First-year tips from a fellow U of G student

Before buying your textbooks at full price, make sure to check online or in the bookstore for used, discounted copies first. CREDIT: PEXELS

JESSIE DAVIS

Starting as a new student at the University of Guelph is an exciting chapter in life. First year can be a hard transition though, one that I personally struggled with when I was a new student.

There is a lot of advice that I wish I had known when I first started that could have helped me avoid a lot of the issues I encountered. Although the university provides lots of support and orientation activities for first year students, sometimes the best advice comes from experience. Here are five tips from an experienced U of G student that will enhance your first year, help you succeed in your classes, and enjoy your downtime.

There are endless resources at the McLaughlin Library and through the library’s website, such as journal databases, workshops, learning groups, templates, study rooms, and more that can help you succeed at school. Attending learning groups can provide you with a great opportunity to meet and learn with

your peers, a space to focus on your subject, and a helpful mentor to answer your questions. Your professor will tell you when these groups are. The Digital Learning Commons on the library website offers tons of writing resources such as templates, videos, and tips to help you start and strengthen your writing assignments. The library also provides writing support through workshops, online writing rooms, and one-on-one appointments. You can book an appointment through the website and get help with any writing assignments you have. The library offers tons of books, textbooks, and resources, and the library website also has Omni, a database that offers millions of academic resources from many Ontario universities that will aid you in research for all kinds of assignments.

Some courses do not require a lot of use for the textbook, so buying a brand-new one is not always worth it. There are a few places you can check for more

cost-efficient book options to save yourself some money. In fact, after learning about them, I was able to get almost all of my textbooks for a semester for under $200. Unfortunately, sometimes buying a new textbook is unavoidable if there is a new version, no used copies are available, or you require an online tool that comes with a textbook, but in many cases you can save a lot of money by exploring your options.

The Cannon is an online community at the U of G where you can buy (and sell!) textbooks, and look for housing and ride shares. Under the classifieds section, you can select textbooks and then type in your course code or the name of the textbook to see if you can buy a used copy or an even cheaper PDF copy from another student. Before you buy from someone, be sure to double check the version of the textbook that you need, and then when you feel confident it’s the right one, arrange to meet up with the seller on campus. In the past few years I have bought the majority of my textbooks through The Cannon and it

THE CANNON (THECANNON.CA)

has saved me lots of money.

THE CO-OP BOOKSTORE

The Co-op Bookstore is located in Johnston Hall and offers students great prices for used textbooks and other educational materials. If you buy their membership card, you can also get an additional 10 per cent discount on your purchases. On your way to Creelman Hall, stop by the Coop Bookstore and search for your textbooks.

If the textbook and tool you need for a specific course come combined at the University Bookstore, before deciding to buy, check to see if you can get the online tool separately at the bookstore so that you may go find a less expensive, used book somewhere else. However, the bookstore does sometimes offer used versions of textbooks or loose-leaf textbooks for a lower price, so don’t be afraid to ask if there are any available.

The library has course reserves and you can usually find a copy of your class’ textbook there to sign out for a few hours. Some classes require little use for the textbook, and if that is the case, you may not want to spend a big chunk of money on a textbook that you will only use a few times. You can sign out your textbook and use it at the library in this case, just keep in mind that other students may have already signed out the textbook, especially during exam seasons.

Rate My Professors is a website where students provide ratings and descriptions about professors from universities and colleges across Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. Before selecting a course, you can search the University of Guelph and the professor’s name to learn more about them. You will see a number of things: how students ranked the prof for level of difficulty and overall quality; the percentage of students that would take a course with them again; and students’ personal experiences.

Students can also include information about the amount of required reading in the course, the assignments for the class, options for extra credit, and traits of the professor and their lectures. If you have options for the classes you take, such as with elec-

THE BOOKSTORE

THE MCLAUGHLIN LIBRARY

tives, this website can help you choose to increase your chances of earning a better grade or taking a more informative class.

Finding classes can be a chaotic and stressful mission, especially in your first year on campus. Even as a fourth-year student, I still googled where to find some of my classes. ROZH, MINS, THRN, and MACK, are all (short form) examples of the buildings that you will see on your class schedule. Classfind.com is a great tool that will help you find any class room on campus and provide directions on how to get there. Once on the website, select the University of Guelph and then you can type in your classroom in the search bar. This website will provide you with the full building name, a picture of the building, a picture of the entrance to the classroom in the building you are looking for, and directions with pictures of campus to help you locate this class.

UNiDAYS is a website for finding great discounts at popular retailers for students in college and university.

To gain access to the discounts, visit its website or the UNiDAYS app on Google Play or the App Store and make an account. The website will verify you are a student through your institution and you can verify your student status throughout your years at the University of Guelph. I discovered UNiDAYS in my first year and have had my Apple Music account discounted from $9.99/month to $4.99/month for four years. I was also able to afford a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses at a 50 per cent discounted price and have used many other discounts to order clothes from websites like Nike and Oh Polly.