The Bookstore

So, while procrastinating my homework (it is Spring Break after all; I should be on a break), I decided I would tell you a little bit about UVU's bookstore! This is probably my favorite information to share for incoming freshman.

UVU's bookstore is located on the main level of the Student Center (SC). You can buy UVU clothing, souvenirs, jewlery, car stickers, water bottles, etc. There is a ridiculous amount of school supplies: planners (which are super handy...and I highly recommend buying a UVU planner every year), notebooks, binders, pens, highlighters, backbacks (the Dakine backbacks are expensive but super durable and can hold a lot- I've had mine for 2 years now and it has stood the test of mulitple English anthologies at one time!), art supplies, photography supplies...there's a lot! There is a small selection of novels (but not the best selection. It is good for the classics-and for a fairly good price- but I would stick to Borders if you are looking for a wide selection). There is also a small electronics section where you can find headphones, recorders (which actually might be helpful if a teacher gives a study guide lecture), and other various electronic goods.

Personally, my favorite section of the Bookstore is the Apple section. You can buy Apple desktops, laptops, iPads, and all of the various forms of iPods. There is even a student discount on all Apple products! But you have to talk to the salespeople there to find out what kind of discounts. There is also a large selection of Apple accessories and software (as well as PC accessories and software).

"Like" the UVU Bookstore on Facebook to get news on sales! This is actually really great because at the end of each semester, you could get school supplies at a discount. There are also occasional holiday sales where you can buy Apple products at an even bigger discount! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/UVU-Bookstore/10333431772

But of course, the reason why it has its name, the Bookstore is where you can buy all of your textbooks! [Some teachers choose not to have their books available in the bookstore. Mainly because it can take a while for orders to come in. Or because the order can get messed up. And a lot of the time, Bookstore prices can be more expensive than finding the book yourself.] But anyway, for the most part, you can find the majority of your textbooks here!

It is a fairly simple set-up once you understand it.

Here is the best way to make your Bookstore experience great (read everything from this point to the end of the post, you'll see why!):

• To avoid lines at the Bookstore, about two weeks before classes start (or even a week before), go onto UVLink and print of your schedule with all of your class names (For learning purposes, I'm going to use ENGL1010-001 as my example)
• Go to the bookstore and head to the textbook section (currently, it is located on the north end of the bookstore, otherwise known as the side opposite the door). There is always a Bookstore worker there to help you if you need it.
• The textbooks are arranged by departments alphabetically. So, if you are looking for your ENGL1010-001 textbooks, you would head to the aisle that houses "ENGL".
• Within each section, the books are arranged numerically (There is a little paper in front of each book with the course name). Meaning ENGL1010-001 would be at the very beginning of the ENGL section.
• When looking at your course name: "ENGL"=department; "1010"=course level; "-001"=section number
• Make sure you are looking at the proper section number! Different teachers teach different section numbers, and each teacher chooses their own textbooks!
• Also, make sure you get every book for that specific course. In my English 1010 class, we had 3 separate things that we needed to buy.
• Note that on each sign for books, there are two prices: the "new" price and the "used" price. If there are used books available: BUY THE USED BOOK! (More on that later in this post)
• Then you can go and pay for books!

**Another alternative, you can go onto UVLink or the Bookstore website and use BookMatch, a way to see all of the books that you will need for each of your classes. I believe that you can even buy the books right on BookMatch. If you would rather buy the books in person, you can use BookMatch as a way of knowing which books you need before you even walk into the Bookstore.**

This next bit is very important (but really, I think everything I say on this blog is important. So I guess this next bit is super important). While it is great to buy your books 1-2 weeks early so you can beat the lines at the bookstore, sometimes it is better for you to wait until the first day of school to get your books. I know, that seems crazy. A lot of the time, you will get to class and your teacher will tell you that your textbooks aren't necessary. Or they will say you only need one (My first day in one of my history classes, my teacher gave us the option between two books, I returned the more expensive one). So for me, waiting in line at the bookstore is worth it if I don't have to spend more money.

As promised, I am going to give my pledge that buying used books is better. Yes, it is wonderful to have a nice new shiny book, and that is great if you know you are going to use that book forever, cherish it, and give it a special place on your bookshelf. That is what I decided for my beautiful Bevington complete works of Shakespeare book. But really, about 99% of your textbooks, you don't need a nice new shiny copy.

Really, other than the nice new shiny thing, there are only pros to buying used books:

• They are cheaper. And to a college student, cheaper is always great!
• A lot of the time, you can find them in nearly new condition. I am that person that sits on the floor of the Bookstore looking at every copy of used books to find the best looking one.
• Sometimes, there are notes already in it (or highlights). Which is an awesome plus. Unless it is like Tom Riddle's diary...

I always try to keep my books in good condition--because at the end of the semester,there is Buyback. Which is when you can sell your textbooks back to the Bookstore---for cash. Occasionally, you can't sell you book back back because the Bookstore won't be using that edition the next semester. But Buyback is a great way to get rid of textbooks that you don't need while making money for textbooks for the next semester! Usually, the buyback price is half of what the original texbook price is. So while you don't earn back your full purchase price, you are still getting something.

Before I give you my next bit of advice, please know that I love the Bookstore, but I have to make decisions based on what is best financially!

Sometimes, it is in a student's best interest to buy their textbooks somewhere else. I know, I know! I should have told you this before! But really, I think it is important to understand all of your options when it comes to textbooks.

When I say buy textbooks somewhere else, I mean buying your textbooks on http://www.amazon.com/ or http://www.bn.com/ (or even at Barnes and Noble or Borders). (But there is also a board near the Muli-Cultural Offices close to the Woodbury Business building that has ads for textbooks...and housing...where you can buy usedbooks from students)

Here is how this works: if you want to buy your books before classes start, go to the bookstore and find your books as if you were buying through the bookstore. On the back of the books (and probably on the info sheet in front of the books), write down the 13 digit ISBN number (sometimes 10 digits). Usually, I come prepared with the course names with gaps inbetween to write the following info: ISBN number, New Price, Used Price, book title. (Do not feel bad about doing this! You will always see people in the bookstore just writing down ISBN numbers!)

When you get home, go to your website of choice. My personal favorite is Amazon. On Amazon, all you have to do is type in the ISBN number in the search bar and the book should come up. On Barnes and Noble, they have a tab for textbooks and you can plug in the ISBN on the textbook page.

Whatever you decide to use, always look at the new and used prices. And for your online purchases, note how much shipping will be. I always have a big sheet comparing all 6 prices: Bookstore New/Used, Amazon New/Used, and Barnes and Noble New/Used. Most of the time, buying a used book on Amazon is the cheapest. It is a lot of work, but it saves me money, which is always my goal.

If you choose to wait to buy online after your first day (because of reasons previously stated), you run the risk of not getting your books in time. A lot of the time, you can get away with borrowing a classmate's textbook or using a reserved copy in the library until you books come in. But if you don't want to share and you can't wait, it is most beneficial to buy the book from the Bookstore.

You can also sign up for Amazon Student (I believe it is free for a year). This makes it so shipping is a little cheaper for you! Occasionally, there are deals where you don't have to pay for 1 or 2 day shipping!

Personally, I always wait until after the first day and buy used books online unless I absolutely have to have the book for class the next time we meet. So while I prefer to buy online, I usually am buying something from the Bookstore each semester.

Wow, that was a lot. And I probably missed something. Oh well, hope it helps!

Next post: First Day

Parking

It's been over a week since my last post! I guess I have been procrastinating this one becasue I dislike parking at UVU. Not that it is a bad thing...it's just very...time consuming.

The most important thing to know: parking passes are required for every car on campus. UVU now has hangtags for parking passes. This hangtag can be taken out of your car and used on any of your vehicles. You are only issued one since you can move it from car to car, and there is a half price fee if you need to replace it.

There are signs in every lot that tell you which pass can park there (and note that there are some lots that have several different parking pass options). Parking Services recommends that you pick up a parking pass at least two weeks before classes start to avoid lines.

There are 5 options for parking at UVU:

1: $0 Pass--Or as I like to call it, the free lot pass (it is purple). And yes, it is required to get a pass to park in the free lot. It is L10 and is the furthest from the actual campus building. But, there are usually a lot of available spaces and there is a shuttle that picks you up and drops you off closer to the school. There are usually two shuttles running at a time (they are big giant UVU busses). The downside to this is you usually have to wait for the shuttle to come and pick you up (the shuttles have stops at designated spots that circle the UVU campus. You can even use the shuttle to take you to different areas-no pass needed). It really isn't fun waiting for a shuttle at 7:30am in the middle of winter. If you aren't up for the wait, you can walk from the free lot to the main building, via crosswalks of course!

I parked in the free lot my freshman year. I didn't really mind it, but it gets to be a hassle if you miss the shuttle by a minute and are already late to class. Another con is the shuttle can get really packed. You usually have to stand (holding on to rails). You get to know the bus drivers too! My favorite was an older gentleman that loved country music. And not just any country music, old country music! It was actually pretty relaxing to hear that every morning (and if you don't like it, pop your iPod in).

2: $40 Pass (yearly)-- This pass is sorty of an orange-y color. For this pass, you can park in L9. To be honest, I don't think this pass is really worth it. Lot Y is in the same spot as the Lot V (the free lot), only it is closer to the shuttle. In my four years at UVU, I don't think I've seen this lot very full. It's actually pretty empty. Not much to say about this one...you can take the shuttle...and be really close to the testing center!

3: $80 Pass (yearly)-- The most common pass on campus! It is probably the most common because this is the closest students can get to the building. And there are a lot more lots for this one! L3, L4, L5, L6, L7, L8, L12, L14, M21, M22, M23, M24, M25, M28 are all lots that you can park in with this yellow pass. Since this is the most common pass, it is also the most competitive trying to get a spot. Every single morning, I see people parked in the rows waiting for someone to leave so they can take their spot. Or people circle...and stalk people as they leave the building. Instead of telling you about this, I found a hilarious video that is SPOT ON with UVU parking (video by Lauren Casper, William McCrery, and Audrey Moore )!

http://vimeo.com/18600945


4: Employee/Staff Pass-- The only way to get this pass is if you are a UVU employee. Pretty much, in any of the lots near the building, the closest rows (other than handicapp and motorcycle parking) are reserved for employees. If you are a student, do not park in these spots! You will get a ticket! Lots specific to employees are L1, L2, L13, M20, M26, M27. There are certain lots that have student parking, but have several rows for employees: L3, L4, L12, M22, M23, M24, M28..
Note: Lot M is right next to the south end of the library. This lot is for employees not students (I have heard several students complain that employees take all of the spots here---it's because it is EMPLOYEE parking)!

5: Visitor Pay Lots-- UCCU Center Visitor Lot, Sorensen Center Visitor Lot, and Lakeside Visitor Lot are pay by the hour lots! No pass needed, just cash. I have seen students park here if they are running late to class and are willing to pay to be close. But mostly, this is for visitors! Admissions Meter Lot is, well, a meter lot---it is closest to the Browing Administration building, home of One Stop. But be warned: you can only put enough change in these meters for 40 minutes! The meters take silver coins...every cent is worth one minute (8 nickels=40 minutes, 4 dimes=40 minutes, etc.)

Also for events, if there is a major event going on at the Events Center, you are okay to park in lots near the UCCU Events Center (L3, L5, L14) without a pass! Such events are, but not limited to, graduation, sporting events, concerts, fairs, etc.

For a better look at a map of parking lots, visit http://www.uvu.edu/parking/images/Large2010Map.jpg!
You can also view shuttle bus stops on this map!

Parking Services is located at  936 S. 400 W.

You can purchase a parking pass, pay citations, as well as take care of many other services at Parking Services.

Next post: The Bookstore

UVLink

UVLink is a must-know for new students. Using your student ID, you log on to UVLink.

UVLink houses your student e-mail account, an information board, Blackboard (a way for students to get class assignments, take online quizzes, interact with their teacher, etc; I wouldn't worry too much about this. If a teacher uses Blackboard, they will most likely walk you through it on your first day in class), your student financial information, your Wolverine Track (tracks your graduation progress), and much more.

Take the time to get used to your UVLink. There is a lot on there, including software downloads for Corel (a photo editing program) and the Clean Access Agent (which is required to log into the school's wireless network on you laptop, iTouch, etc).

**Note: You must have the Clean Access Agent to log into UVU's wireless network (UVU-open). When logging in to the Clean Access Agent, use your student ID and password**

Since UVLink has your campus e-mail, you should have your UVU e-mails forwarded to your personal e-mail such as Hotmail or Gmail. This way, you don't have to constantly check two e-mail addresses and you won't miss out on important e-mails from the school or your teachers.

Here is how to forward you UVU e-mails to your personal e-mail address:

• In UVLink, click on "E-Mail" in the top right corner.
• Click the "Options" tab.
• Click "Auto Forward".
• Enter your personal e-mail adress and click "OK".

Next post: Parking

Campus Tours

Before you start school at UVU, you should take a campus tour. This is the best way for you to get acquainted with each building (and the best way to not get lost on your first day). On the tour, you will get a more in depth version of what I am about to tell you.

As I go through each building, I will tell you the name of the building and the acronym that it is known by:

Let's start with the Library (LI). It's, well, a library. It has computer labs, books, movies, CDs, textbooks, magazines...the works. On the main level, there is even a Starbucks (Oh. Yes.) as well as many computers that you can do homework on. Every student starts off with a print credit of $10.00 and you can print things (as well as in any other campus computer lab) for $0.05 a page. You can check out books (like any library). Many teachers will put their textbooks on hold in the library and you can check them out for 3 hours at a time (saves on buying the textbook!) Media has a 3 day check out-and it is not just school related material! I have checked out many popular titles-including Shakespeare In Love and many Disney titles...

Connecting to the library is the Liberal Arts Building (LA). Probably every student will have a class in this building as most English, math, and history classes are here. And if you are an English major, know that part of your English fees pays for use of LA027---which means you don't have to use your print credit when printing off dozens of pages! Just make sure that you go there when there is not a class in session.

In between the LA building and the PE building is the LA Cafe & Jamba Juice...I will talk about these more in a later post.

Connected to LA is the Physical Education (PE) building. And yes, this is where you have PE. There are many dance rooms and work out rooms, as well as athletic courts and a few classrooms. A connection hall leads to the UCCU Events Center.

Connected to the PE building is the Science Building (SB). This building is currently under construction so the walkway is blocked off. Which means you walk outside into the Student Center. So wear a coat in the winter...

When the SB is finished, it will connect to the Pope Science (PS) building. Name says it all---the science classrooms are here. It is also the home of our astronomy room...complete with movie theater chairs and a dome ceiling that has a projection of the night sky.

Pope Science branches into both the Environmental Technology (EN) building and the Student Center (SC). To be honest, I have no idea what the EN building is. All I know is that it branches off the Hall of Flags (Which is a really long hallway with flags of all the countries in the world...and there are a lot of chairs where people stare awkwardly at you as you walk by). So I'll head in the direction of SC...

The Student Center (SC) houses the bookstore, campus connection, UCCU, food court, cafeteria, Grand Ballroom, Center Stage, Regan Theater, and many conference rooms.

**Note: PS, SC, WB, BA, and EN all wrap in a circle around a large grass quad with a waterfall**

The SC hallway leads down to the Woodbury Business (WB) building. It's home to the business majors. But I have had English classes in there as well.

After WB is the Browning Administration (BA) building. This is where One Stop, Financial Aid, Scholarship Office, Human Resources, and the Presidential offices are. Important stuff. Check it out.

BA wraps into the Hall of Flags, which takes you past EN and to PS...see? A circle?

So if you head back over to SC, there is a path that leads you to the Losee Center (LC). I actually don't know much about it...it used to be the library...and I know that people study there. Sorry, yeah, that isn't really helpful.

Connected to LC is the Computer Science (CS) building. Wow, these names are much more descriptive than I have ever realized. This is where the computer science majors are. I had a giant Biology lecture class in there...and it has really awesome elevators.

There is a long walkway on the 6th floor of CS that connects to the Gunther Trades (GT) building. GT has all of the trades...dance, music, art, photography (which comes under art...nevermind), and has English classes. Basically, GT is the furthest building away from the Library.

Connected to GT with 3 giant flights of stairs (which actually go down from GT) is the Sparks Automotive (SA) building. Can you guess what is here? If you said English classes...well, you'd be right. Classrooms here are used as a sort of overflow when there aren't any classrooms available in the actual buildings they are supposed to be in. But really, this building is where the auto rooms are.

SA feeds down into WB (with another 3 flights of stairs). So basically, our campus is one big connection of buildings. When they finish the Science Building, there will really be no reason to go outside except to go to your car...or to try and avoid the traffic of people in between classes.

There are a few other buildings separated from the main building concourse---Parking Services and ROTC are to the East, the Faculty Annex is right by the GT building, and the poor Education Building is to the North---quite a trek for those poor education majors (I took the education pre-requisites so I know what it is like---someone actually suggested that UVU builds a giant moving walkway from the main building to the Education Building; I thought that was perfectly logical)!

One other thing you should know is that each classroom has the building acronym followed by a 3-digit number. Earlier, I mentioned LA027--this means the classroom is in the Liberal Arts building. The zero represents the floor that you are on- in this case, the basement. The 27 is the room number. So if you have GT511, you are in Gunther Trades, 5th floor, room 511. CS410- Computer Science, 4th floor, room 410.

Sometimes there will be a letter after all of that...GT511h...which just means that there are eight different rooms that are GT511...just find the one with the h and you are good!

It's pretty simple to find your way around once you get to know the buildings and floor numbers! You should receive a planner at your freshman orientation (if not, the bookstore sells them; there are also maps in each building) and in it will be the student handbook-complete with campus map!

Next post: UVLink