosophy (or philosophies) on choosing classes:
- Get your general education requirements out of the way early. My first two years were ONLY general requirements.
- The class that you hate the most, you should do first. If you are HORRIBLE at math, imagine what it would be like trying to take the class your senior year after 3 years of not having math. It is hard. Thankfully, I thought of this and took math my first semester in college.
- Spread out the classes that you know will be difficult for you. If you know that English and history are your worst subjects, take English one semester and history the next semester.
- Always have at least one class that you actually like. You don't want to be doing a full semester of horrible classes. You want at least one "easy" class.
- This is your chance to choose your schedule. If you want to sit in class all day Tuesday & Thursday so you don't have to go to school on MWF, then do it. (Tuesday/Thursday classes are 1 hour and 15 minutes long)
- If you know that you can't get up in time for an 8am class, don't register for one. Choose a class a little later in the day. Or, if you would rather have the rest of the day free, make sure all of your classes end before noon. You choose your schedule. Think wisely.
- Notice when your breaks are. I have had all different ranges of my classes---3 back to back. 3 with hour breaks in between each. 2 classes, hour break, 1 class. You name it. Sometimes, it is good to have a harder class after an hour long break so you can have an extra hour to study.
UVLink makes it pretty clear how to register. You choose your own classes at whatever time & day you want. If there is a class conflict, you can't register for one. The only stress about registering is trying to get the classes you want in the right time slots.
Just be conscious of the effects of the classes that you sign up for. Don't let your workload be too much. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed with classes on one day. Having 3 classes on MWF and 2 classes on TH seemed to be great for me.
If you want to graduate in 4 years, the average length to get a Bachelor's Degree, you have several options:
-Take 15 credit hours each semester (Fall & Spring) for 8 semesters
-Take 12 credit hours each semester (Fall & Spring) for 8 semesters + 12 credit hours for 2 summers (Summer A & Summer B)
-Or a mix of different credit hours (Which is what I chose: Fall 15, Spring 11, Summer off, Fall 12, Spring 12, Summer A off, Summer B 6, Fall 12, Spring 9, Summer A 6, Summer B 6, Fall 15, Spring 16= Total of 120 credits, the requirement for a Bachelor's Degree)
I know, this post was information overload. I'm an English major. I like words. Sorry!
Click here to read my post giving details on how to register!
Click here to read my post giving details on how to register!
Next post: Financial Aid & Scholarships
First Things First...
Now that you have been accepted at UVU, the most important thing is getting to know the campus and any deadlines you will have.
Get to know this website: http://www.uvu.edu/
You will be visiting it a lot in the years to come!
You should have received an e-mail with your UV ID number. Probably the most important number you will need to know at UVU! That ID will log you into UVLink, the Library website, etc. This e-mail will also detail all of the steps that you will need to take in the next few months before you start school. FOLLOW THOSE INSTRUCTIONS!
You are definitely in for a visit to the campus One Stop. You can submit your applications, get your transcript, get a parking pass, pay your tuition and fees, and much more!
For more info: http://www.uvu.edu/students/onestop/
Once you visit One Stop, you can head over to Campus Connection and get your UV One Card (student ID card)! It will have your student number on it so you won't forget it (bonus!) You will use your ID for purchasing tickets to UVU events, checking things out from the library, taking tests in the testing center, and you can even pay a fee to have it as your UTA bus pass as well!
I highly recommend opening a checking account with Utah Community Credit Union (UCCU). There is a branch on campus in the Student Center (SC). If you open an account there, you can have your student ID double as your debit card. It makes for one less card you have to carry (or it could be a big hassle if you lose it; then it would be like losing 2 cards at once).
Also very important: Meet with your academic advisor! Your advisor is your best source for what you need to do in school. He or she can help you plan out your semesters, recommend classes for you to take, and just be there to answer any questions you may have! In your first e-mail from UVU, you should be told who your advisor is--you are required to meet with your advisor before you can register for classes.
In my next post: Meeting with your academic advisor and registering for your first semester in college!
Get to know this website: http://www.uvu.edu/
You will be visiting it a lot in the years to come!
You should have received an e-mail with your UV ID number. Probably the most important number you will need to know at UVU! That ID will log you into UVLink, the Library website, etc. This e-mail will also detail all of the steps that you will need to take in the next few months before you start school. FOLLOW THOSE INSTRUCTIONS!
You are definitely in for a visit to the campus One Stop. You can submit your applications, get your transcript, get a parking pass, pay your tuition and fees, and much more!
For more info: http://www.uvu.edu/students/onestop/
Once you visit One Stop, you can head over to Campus Connection and get your UV One Card (student ID card)! It will have your student number on it so you won't forget it (bonus!) You will use your ID for purchasing tickets to UVU events, checking things out from the library, taking tests in the testing center, and you can even pay a fee to have it as your UTA bus pass as well!
I highly recommend opening a checking account with Utah Community Credit Union (UCCU). There is a branch on campus in the Student Center (SC). If you open an account there, you can have your student ID double as your debit card. It makes for one less card you have to carry (or it could be a big hassle if you lose it; then it would be like losing 2 cards at once).
Also very important: Meet with your academic advisor! Your advisor is your best source for what you need to do in school. He or she can help you plan out your semesters, recommend classes for you to take, and just be there to answer any questions you may have! In your first e-mail from UVU, you should be told who your advisor is--you are required to meet with your advisor before you can register for classes.
In my next post: Meeting with your academic advisor and registering for your first semester in college!
Welcome to UVU!
If you are reading this, chances are you have been accepted at Utah Valley University. Congratulations! You are about to begin your college journey!
Mainly, I created this blog so I could guide a friend of mine as she begins her freshman year at UVU. She suggested I start a blog so I can give my advice to any incoming freshman--because it can be terrifying starting into the unknown. While most of this will be focusing on UVU, there will also be some general advice that can help any college student!
As a UVU graduate (I have an associate's degree and will be getting my bachelor's degree soon), I hope to give you little hints specific to college life at UVU. I am an English major (literature studies emphasis), so maybe everything I write will not apply to you. I am sure that there are questions that you may have that I don't know the answer to--but hey, that's college!
This blog is in no way official advice from Utah Valley University. What I have to say is my personal opinion about what I have experienced at UVU. Always follow instructions from official UVU e-mails and what your teachers and advisors have to say!
I hope this is a little helpful to you--if not, I hope you at least enjoy it!
Mainly, I created this blog so I could guide a friend of mine as she begins her freshman year at UVU. She suggested I start a blog so I can give my advice to any incoming freshman--because it can be terrifying starting into the unknown. While most of this will be focusing on UVU, there will also be some general advice that can help any college student!
As a UVU graduate (I have an associate's degree and will be getting my bachelor's degree soon), I hope to give you little hints specific to college life at UVU. I am an English major (literature studies emphasis), so maybe everything I write will not apply to you. I am sure that there are questions that you may have that I don't know the answer to--but hey, that's college!
This blog is in no way official advice from Utah Valley University. What I have to say is my personal opinion about what I have experienced at UVU. Always follow instructions from official UVU e-mails and what your teachers and advisors have to say!
I hope this is a little helpful to you--if not, I hope you at least enjoy it!
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