Housing/roommates
- The on-campus housing complexes are Helaman Halls, Heritage Halls, and Wyview (we lived in Wyview!), and Wymount (for married couples/families). You can find out more about these here.
- When searching for off-campus housing you can go to och.byu.edu and find information about different complexes, vacancy listings, and BYU guidelines. You can also pick up a housing guide in magazine racks on campus (or access it on this website). The housing guide magazine has comparison graphs showing the amenities, prices, etc. for the different complexes in the area.
- Remember-- you don’t need to live in a palace. Just find a place with good people and good management for a good price and you’ll be just fine.
Food/Dining
- There are lots of places to eat on campus. There is the Cougareat in the Wilkinson Center, the Blue Line Deli in the basement of the Tanner Building, Legends Grille in the Student Athlete Building, the Museum Cafe in the Museum of Art, Jamba Juice in the Wilkinson Center and the Student Athlete Building, The Creamery on 9th, and the Cannon Commons in the Helaman Halls complex. You can find menus, hours, and other information for all of these places at dining.byu.edu.
- If you have to buy lunch on campus, try to plan it so you are not trying to get food in the Cougareat between 11am-1pm the first week or two of school-- the lines are crazy long (especially at Subway, Taco Bell and Chick-fil-a).
- Even if you don’t live at Helaman, you can still eat at the Cannon Center. It is fairly pricey if you do not have a meal plan, but if you do it's a good deal for an all-you-can-eat cafeteria.
- There are many grocery stores around Provo (Macey's and Smith's being the most popular) where you can buy food for good prices. If you have food allergies (such as gluten or lactose) a good place to look is Sprout's grocery store in Orem. They have many whole-foods and gluten-free options.
- You can eat healthily and still have it be cheap and quick. Try cooking larger amounts of hamburger/chicken all at once on an evening or weekend when you have free time and separating it into easy to grab, already cooked 1-cup bags. This makes cooking something with these ingredients so much easier if you can just grab and reheat it. Make sure you have some meals on-hand that are good for a busy night when you don't have time or energy to cook. Canned soup, frozen bagged meals (such as stir-fry), etc. are much better than not eating or just eating junk because you don't have time.
- If your roommates are the cooking type, offer to collaborate. If you don't like cooking, offer to supply the ingredients if they cook it and then eat together (or vise versa). Dinner groups are also a fun, social option and can take the stress off of you for figuring out meals every night. See if some people in your FHE group or complex want to put one together!
Employment/Finances
- You can find on-campus job postings on the student job website: studentjobs.byu.edu These cover positions from all departments and areas of campus, as well as the MTC. There are also job postings in the Wilkinson Center by the Student Employment office. Both of these are updated daily, so be sure to check the site/board frequently if you are looking for work.
- The Student Employment office is in room 2024 of the Wilkinson Center. This is the office that processes new hires, so if you get an on-campus job you will need to come here to fill out the necessary paperwork. To do this you will have to have your original social security card-- so if it is still at your parent's house make sure they send it to you before you try to start working. At the Student Employment office you can also take the "Office Skills" tests which give you scores on your knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Powerpoint, Excel, etc.) and on your typing speed/accuracy. Some on-campus jobs require your scores on these tests when you apply.
- You can work multiple on-campus jobs if your schedule allows it. However, you cannot work more than 20 hours per week total (between all your jobs) during Fall/Winter and not more than 40 hours per week during Spring/Summer. International students need to be extra diligent in not going over hours or risk violating the terms of their visa.
- During Spring and Summer terms you can work full time (40 hours per week) even if you are not in classes. As long as you are registered as a full time student for the upcoming Fall semester you are still eligible to work full time.
- Learn how to create a professional resume-- the look and quality of your resume can make or break it with potential employers. They have workshops on how to create resumes at the Career and Academic Success Center in room 2590 in the Wilkinson Center.
Other
- If you aren’t used to cold weather/snow/ice here are some pro tips: get shoes with good traction that don’t leak; avoid dark spots in the snow (black ice!), get a real coat, warm scarf and some good gloves, thermals under your jeans are the best