When a student comes to the University, he or she leaves quite a few things behind: friends, parents, a private bathroom and their single mode of transportation, a car. But somehow, year after year, the majority of freshmen don’t bring their cars and survive.

“If going somewhere on campus, I usually just walk,” said Caroline Michelson, sophomore in LAS. “And if it’s cold, I usually take the bus.”

Many of the buildings that house classrooms are on or near the Quad, which is walking distance from most of the residence halls. Students also have the option of bringing a bike to school, with bike paths available throughout campus, and bike racks near every building. If it’s not walking or biking weather, there are several bus routes that stop near all the residence halls and take students around campus. Still, the routes take some getting used to.

“My freshman year, I got one of those books with all the routes in it, and that was still kind of confusing,” said Eric Thompson, senior in FAA and resident assistant for Illini Tower. “So I took one afternoon and I got on the major campus bus routes and I rode them around full circuit once or twice and saw where they went. Plus, it’s free to ride it, so it’s not going to cost you to find out.”

A booklet that shows the routes for every Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District bus is available near the front of all the buses. Also, the C-U MTD has a Web site, www.cumtd.com, which is easy to use and can tell you which buses to take just by entering the starting place and destination.

Buses can also take you to off-campus locations like the movie theater or the mall. But Thompson says the University creates an environment where you don’t really have to leave campus.

“Everything you need is on a campus, except a large grocery store, which they are building,” Thompson said. “You have dozens of restaurants, you have more and more stores and boutiques coming, and all your food is right here in the dorms.”

There are also options for getting home without a car.

“I either get rides home with people, or go on the bus,” Michelson said.

There are several companies on campus that provide coach bus services to and from the Chicago area and the University. Round trip tickets can go from $40 to $50. In addition, The Illinois Terminal near downtown Champaign runs Amtrak trains to Union Station, and Greyhound buses to several cities.

Getting work done

When applying for housing, Jenny Beightol, sophomore in LAS, heard the Six Pack was the place to be, and put it as her number one choice. She also heard it wasn’t the place to study.

“I had heard that it was really loud and people were crazy and partying all the time and I was kind of afraid that it was going to be like that, but it’s not,” Beightol said, who lives in Scott Hall in the Six Pack.

Still, her residence hall is not the best place for studying.

“I go to the undergrad library a lot,” Beightol said. “I usually go to the basement because it’s silent, and I try to get a cubicle. I would go with friends, but we would each get our own cubicle and do our work, but since we were together we would take coffee breaks.”

Michelson said she spends most of her studying time in the library as well.

“It’s probably like four days a week, on average two hours (a day),” Michelson said. “I do some work (in my room), but when it’s reading or writing papers I usually go to the library to do it. It’s hard to get it done in the dorms because there are so many distractions.”

Thompson says some people might find it hard to study at the undergrad because there are so many people, and that there are other options where it is less crowded.

“Whatever college or major you’re in has their own library,” Thompson said. “Every dorm, including private certified housing offers some study lounge. Or you have 25 to 30 different coffee shops around campus.”

Getting in the right classes

Unlike in high school, there is no one at the University to hold your hand while you register for classes. This leaves new students confused about what classes to register for and how to do it.

“There’s a lot of classes kids get into because the description for the classes sounds something like they want,” Thompson said. “The best bet is if you know someone at the U of I that is a sophomore or a junior, they can give you a list of classes that fulfill your general requirements, they can tell you which professors to look for or avoid, which lab classes are easier than others.”

There are several Web sites that can help with scheduling, too. Ratemyprofessors.com provides ratings of professors and classes written by students. Web sites like scheedule.com can help with fitting all the needed classes into your schedule. Just enter the course numbers for all the classes you need to take, and scheedule.com generates numerous schedules that you can choose from.

Thompson warns that new students shouldn’t try to overload their schedules for the first semester.

“(Freshmen) try to go nuts from the beginning, trying to take 18 hours first semester freshman year,” Thompson said. “You’re not just in school anymore, you’re in college and you have to get adjusted to a whole different lifestyle.”