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The Daily Tar Heel

Things the DTH thinks first-years should know

oldy

UNC is a huge, beautiful place that doesn’t really come with a guidebook or instructions or even a great map for things off-campus. Here’s what the summer DTH staff wishes they would have known coming into their first year here.

1. Take advantage of your dorm kitchens, but know going in that you will be contending with about 20 other people for that space. That being said, don’t be afraid to scam on another floor’s kitchen if yours is always full.

2. Expect to get a lot of confused looks from upperclassmen when you say Chase Dining Hall. Back in our day, it was called Rams or Rams Head. Whatever it is, you’re going to spend a lot of time there.

3. UNC is more than a basketball school — we regularly appear in late NCAA tournament play in soccer, field hockey, lacrosse and more. And you can ALWAYS get into those games.

4. It’s OK if you don’t meet “your people” — you know, the best friends who you keep in touch with for the rest of your life — in the first day, week, month or even year of college. A lot of people meet their close friends as sophomores or even upperclassmen.

5. Try not to sexile your roommate too much. On the other hand, don’t be that person who never leaves the room. Of course your room is your space to work, watch TV, hang out and have significant others over. But it’s also someone else’s space to do the same. Be reasonable.

6. Download the bus app. You will need it.

7. Invest in sneakers.

8. Don’t be so hard on yourself. This is a time of transition. Everyone else is struggling too, even if you don’t know about it or it’s not in the same way.

9. If you need to skip a class for your mental health, it’s OK. It’s one class. Your well-being is more important than your GPA.

10. Sign up for too many things at FallFest! Extracurriculars are incredibly fun, and you can always get off the swing dance listserv.

11. Learn what a listserv is. Also, learn very quickly how to unsubscribe from listservs.

12. Call your family. Text them, snap them, let them know when something makes you think of them. They really miss you.

12. Eat the omelets at Rams. Do not eat the omelets at Lenoir. They take longer and they don’t taste as good.

13. Healthy Bowl is not super healthy, but it does taste absolutely incredible.

14. Yes, Phillips Hall is incredibly creepy. No, you will (probably) not get murdered in there.

15. Get out to Carrboro! It’s a really cool place, and a lot of students wait to explore it until their sophomore year and beyond. Go to Elmo’s, shop at Weaver Street, get vaguely freaked out about just how much they like bees.

16. You don’t have to be best friends with your roommate. You just have to get along with them.

17. Don’t neglect your friends for your significant other.

18. STUDY. Don’t think college is going to be easy because you had a 4.789 GPA in high school.

19. Get to know students from all backgrounds and walks of life.

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20. Cs get degrees.

21. The Union does movie showings for free pretty often.

22. Pay attention to the work your peers are doing. These are the professionals of the future. Wouldn’t it be cool to say you know a Pulitzer Prize winner who you met on your hall as a first-year?

23. Know your limits with how much partying you take.

24. But always have a great time.

25. Take classes that fulfill general education requirements! You’ll thank your younger self when you’re an upperclassman.

26. But at the same time, there’s no need to knock all your gen-eds out in one semester.

27. Take classes that interest you! College is a time for academic exploration. A lot of people come in pre-med and fall in love with journalism, geology or public policy.

28. Bring rubber bands for snacks in your dorm!

29. Bring a comfortable chair to replace the awful one the school gives you for your dorm desk.

30. Bring a mini-vacuum.

31. The bacon cheese fries from Linda’s are heaven on earth. And if you’re a vegetarian, the fried brussels sprouts are a close second.

32. A mattress pad is the best money you’ll ever spend as a college student — or maybe ever.

33. Although many people at UNC are amazing, not everyone you meet is destined to be your best friend. You can like someone and not mesh with them. It’s OK.

34. Eliminate people from your life who aren’t good friends. There are literally more than 18,000 UNC undergraduates who you can be friends with.

35. Don’t ask to go to the bathroom during a lecture hall. People will laugh at you and it will be embarrassing.

36. Go to office hours.

37. You will probably lose your umbrella. Invest in more than one.

38. Volunteer!

39. Don’t compare to other people and their aspirations. Focus on yourself and your dreams.

40. From the co-founder of Black Lives Matter to Yo-Yo Ma, some pretty amazing people come to campus. Take advantage of opportunities to see them.

41. Participate in Carolina traditions! Go see the streakers and rush Franklin when we beat Dook!

42. Graham Memorial has the NICEST bathrooms. It’s also a good place for a nap (and no, you don’t have to be in the Honors Program to go in there).

43. UNC’s campus is beautiful. Go for a run or a walk!

44. Rams Head Gym has a track upstairs and nicer facilities than the SRC.

45. Don’t expect to take cute photos near the Old Well at the end of spring semester. You’ll be elbowing sorority formal attendees and tired seniors taking graduation pics out of the way.

46. Be nice to tour guides. You give herding a ton of disinterested 16-year-olds and their nosy parents a try before you roll your eyes.

47. Somebody in that 150-person lecture will have a scantron if you forget yours for the first midterm. Like, try to not forget, but also stop panicking and ask your neighbor when you’re inevitably out of them.

48. Join The Daily Tar Heel. Our school year application opens July 1 at dailytarheel.com/page/hiring. We’re biased, but we really like it here. And if producing a great newspaper isn’t your thing, support us by becoming a loyal reader — or at least by doing the crossword.