The University of Wisconsin-Madison has more to it than just education. The city of Madison is always full of life, great views, and amazing food. For college students, there is so much to do outside of class. College life at UW can be a struggle, but it has so many perks which draw students to coming here and loving it. Memorial Union, State Street, and sporting events are only a few of these perks. Bascom Hill and exams are a few of the struggles as well. All of these things which make up college life at UW can be described with GIFs from "Parks and Recreation."
1. Ian's Pizza
Ian's is always packed full of drunk students on weekend nights that the line goes out the door. They also gave out free mac pizza to people who voted!
2. When you get food on State Street
State Street has a huge variety of places to eat, both local and national. Chain-wise there's Chipotle, Qdoba, Taco Bell, Five Guys, Noodles and Co., Potbelly, and Insomnia Cookies. Local favorites include Mooyah, Glaze, Salads Up, and Brats. Sure, it would probably be cheaper to make food at home or go to one of the dining halls, but treat yo self.
3. State Street's coffee shops
Colectivo is the most popular coffee shop on State Street due to its amazing coffee, extensive menu, and aesthetic atmosphere. Starbucks and Caribou come in a close second. Starbucks because of its national reputation, and Caribou because of its conjunction with Einstein Bros Bagels. Personally, Caribou is my favorite. Chocolate chip bagels FTW. In addition, there's Espresso Royale, Fair Trade, Michaelangelo's, and Sun Room Cafe.
4. Gordon's waffles
Their waffles even have the UW-Madison insignia on them. Classy waffles are my favorite waffles. Plus fruit toppings, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup?? Unbeatable.
5. Voluntarily waiting over an hour to get into Basset Street Brunch Club on the weekends
Ron is right. Breakfast food is the ultimate food, and that is why Bassett is so packed every weekend. They even have an entree named "The Hangover," because they know. Bassett has amazing brunch, delicious donuts, and serves Colectivo coffee. It's worth the wait.
6. Babcock Ice Cream
Babcock ice cream is essential at UW-Madison. It's perfect for eating on the Memorial Union terrace on a hot, sunny day or for buying a pint to eat in your dorm while stressfully doing homework. The best part is that you can pay for it with your Wiscard so it's like you're not even paying for it, right?
7. Football Game Day
This year half of the home games were at 11 a.m. on Saturdays. Students woke up early Saturday morning after going out the night before and rallied to tailgate before the game. Additionally, many of the students didn't show up to the game until the middle of the second quarter and left at the end of the third quarter after Jump Around. Don't forget Ben's Pretzels.
8. DJ Shawna
Does your school have a DJ who plays music at sporting events like football, hockey, and basketball? We do. No need to awkwardly sit on your phone during timeouts and halftimes because she will keep you dancing the whole game!
9. Having to work out at Ogg because the SERF is under construction
The Southeast Recreation Facility, aka the big gym to workout in has been under renovation for the 2018-2019 school year. In replacement, there is a make-do gym in Ogg Residence Hall. It's ALWAYS packed.
10. Getting lost in the humanities building
Mosse Humanities Building is basically a labyrinth. There are a million entrances yet somehow you can't find your class or a way out when you leave.
11. Walking up Bascom Hill to get to class
"Your palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, there's vomit on your professor's sweater already, Gordon's spaghetti."
12. Regretting scheduling a night class
UW-Madison's campus is huge. Scheduling a night class means walking far, in the dark, when it's cold. In addition, all of your friends are done with classes for the day but you aren't. I took a two-hour night class, twice a week, my first semester. It was a 15-minute walk from my dorm AND I had to walk up Bascom Hill to get there. Regret.
13. You, to yourself, when you actually go to class
Wanting to stay in bed, having to do other homework, spending time with friends, or pure laziness are the typical excuses for skipping class. When the professor doesn't take attendance, it's easy to want to skip.
14. Having midterms the whole month of October
One month into school and all of a sudden it's the midterm season. My first midterm was October 5th and my last midterm was October 24th. Some people even had two rounds of midterms. WHY?
15. Memorial Union
Memorial Union is one of my favorite places on campus. There is a huge lounge area which overlooks the lake. Students come here to do homework or meet up with friends. Need food? You can get wood-fired pizza at Strada, chicken strips and/or cheese curds at Rathskeller, coffee at Peet's or ice cream at The Daily Scoop. All of these options in one place. In the warmer months, Memorial Union has colorful chairs and tables set out on the terrace overlooking the lake. There's a stage where bands perform and movies are played. There are many dogs being walked and cute little ducks swimming.
16. Weekend nights
Peer pressure? More like beer pressure.
17. Sunday morning
Sundays are tough. You think about all the stuff that happened over the weekend, you just want to lay in bed all day, and you have all the homework that you put off the whole week.
18. Texting your mom 24/7
UW-Madison's campus is huge, and there are tens of thousands of students, yet, it can still get lonely. Sometimes you just need to talk to someone familiar, even if it's about something trivial like whether or not I should get chicken strips for dinner...again.
19. Checking Canvas
Canvas is where grades are posted at UW-Madison, in addition to discussion posts, readings, quizzes, and syllabuses. There's a cool tool to predict what your grade will be in the class based on what grades you think you'll get on assignments. *Tries to figure out how to get from a B to an A in the last week of the semester.*
I love UW-Madison. It's my home, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
Going to the cinema alone is good for your mental health, says science
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