Quad Day is a lot. There are hundreds ≠of clubs and RSOs on campus, and there are only four hours on Quad Day to see as many as you can. The Main Quad will be packed with thousands of students seeing which clubs might interest them. Here are some tips to survive quad day and how to make the most of it.

Leave yourself time to explore the entire Main Quad

There is a lot to see in the four hours on Quad Day. Don’t wait an hour or two to get to the Main Quad; get there as soon as it starts so you can take a break after seeing one side of the Main Quad and then spend the rest of your time seeing the other. There are lines upon lines of people for free food, t-shirts and other goodies. Leave yourself time so you can go back to a booth once the line is shorter to sign up or get the freebies you couldn’t get when the line was long earlier.

Plan your route

You’ll want to take a look at the map before Quad Day starts so you have an idea of where certain booths will be located you know you want to check out. The Main Quad will be so packed which makes it difficult and chaotic to easily see each booth. Make sure you know which areas to prioritize and which areas you can come back to later. Some booths are located behind Foellinger or on the side of the Illini Union, so don’t forget about those!

Take breaks

The weather is typically scorching hot on Quad Day, so you’ll want to make sure you have time to go in air conditioning or get water before you conquer the other side of the Main Quad you didn’t get to yet. Dress appropriately, and wear a ton of sunscreen!

You don’t have to sign up for every club

You might feel tempted to put your email down for all the cool clubs you see, but a week into the semester you’ll have 30 emails from random clubs you’re not interested in and you won’t know how to unsubscribe (or you’ll be too lazy to figure it out). Be smart and efficent about how many clubs you really think you’ll want to be a part of to avoid spam emails to your email account.

Remember to have fun and enjoy it

Quad Day is a unique tradition to our University. You only have four Quad Days, so make sure you make the most of each of them! This is a perfect day to take pride in being a college student, venture out of your comfort zone and to meet new people. Enjoy all the freebies, take pictures and find a new interest for this upcoming school year!

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