21 Things You Can 100% Expect Your First Semester At York University

1.  Everyone's move-in day at York will be the same.

2. William Small Centre is notorious that first month for having ridiculously long lineups that end with a really bad student card picture.

3. You might make friends in the same college, but you probably won't see them again. This means you probably won't stay besties with that person you attached yourself to during orientation week.

4. You will be recruited to join every club and attend every event there is. It's your time...

...as our slogan so cleverly says. York has dozens of clubs and thousands of people. Everyone is welcome.

5. You will constantly plan new routes to classes and try to navigate yourself through a tunnel or two.

Although convenient in the winter, it can be difficult to get your bearings at first, especially when new tunnels pop up around campus and no one really has any idea when and how it got there.

Photo cred - Giphy

6. Curtis Lecture Hall, the Ross Building and Vari Hall are all connected, so wandering into a wrong class or more accurately, a few wrong classes a few too many times, happens.

Sometimes you just gotta give up and try again tomorrow. York is Canada’s third-largest university, so plan to weave in and around people or accept your fate and join the many others stuck in the centre of a pile up, all wandering around dazed and confused.

7. Buying textbooks is made increasingly more difficult when the York U bookstore runs out of books.

There are isles and isles of textbooks worth more than the average students' entire bank account, but still at least one of your textbooks with be out of stock. You'll really debate whether or not these classes are worth the hundreds of dollars...thousands of dollars.

8. Prepare for more fire drills than you've collectively experienced in your entire life, because they happen a lot that first month.

Get York'd. Usually in the middle of the night, repeatedly throughout the night.

9. There is only one Starbucks on campus and it is in the theatre building. They knew what they were doing.

Needless to say, it will always have a line. It's hard to complain though when your university has its own mini shopping centre, like York does. York Lanes is really a one-stop shop to everything you might need at convenience, including a few restaurants and other cafes as well as many other services. Click here for a full store directory!

10. Your syllabus will probably make you cry into your overly expensive textbooks.

Just wait until the exam schedule comes out and you have your exam on December 22nd.

Photo cred - Tumblr

11. You will get roped into endless conversations by petitioners, protesters, advocates or some form of council in Vari Hall.

Avoiding eye contact won't help you.

12. Strangers will talk to you on the way to York Lanes.

People are going to talk to you - even if you don't know them. Most of the time, it's okay. Everyone is very friendly, but you do need to trust your gut instinct sometimes because it is such a large school with many people coming and going.

13. Chances are you'll like at least one or two out of the 53,000+ students that attend York.

Come on, there are too many people on campus for you to dislike them all. York is so incredibly diverse, it won't be a problem finding your niche and a crowd you want to surround yourself with. Clubs, teams, fraternities, whatever it may be, York probably has it and it's a great way to meet people outside of classes.

14. Every night is pub night at the Ab. Ditch the notion in your head that you can handle your alcohol because you will be proven wrong.

There are so many places to experience on campus that it's easy to get excited and maybe a little carried away some nights. We are still learning. There is a great little pub on campus, the Absinthe, located in Winter's college, or the Underground in the Student Centre, Shopsy's in York Lanes, along with plenty of dances and other sorts of parties. York is also going one step further and making it easier for us to get around and really experience the entirety of Toronto by constructing a subway station. Coming soon!

15. AirYork will teach you not to procrastinate!

Stress, crying, all nighters... Stuff piles up quickly if you procrastinate and you can't count on AirYork to connect 100% of the time, so be prepared and try to start things as early as possible to avoid throwing countless tantrums! The internet is not on our side.

Photo cred - Rock Comedy Film

16. And you may feel a little dumb because you can't even work the water filtration machine.

What good is a degree if you can't even work a water fountain?

17. You do not care about looking good at 8am because you will probably fall asleep in Stedman Lecture Hall anyway.

Priorities.

18. You will occasionally worry about if you’re doing university “right”, again something about this being "your time".

There really is no "right" way to experience university, so long as it's what feels right for you. You might not have everything figured out right now, but that's what these years are for. Do your best, find your passion and try not to stress too much.

19. NATS so fast! You'll have to take some form of science course.

You're probably lying to yourself if you think you can graduate from York without taking some kind of science course, regardless of your major.

20. Popeyes will help you gain that freshman 15...every year.

Definitely expect your overall health to decline.

Photo cred - Giphy

21.You will receive frequent security bulletins. This is meant to keep you safe and alert, not to instil terror.

Eventually you'll stop jumping when your phone goes off with an e-mail from York, instead you'll learn to be cautious and aware of your surroundings. York is amazing at being accountable. It's important to know that they send out security bulletins for every incident big or small, and not only if occurs on campus but in the surrounding area as well.

Congratulations you can hold a fork, but you also have your sh*t together, or at least you have as much together as anyone else, and you should take comfort in that.

It will feel like a whirlwind at times, and you'll definitely look forward to winter break just so you can slow down for a moment before you have to do it all again. It takes a couple tries to get things right and it probably won't always be fun or easy, but enjoy what you can and the rest will be worth it. At least that's what we have to keep telling ourselves.

You can do this. Good luck!