There's a lot about Ball State that you'll only learn with time. For first-year students, this means they're bound to make a mistake, or twenty-three. As I prepare to enter my final year at Ball State, I look back and cringe thinking of the mistakes I made freshman year that I know the class of 2022 is BOUND to make this year.
1. Eating in the Atrium at noon.
Unless you want to spend thirty minutes in line for some waffle fries or a cheese pizza, I suggest hitting up another dining hall for lunch. Better yet, just make lunch later.
2. Always taking hand-outs from the Scramble Light.
You're going to end up with 3 unopened Tootsie Pops, thirteen different flyers, and a button in your jacket pocket by the end of the day if you do this.
3. NOT keeping their dorm room door open.
Especially if you live in LaFollette or Stu West (both primarily freshmen locations), you need to keep your dorm room door open for at LEAST the first month. Friends are right around the corner, I promise.
4. Signing up for 2536 different orgs at the Activity Fair.
There's just no way you're going to be able to balance everything you're interested in. Also, you'll for sure take home a million flyers that will just end up in your desk drawer.
5. Hitting up every single Late Nite.
Listen, you need to go to your first Late Nite, but after that, Late Nite is nothing more than something you'll go to when you're bored out of your mind or want to grab some free pizza before hitting up a house party. It is not that great.
6. Going party-crazy.
Riverside isn't that far of a walk from campus, thank God. But that DOESN'T mean you need to hit up the frats every Thursday-Saturday. Your liver and your grades will suffer.
7. …or not partying at all.
Listen, you gotta find the perfect medium. If you walk out of your freshman year saying you never went to a party you didn't even begin to experience Ball State.
8. Hopping on the bus at 5pm on a Friday to go pick up their car at the stadium.
Unless you want to awkwardly stand next to a hot frat guy and some girl with her thirteen travel bags for the weekend home, don't do this. It'll be the worst (and longest) five-minute ride of your life.
9. Eating Chick-fil-a for lunch everyday.
Having a Chick-fil-a on campus is a BLESSING, don't get me wrong. But if you eat waffle fries and nugs for lunch every day, you're going to pack on the pounds, no question.
10. Thinking they’re actually going to be able to find a table on the 2nd floor of Bracken.
Unless you're there at an ungodly hour, this isn't happening. Don't hold your breath about this one.
11. Putting hour gaps between their classes.
THIS IS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE YOU WILL EVER MAKE. DON'T. DO. IT. Ball State's campus is not that big, you can easily make it from one class to another in ten or fifteen minutes. This will make your classes fly by and give you lots of free time in your evenings.
12. Buying every single textbook before classes even start.
You're just throwing away because you won't even open half of them after the first week.
13. Not taking advantage of all the free resources on campus.
Well, they're not really free because your tuition money is going right to them, so that makes it even worse when you're not using it. Check out the Counseling Center, Learning Center, and every event held by your RA.
14. Bringing food with them to the 4th floor of Bracken.
Unless you want dirty looks for thirty-two different sleep-deprived college kids, take your bag of chips with you to the third floor instead.
15. Only packing one fan to take with them to LaFollette, or any other residence hall without AC.
Unfortunately, you'll probably spend your freshman year in a residence hall without air conditioning. And while you'll quickly learn to make the best of it, those oversized closets can get HOT.
16. Signing up for the Premium Plan.
Unless you're a weirdo like me, you're going to want to move off campus ASAP. I'll be the first to admit living on campus is expensive AF, and the Premium Plan means you'll spend two years on campus instead of the standard one.
17. Thinking they’ll be okay if they don’t move their car back to the stadium by 7pm on Sunday.
Anyone who attends Ball State knows Parking Services SUCKS. They will ticket you even if it's only 7:10, and you will use that oops pass and then some.
18. Throwing away Dining Plus like its never-ending.
Depending on your meal plan, you'll get either $75 or $150 in Dining Plus. This is supposed to last you all semester, not just two months. You'll want to buy ice cream every night and Starbucks every morning, but if you do, you'll be deprived come finals week when you really need it.
19. Convincing themselves that the WiFi is reliable.
Ball State WiFi sucks, end of story. It WILL disconnect when you're in the middle of an exam. It WILL shut down randomly across campus for two hours when you have a paper due. Don't convince yourself it's reliable. It's not.
20. Constantly leaving their ID in their room instead of taking it with them to the bathroom.
In residence halls with communal restrooms, you have to swipe your ID to get in. It's annoying and you will leave it in your room at the worst of times, like when your hands are full with your shower stuff or when you just really really have to pee.
21. Taking a terrible PFW class, like jogging.
If you thought you days of miserable physical education classes were over, just wait! You have to take PFW to graduate from Ball State! Thankfully, you have a few options, but even if you think you want to stay in shape and you love to run, sign up for a fun one like water aerobics or just slide by with walking. You'll thank yourself later.
22. Leaving their ID in the bathroom.
As if leaving it in your room wasn't bad enough, just wait until you leave your ID in the bathroom and have to awkwardly stand outside the door until someone comes by to swipe you in.
23. Arriving at the Midnight Breakfast AT midnight.
One of the highlights of Finals' Week is the Midnight Breakfast. I mean, unlimited breakfast food during your late night study sesh? You know it's gonna be hit. However, don't wait until midnight to show up because they usually start at 11 anyways, and the lines are LONG. You'll want to get there early.
