Throughout my first semester of college, I learned a lot about what it means to be a student here at Iowa. It was a bit stressful at times, but I found a few tips/resources that helped make my life easier. 

1. Checking the marketplace menus online

I cannot tell you how amazing this is. You can look up what food each dining hall is serving that day and visit the one that sounds the most appetizing. Checking the menus online ensures you never miss your marketplace favorites. In order to view the menus, go into the Hawktools app and click dining. From there, you can find the menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for all three marketplaces.

2. Bus Apps

There are a few different apps to help you track Cambusses and each one has a unique quality. Iowa Bus is helpful because it not only tells you how long it will take for the bus to arrive, but it gives you the exact time. This is a great app to utilize while getting ready for class because it gives you a distinct time to be ready by. Another popular app is Transit. What I like about Transit is that it displays the exact location of where the bus is on a map. During the winter, I can wait inside a building and watch on the app to see when a bus is close to know when to run outside. Even if you prefer one over the other, it doesn’t hurt to have both. Sometimes, one of the apps has incorrect times and having the second  gives you a back up.

3. SI (Supplemental Instruction) and tutorial labs

In college, it can be easy to feel a little confused. Luckily, Iowa has a lot of support to get you back on your feet. Supplemental Instruction is a group study designed for a specific course which is taught by an undergraduate student. SI is around three days a week and it is a great resource to go to. You not only meet other people taking the same class, but are given extra guidance. Another resource are tutorial labs. These are places you can go with many tutors available to assist you with your classwork. I went to the Math Lab right before finals and it made a world of difference. I was able to speak 1 on 1 with an instructor and communicate with other students who had similar questions. If you ever feel behind at school, these are awesome places to be.

While college may seem scary at first, Iowa has a lot of resources to help make life easier. Through apps and free tutoring, college gets a little bit better.