Coming to college can have you asking yourself tons of questions, but coming to UNC should have you jumping for joy. Here are all the things incoming UNC first-years need to know:
1. You'll need to learn to love basketball if you don't already.
If you don't already know UNC is known for two things: 1. our academics and 2. our basketball team. Despite what critics might say, Roy and the boys are coming off of a redemption-filled national championship season ready to go back to the Final Four for the third straight year. Even if you aren't a sports fan, you don't want to miss out on a chance to see the Tar Heels play in the Dean Dome at least once.
2. Don't forget your walking shoes.
Most of the dorms on south campus are 15 minutes from the Pit, making the walk to class about 20 minutes - not to mention the walking between classes and other times. I suggest using the bus or investing in a good pair of walking shoes (or both).
3. Traditions may seem lame but are fun.
While drinking out the Old Well on the first day of classes may not 100% guarantee you a 4.0 GPA there's no harm in giving it a try, you may surprise yourself. Also, go with friends to make waiting in the extremely long line a memory to last.
4. Go find your classes before the first day.
Don't try to be a hero and find your classes the morning of. UNC is a huge campus and odds are you'll be completely lost or in the wrong classroom. Take an hour out of your busy schedule to go and find your classes, you'll thank me later.
5. There are multiple Pit preachers, but Gary is the OG.
Gary is known by many to constantly be going off on tangents about the sin he feels the students at UNC are committing. Most of the time you can find him seated over on the quad out in front of Wilson Library, so don't be confused when someone in the Pit starts preaching about Jesus, it's not Gary. While a lot of students don't necessarily agree with his beliefs, it is always interesting to take a couple of minutes to hear what he is ranting about on that particular day.
6. Healthy bowl + plus swipes = love.
Healthy Bowl is a restaurant in the bottom of Lenoir Dining Hall. I tried it once and now I'm hooked. Also, using your plus swipes here is smart because, out of pocket, Healthy Bowl can be a little pricey.
7. Learn the bus system ASAP.
The buses are your friends, use them! You will use the buses for plenty of reasons" rain, to get to Franklin, or to go into Carborro. I'm not saying you're going to use the buses on a daily basis, but they will come in handy every now and again when you aren't feeling that long walk to class.
8. The lines at Lenoir suck even more from 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Lunch time is always the busiest on campus due to the fact that many students are either finishing up classes, about to start classes or have a small break with just enough time to grab lunch before running off to work or class. If you're in a hurry, I recommend sticking with the bottom of Lenoir for lunch.
9. Carborro coffee shops are wonderful places to study or grab a good cup of coffee.
Of course, there's coffee on campus, but if you are looking for a quality chai latte hop on over to Open Eye. The ambiance is great and it's an easy bus ride away. Trust me, it's leaps and bounds better than Starbucks.
10. Free T-shirts are a thing and should be taken seriously.
If I'm being completely honest throughout the year I think I accumulated a grand total of 30 free shirts from random places. From football games to Thanksgiving at Rams UNC is always willing to give out free shirts.
11. FallFest is fun....but insane.
FallFest is a great way to hear about a ton of student organizations, but you'll probably end up still be unsubscribing from clubs into your senior year if you aren't careful. Also, use the buddy system when approaching FallFest because it is far easier to lose someone in the giant crowd of people than getting Phase One basketball tickets through the lottery.
12. You're gonna regret taking an 8 a.m., but you'll probably end up taking another one at some point.
13. Dook sucks.
I'll let this wonderful picture of Grayson Allen explain how we feel about Dook.
14. Free food is EVERYWHERE.
All I'm gonna say is one time I got an entire pizza for free.
15. Rushing Franklin after beating Dook or winning the Natty is exhilarating.
There aren't enough words to describe what it feels like to be surrounded by thousands of your closest friends as you all come together to sing the Alma Mater or celebrate another championship run. Other schools burn benches when they win, we shut down an entire street. If that's not school spirit, then I don't know what is.
16. Lenoir is better than Rams
Location wise, Rams (or Chase) is closer to south campus, but trust me, take a couple of extra minutes and mosey on over to Lenoir you'll thank me later.
17. We aren't rivals with NC State.
NC State fans can say what they want, but when your team gets beaten by 51 points in anything I don't think you can call it a "rivalry" anymore.
18. Registering for classes sucks.
I don't really have to explain this one, I'm sure you already know this by now. I just hate to be the one to say it doesn't get much better the older you are.
19. Give Carolina For The Kids a try.
Carolina For The Kids is honestly one of my favorite organizations on campus. Throughout the year they raise money to help families at UNC's children's hospital. At the end of the year, they celebrate their accomplishments with a 24-hour dance marathon! I'm not going to spoil all the fun that comes along with dance marathon, I'm just going to say give it a shot because you most definitely will not regret it. Oh, and if you're worried about the dancing aspect of it, don't worry you'll be fine.
20. The benches outside of the student store are a great little place to relax.
Trust me on this one, if you're looking for an in between class break, or a place to stop and chill for a few minutes, this is the place to go. Just give it a try, I promise you won't be disappointed.
21. Go to more than just football and basketball games.
It's no secret that UNC stands for University of National Champions, but what a lot of people forget is that more teams than just the basketball team have won a national championship. Our school has won 43 national championships, 21 of which were won by the women's soccer team. Of course, there's also the fact that Carolina Fever rewards the top 150 students who've accumulated the most points by going to various other sporting events by giving them tickets to the UNC vs. Duke game.
22. Everyone has tripped over the bricks at least once.
The bricks in the Pit are deadly, beware! But in all seriousness, don't worry if you trip over a brick at some point because we've all done it, and some of us are bound to do it again at some point.
