The beginning of the fall semester is upon us. For a lot of us, this signifies the return. The return to Athens, the return of football season, the return of your friends, etc. However for some, this is the beginning. For over 5,000 new bulldawgs, this is the start of their journey at UGA. I decided to reflect and in doing so I came up with a top 10 list of helpful tips to know going into freshman year.

1. Leave your door open

The first few days of freshman year can be so intimidating. Keep your door open on your hall for an easy way to interact with your hall mates. While you'll make friends in your classes and clubs, your hall mates will be some of the people you'll interact with the most your freshman year, so be sure to get to know them!

2. Map Out Your Classes, before the first day

Grab a map of the school, your class schedule, and a friend or two and go explore. You'll thank yourself later when you're not awkwardly walking in 20 minutes late because you didn't know the difference between North Campus and East Campus.

3. Keep Track of Your Money

With group dinners and parties with all of your new friends, it can be tough to keep up with who owes who what. There's an app for that! Go ahead and download Tilt, it's used to organize things like parties, philanthropic events, tailgates for Saturdays in Athens, and everything else you can think of.

4. Wait to Buy Your Books

Read up on your professors and classes on Koofers and RateMyProfessor. In some cases, you might not even need the book, even though the syllabus says so. I typically order mine mid-way through drop/add week off of Amazon or Chegg, which is usually way cheaper than some of the bookstores in town.

5. Streaming

Whether your go-to is Netflix, Hulu, or HBO Go, make sure to subscribe to at least one of them. While freshman year is busy, you will have some down time every once in a while. Falling in love with a new show is a good way to spend it.

6. The Hill to the High Rises

Don't avoid it, for some of you it will be your only form of exercise other than running to Snelling to get pizza before midnight strikes.

7. Late Night Suggestions

Whether you've been spending the evening downtown or all night studying, you will most likely venture to the late night food establishments of Athens a few times. Some classics include pizza from Little Italy, feta fries from The Grill, and milkshakes from Cookout. Don't do this too often, though, or it will hurt both your wallet and your waistline.

8. Go to the Football Games

And stay as long as you can stand it. This seems like a given, right? You'd be surprised! I remember my very first UGA game as a student, it was against Clemson two years ago. By the end of the final play, all of my makeup had melted off my face and I was exhausted, but it was so exciting to finally be able to sit in that student section and cheer from first quarter to fourth.

9. Join a Club

UGA has over 700 student organizations, so there are plenty of options to choose from. Whether you're philanthropic, artistic, brainy, or just want to get to know people, UGA has a club for you! There's an activities fair in Tate at the beginning of the semester so try to drop by that to find a club that suits you.

10. Take It All In

Right now you're probably sick of hearing comments like "you blink and it's over!" but no matter how many times you hear it, know that it is true. Freshman year speeds by because time flies when you're having fun, so make sure to enjoy it.

Welcome to UGA! We're so glad to have you.