Congratulations, you survived first semester. Now, for the next two weeks many students will be going into what I like to call hibernation mode; locking themselves in a room to study and only leaving to go to the bathroom. However, the bright side of all this finals madness is once you have completed your last final, you are officially on break.
Many freshmen may be surprised to find that our winter break lasts an entire month. An entire month to sleep in to 3 p.m. everyday, have the best home cooked meals — I mean anything is better than dorm food — spend almost everyday with your high school friends, and finally be able to relax.
For those freshmen living in the residential halls who are not staying over winter break, there will be a time limit to leave. The rules say that you have 24 hours after your last final to check out of your dorm. The latest time to check out is Dec. 16 at 5 p.m. If you don’t want to be charged a fee, then I advise that you leave according to your last final.
If you cannot get enough of the dorms and plan to stay on campus during break, there are forms you must fill out according to your campus. The deadline to complete the form is Dec. 19, so there is still plenty of time to decide.
However, before you take off to your final break destination, take advantage of the opportunity to resell your textbooks. Each campus will have different locations at either the bookstore or another major location. All of the campus bookstores will be open until Dec. 17 for buybacks. Before you try to buyback your textbooks, make sure that they are not torn apart, missing covers or pages, and look almost good-as-knew. The value of your buyback will be based on whether the instructor has informed the bookstore that the book will be used in future semesters, the publisher has not released a new edition of the book, there are a low number of books unsold from last semester already in the bookstore, and the book is of course in good condition. So if you are one of those people with saran wrap still on your book, then you are definitely in for a good deal.
Now, as soon as all of your finals are done, you made a little cash off of textbooks, all of your food is thrown out, clothes packed, and you have checked out of your residential hall, your first semester of college, and of freshmen year is finally, and officially completed. There is no need to feel sad though, because there is still an entire semester waiting for you after the long awaited break.
Sadly, it is my time to say my final goodbyes to “Get Fresh.” I feel as though all my work and advice here is done, and that all of you freshmen have survived fall semester more than with just my advice and tips. From “Movin’ on Up” into the dorms, to advising you on the latest Halloween costumes, I have enjoyed every second of this bumpy ride. I will be back spring semester with an entirely new topic, so stay tuned. In the meantime thank you to all of my readers, have a safe winter break, and so long my fellow fresh.
Get Fresh Tips:
- Make sure to check out of your dorms according to your last final; you do not want to find out what the late fee will be.
- If you are planning to stay on campus during break, make sure you fill out a form that can be found online.
- Take advantage of the buyback opportunities that all of the bookstores offer.
- Most of all, have a safe winter break and take advantage of your time off.
