I would like to start by congratulating you and the rest of the Class of 2024 on getting through the college process (throw up emoji) and getting to spend your next four years at Villanova--my favorite place on Earth. You are probably reading this letter because you are nervous and jittery and don't know what to expect, but I promise you, you have nothing to fear. Every time I felt the slightest bit nervous about anything I just keep telling myself that these are going to be the most amazing four years of my life. And I can say that after only one year here, that I want to do freshman year all over again so I can still have four years and not three. I am so envious of you, Class of 2024. Relish it, enjoy it, and take it all in, because it will be gone before you know it.

The 411 on freshmen dorms

Most freshmen at Villanova live on what we call South campus. South campus consists of six dorms (Stanford, St. Monica, Katharine, Caughlin, McGuire, and Good Counsel) in a culdesac along with a dining hall, infamously known as The Spit (I think it's the best dining hall on campus). I lived in Katharine Hall during my freshman year and absolutely loved it. I honestly was spoiled with the room size because Sophomore year most people have significantly smaller rooms :( Most all of the dorms on South are extremely similar except for Stanford and Good Counsell. Stanford is the largest of the freshmen dorms but has probably the smallest rooms. Good Counsel has about the same size rooms as all the others, but they have sinks IN THE ROOM. So, lucky you if Good Counsel is your new home next year!

About Bryn Mawr and Radnor Township

The town surrounding Villanova is called Bryn Mawr. Bryn Mawr along with a few other towns make up Radnor Township (townships are a PA and NJ thing and were confusing to me coming from New England). In my opinion, Villanova is in a great location. Bryn Mawr is your typical suburban town with restaurants, shops, grocery stores, and bars, great for if you want a chill night out exploring with friends. However, Villanova is only a 25-minute train ride from Center City Philadelphia, which has so many fun things to do all nights of the week. King of Prussia is also only about 20 minutes from campus, home to The King of Prussia Mall. The mall is a great place to go with friends for dinner and a night of shopping. The location of Villanova offers the student body the best of both suburban and city life.

Go-to places to eat that aren't the Spit

Okay so don't get me wrong, The Spit is amazing. It is the best place to eat and decompress with your friends after a long day of classes. The Spit will always hold a very special place in my heart. However, my friends in I would always need a night off campus once in a while to eat something different or celebrate a birthday. Some of my favorites in the area include insomnia for a late-night treat, Xolo's tacos or Besito for great Mexican food, Golden Bowl for bomb Chinese food, and Not Your Average Joes for when you're just craving a real burger. I almost forgot Campco! Campco (i.e. Campus Corner) is more of a late late night place, but still has bangin' pizza, zilly fries, and mac-and-cheese bites for any night of the week.

Sporting events--but more specifically BASKETBALL!!

So, if you have decided to come to Villanova, you probably know that our basketball ball team is kind of decent; two national championships in three years is no big deal or anything. Since everyone wants to go to basketball games, the school had to figure out a way to give everyone a fair chance of going with the limited space we have in the Finn. Thus, the lottery came to be. The lottery is the system that people use to get basketball tickets and the more points you have the better your chance is of getting a ticket. You accumulate points by attending other sporting events whether it be football, soccer, field hockey, volleyball, etc. The games will be advertised and your points will be "stored" in the nova student tickets app (you should get this app when sports games start to roll around in the Fall). Attending sports games in so much fun anyway with all the energy the crowd brings and the amazing talent of our athletes, but the points for the basketball lottery is also a great bonus!

All about the Weather (PLEASE! READ! IMPORTANT!)

One of the things I wish I knew most was about the weather in Bryn Mawr. Long story short, it's wack. Imagine yourself in January, and you just came back from Winter break with more sweaters is a heavy jacket and the day you get back it's 55 and sunny. Needless to say, the weather app is a must-have when you got to school at Villanova. It's 25 and freezing one day, 60 and sunny the next, and 40 and rainy a good amount of the time so pack a rain jacket. Overall, just be prepared with a variety of different weather clothes and to be walking back to your dorm with your jacket in hand because it went from 25 in the morning to 58 in the afternoon.

Campus lingo that only Villanovans will know

When I got to Villanova, I felt like there was so much lingo that I had no idea about and could never learn. It seems like people at Villanova abbreviate everything. However, most of it is very logical once you get the hang of it; you will see what I mean. Below I'm going to include a list of all the lingo I can think of at the moment that will be important for you to know and are very commonly used. This will give you a little insight into what the heck us Villanovans are talking up when you hear these words on campus!

- The Spit--The dining hall on South campus which is south of the pit on Main campus (hence spit)

- The Pit--The dining hall on Main campus in the basement of Dougherty Hall (hence the pit)

- The Sparket--Sparket is basically Spit and market combined and it is in fact the market inside of The Spit

- The Quad--The area between and including the two main sophomore dorms, Sheehan and Sullivan

- The Oreo--The big black and white oreo-looking structure in the center of campus

- SAC--Also known as the St. Augustine Center for The Liberal Arts, but everyone just calls it SAC

- Cova--Cova is Cafe Nova located in Dougherty Hall above the Pit (a great place for lunch!)

- Conn--The Connelly Center which is like the student center or student union of our campus

- CEER--CEER is just the building for the College of Engineering, but it is technically the Center for Engineering Education and Research, so CEER.

- The Finn--The Finneran Pavillion, also called the Pavillion. It is where most of our home basketball games are played

- Courts--An off-campus "apartment complex" that many frats have apartments in

- ACS--The Augustinian Culture Seminar that you take both semester freshman year (Ancients and Moderns)

- The Exchange--A market, grab-and-go place, and work area in Bartley (the business school). It has great egg sandwiches :)

- South/Main/West--These just refer to the different "campuses"

- The Bridge--The bridge that crosses over Lancaster Ave leading up to the Villanova Church

- Campco--Campus Corner and where everyone is on a Friday or Saturday night from 1-3 am

- KOP--King of Prussia, but more just the King of Prussia Mall

- Spo--Special Olympics

- Fall Fest--The big Special Olympics event and celebration held on campus every Fall

I wish only the best to you and the Class of 2024

I won't lie to you, when I chose Villanova I still didn't know if it was the place for me. I really didn't know until I actually got here and started living my life as a member of this amazing community. You could be feeling the same way that I did, or you could already know that you made the right decision, but either way, I hope you find what you're looking for here at Villanova. We are so excited to have you as part of Nova Nation and we wish you nothing but the best on your journey here. As always, go cats!!!