Navigating Freshman Year at Bryant University

 

 

Freshman year at any school can be quite the hassle. Bryant has many unique aspects to its campus and weekend life that many incoming students may not be aware of. The lifestyles of campuses are very different, and Bryant is an exceptional example to this. Follow these tips and you will be sure to be successful your freshman year at Bryant. We would also suggest reading this article if you are a prospective Bryant student! 

 

 

 

Most people come to Bryant for some type of business degree. One thing you have to remember is that if you major in business, you have to minor in an arts/science that is related and vice versa. This is to ensure that you are well rounded and employers look for this diversity in the future, so start taking a mix of classes early.

 

Free Laptops  (kind of) 

 

As a freshman at Bryant, you are given a Lenovo laptop that you keep for two years. Junior year you receive the newest version of this laptop and get to keep it after graduating. These are considered “free,” but we all know it’s built into our tuition. Laptop Central is always there for you for any tech problems, but don’t leave your laptop out on the weekends because someone will be sure to spill some type of substance on it and you don’t want to pay that hefty $350 for the water damage fix.

 

 

GFOB will basically ruin your life for a semester, and at the end make you feel like a CEO. GFOB is the worst class you’ll take at Bryant. It is a required course that all freshman must take. It’s a huge time commitment, so be sure to pick a group of people that you don’t mind seeing every second of everyday for group meetings.

 

 

The library is everyone’s best friend and worst enemy. The Bryant library is absolutely gorgeous, but those floor length windows can get really distracting at times. This distraction will cause you to be at the library for over six hours just to get all of your homework done. We would highly recommend finding and using the resources the library has to offer, which truly are a huge help. The second floor is the absolute silent zone so make sure to put your phone on silent before you walk up the stairs!

 

 

You don’t even have to try and get to know your professors, because the classes are so small it just happens. There are no lecture halls at Bryant, and all of your professors will know your name by the third week of classes. This is an awesome thing about Bryant, because you will always feel like you have a voice and it isn’t as scary asking questions in a room of 20 people as it would be in a room with 400 people.

 

 

LOL what is WiFi? Does Bryant have WiFi? One will never know. We honestly have pretty sucky WiFi. It works perfectly on our laptops (almost) everywhere we go. But god forbid we want to connect to the WiFi on our phones. No chance of that happening. Sorry mom and dad, but our data bill is going to be off the charts as usual this month. In our experience, this is true for many college campuses.  

 

 

 

Gateway sessions are an extreme inconvenience. They are mandatory sessions for GFCL and GFOB that freshman must go to and reflect on. The topics range from time management to staying safe on the weekends, so make sure to look at the schedule ahead of time so you hopefully won’t be falling asleep during the session. The speakers can be boring at times, but overall the Gateway Sessions actually do help guide you and explain to you things you may not have been clear on before.

 

 

 

Some enjoy the IDEA Program, others can’t stand it. It is a three day program that all freshman must partake in for one class credit. It is held right after winter break. Overall, it is an intensive program to develop different types of brainstorming activities and evaluate how well you work in a group. At the end of the three days, there is a trade show and everyone presents their final products to judges and three groups win!

 

 

 

The Unistructure is where all of your classes will be held. But unfortunately the hallways look EXACTLY the same. You could get lost for days walking around those halls trying to figure out what floor you are even on. It can become extremely confusing when you realize you aren’t even on the right floor. Everything looks the same and every classroom is set up the same way, so be careful when you go to walk in to a classroom you think is yours. Also, watch out for M-wing because it is extremely difficult to find. On the bright side, you don’t have to worry about going to multiple different buildings for your classes!

 

 

 

 

Going to the gym at either 12 or 5 pm is one of the worst decisions you could ever make. Literally no machines or weights will be open. It is the prime time to go before/after class or getting food. Make sure you check the app before you head to the gym because it sucks when you get there and have nothing to do. It also sucks because all of the athletes can use the NARP (nonathletic regular people) gym, but we can’t use their gym.

 

 

 

Having a work study doesn’t mean a thing. Basically, everyone somehow magically finds a job on campus besides you and you end up being broke for the entire the semester. Send emails to just about every place on campus you know of, and just pray that someone happens to have a spot open somewhere down the line.

 

 

 

Nick’s Place is a way better option than Salmo ever will be. Unfortunately, the service is slow. Literally you can wait 35 minutes for a premade salad. It may be good food, but sometimes you won’t have time to eat it because of how long it takes to come out.

 

 

 

Finding your mailbox and opening it is probably one of the hardest things you’ll experience at Bryant. It honestly takes at least five tries to get open your mailbox. But, for those of us whose families forgot about us when we left for college, you don’t have to worry about opening it because you don’t receive mail anyway.

 

 

 

On the upside, getting that email that says a package is waiting for you at the post office is like Christmas. It is especially wonderful when you haven’t recently ordered anything so you know it is a surprise. The only downside is waiting in that awfully long line at the post office between classes.

 

 

 

Bryant may just be the smallest campus on earth, yet five minute walks to class will feel like a marathon. Walking from one end of campus to the other literally takes seven minutes. It has been timed. 

 

 

 

Honestly, what the hell is this building? All we know is that the radio station is in it. No clue what else can be found in there besides the awesome underground tunnel into the Unistructure. Be sure to check that out on rainy days when you have to building hop.

 

 

 

Okay so here’s how it goes. Chicken parm night is Monday, breakfast for dinner is Tuesday, sushi for lunch Wednesday, and fancy Salmo Thursday. Sushi for lunch is actually the highlight of everyone’s week. Hands down. Most other nights you can count on stir-fry or the sandwich bar. Watch out for that freshman 15 though because with the wrong Salmo diet, you’ll be sure to pack on the pounds.

 

 

 

They suck. Most laundry days, people end up putting their laundry in the washer twice and the dryer three times. Save up that laundry until you head home for a long weekend, it’ll save you quite a bit of money.

 

 

 

Parking at Bryant is a lot like the hunger games. Ever since they started work on the new building, many parking spaces have disappeared. DPS is not friendly about this either. If your car is not in the lot it is supposed to be in, consider it towed or ticketed. Sorry, it isn’t our fault that there aren’t any parking spots in the lot we were assigned to.

 

 

So this one is especially important for a prospective Bryant student. There is a myth that if you walk through the archway at any time, for any circumstance, you will not graduate. The only way to reverse this curse is to jump in the pond. We would suggest staying far away from that archway!

 

 

 

The biggest problem that Bryant students face is that because we are such a small school, we know EVERYONE. Yeah this sounds good on the surface, but think about that time you were drinking and made an idiot out of yourself in front of people you’ve never met before. Turns out they are in your Microeconomics class that next Monday. Surprise!! You won’t go anywhere on this campus without seeing someone you don’t necessarily want to see. 

 

 

 

 

Around the world is hands down the best weekend on campus. It is the first weekend after upperclassmen move in day and it is the most fun you will ever have here. Each townhouse on a certain block has a theme and everyone goes “Around the World.” It’s a Bryant tradition and you have to experience it to know the real details.

 

 

 

Yes we stole something from Step Brothers. But we made it better. Around the third weekend of school, there is a huge Darty where everyone basically goes crazy and lots of wine is involved (obviously). Another Bryant tradition that the townhouses have the pleasure of hosting. 

 

 

 

If you absolutely have to go out on a week night, there’s probably something going on somewhere. Whiskey Republic is where most end up on a Wednesday night, Rente’s is fun almost any night of the week, and Effins is the classic Thursday night spot. Think before you go out to these places, because you can and will possibly get caught if under 21. 

 

 

 

You must know when you venture to the townhouses, you will probably know every song being played. The townhouses are notorious for throwback songs that everyone loves and can sing along to. It really brings everyone together regardless of who you are.

 

 

 

DPS (Department of Public Safety) is basically known as the fun police. They bust you for basically everything you do. We understand that they are trying to keep us all safe, but this can be a bummer when it’s time to party.

 

 

 

Last but definitely not least, Ronzio’s. Everyone can be found in Ronzio’s on weekend nights around midnight. It’s always a fun time when all your friends are done partying and just want to eat some “really bad for you” food. Get there early so you aren’t waiting in line for hours on end and  miss out on bacon and mac pizza.