Well, I was going to spend this time talking about campus housing, but then I realized that I’m dead tired, and decided not to. I actually had something else in mind, but again, I refer you to the line earlier about being remarkably sleepy, so as I’m typing right now I have no idea what I’ll be talking about by the end of this post. It would be exciting, if I didn’t have the alertness of a lazy tabby cat.
The weather most definitely does not feel like July, but the Fourth is this weekend, and I just realized earlier today that admissions is closed tomorrow, and while I love my job, my lack of sleep this last week makes that fact feel like sailing to India and finding America. Speaking of Independence Day (and I don’t mean movies starring the Fresh Prince), I would plan on sleeping in that day, but I’m pretty sure that a couple of guys and girls that I run with every Wednesday are going to convince me to run a race that morning. Of course if I skip it, I’ll feel guilty for mentioning it.
So I’ve pretty much written a paragraph and a half of nothing, and have no clue what this great subject that I had in mind was, so I guess I’ll just end here. For any High School students thinking about coming up for a visit, remember that we are still open during the summer. Summer visitors don’t get to see very much of campus dining, since it’s mostly closed, but it is the one time of year that we can show all three styles of Freshmen Housing. So let us know if you’re thinking about visiting, and ask any questions you’ve got on your mind.
-Kyle
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Meal Plans
Okay, I decided to just make this a two-parter. It worked for Quantum of Solace, right?
Meal plans always seem to be the most confusing to incoming students, but after you’ve used it for a week, there isn’t much more to learn about it. The only details I haven’t figured out are some of the secret meal exchanges (there’s probably a way to get coffee, a bagel, and some fruit for a meal, I’m just not a morning person). Ultimately the meal plan boils down to two halves: meals and dining debit dollars.
The debit dollars are something everyone is probably pretty familiar with. They act about the same as a gift debit card, or a bank’s ATM card would. If you want to buy something, the cashier just scans the total off of your ID card. And that’s about it. Really, I’m not joking, there isn’t anything else to it. Any dining location on campus will accept your debit dollars, as well as cash.
Meals are I little more complex, but they’re easy to figure out if you have a really good memory. In elementary school, we had meal tickets, and we would hand these in at the cafeteria in exchange for lunch. That’s how the meals off of a meal plan work, depending on where you spend them. At any cafeteria style location, like Kleiner Marketplace, FUEL, or River Landing, spending one meal will let you pick any combination of entrée, side, or drink, with a couple variations. Check the dining website for a list of different meal combos. Your other option is to spend your meals at Fresh Foods Company, which is a buffet style dining hall. So you spend a meal up front and can just go nuts (figuratively speaking).
We offer three different standard meal plans: 7 meals/week with $575 in debit, 14 meals/week with $275 in debit, and 21 meals/week plus $175. We do have a couple other meal plan options available, but these are the usual three. One last note to make, the meals on these three will not roll over from week to week, so if any of you wind up on one of my tours, I might suggest to you that the 14 meal plan is the most flexible, but whatever floats your boat. Say something if you’ve got questions,
-Kyle
Meal plans always seem to be the most confusing to incoming students, but after you’ve used it for a week, there isn’t much more to learn about it. The only details I haven’t figured out are some of the secret meal exchanges (there’s probably a way to get coffee, a bagel, and some fruit for a meal, I’m just not a morning person). Ultimately the meal plan boils down to two halves: meals and dining debit dollars.
The debit dollars are something everyone is probably pretty familiar with. They act about the same as a gift debit card, or a bank’s ATM card would. If you want to buy something, the cashier just scans the total off of your ID card. And that’s about it. Really, I’m not joking, there isn’t anything else to it. Any dining location on campus will accept your debit dollars, as well as cash.
Meals are I little more complex, but they’re easy to figure out if you have a really good memory. In elementary school, we had meal tickets, and we would hand these in at the cafeteria in exchange for lunch. That’s how the meals off of a meal plan work, depending on where you spend them. At any cafeteria style location, like Kleiner Marketplace, FUEL, or River Landing, spending one meal will let you pick any combination of entrée, side, or drink, with a couple variations. Check the dining website for a list of different meal combos. Your other option is to spend your meals at Fresh Foods Company, which is a buffet style dining hall. So you spend a meal up front and can just go nuts (figuratively speaking).
We offer three different standard meal plans: 7 meals/week with $575 in debit, 14 meals/week with $275 in debit, and 21 meals/week plus $175. We do have a couple other meal plan options available, but these are the usual three. One last note to make, the meals on these three will not roll over from week to week, so if any of you wind up on one of my tours, I might suggest to you that the 14 meal plan is the most flexible, but whatever floats your boat. Say something if you’ve got questions,
-Kyle
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Dining Options
Hello everyone, it’s been a little while since my last post. This time though I’m going to just cut through all the formalities: I didn’t have lunch today. So since food is on my mind that means that today’s topic for you lucky readers is campus dining. As a quick note, this entry presupposes some familiarity with the meal plan, so if you aren’t familiar, check out the dining web site. Alternatively, you could just wait a couple months; someone will probably write something about it at some point.
If one word describes GVSU’s dining it’s “variety.” There are a lot of choices on campus, but as of right now, there are three main dining halls: Kleiner Marketplace, River Landing, and the Commons.
River Landing is located in the basement of the Kirkhoff Center (on the south end of campus), and has several university restaurants as well as a Subway. It’s more or less set up like a food court would be, and is a cafeteria style hall, meaning that you pick and choose items. To find out what items mix and match, try checking out the dining web site. Kleiner Marketplace is also cafeteria style and has similar restaurants. As a structure, Kleiner is built around convenience; it’s right in the middle of freshman housing, and not only does it include the Marketplace, but also the C-Store convenience shop and a Java City coffee bar, both of which stay open 24/7. Finally, we have the Commons, which houses Fresh Foods Company and the Lower Commons, (also called FUEL). The Lower Commons is very similar to both River Landing and Kleiner, in that it’s cafeteria style and has a mix of different locations.
Fresh Foods Company is our last main dining hall, and even though it’s probably bad writing structure, I gave it a new paragraph, because it will likely take that much space. It is vastly different from any other dining hall, because it has a dynamic menu and is buffet style dining. Spending a meal up front is your pass through the door and then what you eat is your own business. There are five main locations within Fresh Foods, and each changes its menu every meal period. The hours are also very accommodating, as Fresh Foods is open everyday from 7:30AM to 8:00PM.
But these are just the three main dining halls, there’s still quite a number of other locations. A bagel shop, coffee/smoothie bar, and three lobby shops are spread across campus. There are also options downtown, including a hall similar to Kleiner, a Starbuck’s Café, and a smoothie gazebo.
The wild card in all of this is the 2010 additions to campus dining. All I know about is that it will be on the south end of campus, and will include classrooms on the upstairs level. Beyond that, I know next to nothing about it. It could be an Olive Garden for all I know. Not really, but I’m just making a point here. It’s likely to be cafeteria style, and it will be new and shiny. Aside from that, your guess is as good as mine.
Remember that this is a pretty brief overview, if you want more info on dinng, their website is very thorough. So I'll leave most of you now, knowing that if anybody is reading this late at night they will probably walk downstairs and eat a midnight snack.
-Kyle
If one word describes GVSU’s dining it’s “variety.” There are a lot of choices on campus, but as of right now, there are three main dining halls: Kleiner Marketplace, River Landing, and the Commons.
River Landing is located in the basement of the Kirkhoff Center (on the south end of campus), and has several university restaurants as well as a Subway. It’s more or less set up like a food court would be, and is a cafeteria style hall, meaning that you pick and choose items. To find out what items mix and match, try checking out the dining web site. Kleiner Marketplace is also cafeteria style and has similar restaurants. As a structure, Kleiner is built around convenience; it’s right in the middle of freshman housing, and not only does it include the Marketplace, but also the C-Store convenience shop and a Java City coffee bar, both of which stay open 24/7. Finally, we have the Commons, which houses Fresh Foods Company and the Lower Commons, (also called FUEL). The Lower Commons is very similar to both River Landing and Kleiner, in that it’s cafeteria style and has a mix of different locations.
Fresh Foods Company is our last main dining hall, and even though it’s probably bad writing structure, I gave it a new paragraph, because it will likely take that much space. It is vastly different from any other dining hall, because it has a dynamic menu and is buffet style dining. Spending a meal up front is your pass through the door and then what you eat is your own business. There are five main locations within Fresh Foods, and each changes its menu every meal period. The hours are also very accommodating, as Fresh Foods is open everyday from 7:30AM to 8:00PM.
But these are just the three main dining halls, there’s still quite a number of other locations. A bagel shop, coffee/smoothie bar, and three lobby shops are spread across campus. There are also options downtown, including a hall similar to Kleiner, a Starbuck’s Café, and a smoothie gazebo.
The wild card in all of this is the 2010 additions to campus dining. All I know about is that it will be on the south end of campus, and will include classrooms on the upstairs level. Beyond that, I know next to nothing about it. It could be an Olive Garden for all I know. Not really, but I’m just making a point here. It’s likely to be cafeteria style, and it will be new and shiny. Aside from that, your guess is as good as mine.
Remember that this is a pretty brief overview, if you want more info on dinng, their website is very thorough. So I'll leave most of you now, knowing that if anybody is reading this late at night they will probably walk downstairs and eat a midnight snack.
-Kyle
Friday, June 5, 2009
Watching Grass Grow and Paint Dry
As the title would imply, not a whole lot is going on for me right now. While the campus is still busy with classes and summertime activities, I’m not actually doing any of those things. While I still get a chance to exercise on campus, eat up here, and earn some “Benjamins” (read: “Washingtons”), that’s about it for me. On the bright side, it’s finally not May, which I guess is only a bright side if you’re an aging enthusiast. Which I’m not. The weather’s nice though, which makes tours more enjoyable.
So since I don’t have anything to talk about, and can’t think of any GVSU related topics, I wanted to take this chance to ask all of you guys what you’re doing this Summer. I answered my first blog question earlier, so I’m pretty pumped about being informative on stuff that I'm basically paid to know or find out. Are any of the readers planning on visiting us in the near future, or coming up for orientation? Even if you guys want to fill us in on stuff unrelated to college visits, whether it's vacation plans or news on the job front (although arguably "lack of news" is more appropriate). As always, the floor's pretty much wide open to any questions, it's just that right now I'm really bored and want some insight as to what's going on for all of those who are reading this.
-Kyle
So since I don’t have anything to talk about, and can’t think of any GVSU related topics, I wanted to take this chance to ask all of you guys what you’re doing this Summer. I answered my first blog question earlier, so I’m pretty pumped about being informative on stuff that I'm basically paid to know or find out. Are any of the readers planning on visiting us in the near future, or coming up for orientation? Even if you guys want to fill us in on stuff unrelated to college visits, whether it's vacation plans or news on the job front (although arguably "lack of news" is more appropriate). As always, the floor's pretty much wide open to any questions, it's just that right now I'm really bored and want some insight as to what's going on for all of those who are reading this.
-Kyle
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Academics
At the end of what feels like the longest month of the year, things are relatively quiet. With weather that changes faster than my choice of major, it’s a little difficult to plan activities you usually want to do over the summer. And that’s not to mention the number of people who are taking classes or hunting for jobs in the liveliest economy since… wait, I’m sorry, that last part isn’t true. The point is that not a whole lot outside of classes, work, or the job search is happening for anyone. Without much going on, academic offerings are probably a good topic to mention.
Grand Valley has about 200 different fields of study, offering approximately 70 different undergraduate majors and 27 graduate programs (mostly masters, but we do offer two doctorates, in nursing and physical therapy). The latest major to be added to the mix is Chinese, in the modern language department, and those numbers tend to grow over time.
In terms of the undergraduate programs, there’s a myriad of different arrangements. Some courses students can simply apply for and be a part of, while others are secondary admit programs (such as Nursing or the Seidman School of Business). For those not aware, a “secondary admit program” refers to one that has admissions requirements before an individual can call themselves a member of the program, and even those come in multiple forms. Business, for example, has a noncompetitive admission. Students sign up to be a pre-business major, and once they accrue enough credits and maintain a GPA, they are admitted to the school of business. Nursing, on the other hand, is a competitive secondary admit program, meaning that only so many students are accepted into the major each year. This encourages students to strive for success in their early semesters, which really pays off in the long run.
As always, feel free to ask questions of any kind, especially if you're wondering about any individual major.
-Kyle
Grand Valley has about 200 different fields of study, offering approximately 70 different undergraduate majors and 27 graduate programs (mostly masters, but we do offer two doctorates, in nursing and physical therapy). The latest major to be added to the mix is Chinese, in the modern language department, and those numbers tend to grow over time.
In terms of the undergraduate programs, there’s a myriad of different arrangements. Some courses students can simply apply for and be a part of, while others are secondary admit programs (such as Nursing or the Seidman School of Business). For those not aware, a “secondary admit program” refers to one that has admissions requirements before an individual can call themselves a member of the program, and even those come in multiple forms. Business, for example, has a noncompetitive admission. Students sign up to be a pre-business major, and once they accrue enough credits and maintain a GPA, they are admitted to the school of business. Nursing, on the other hand, is a competitive secondary admit program, meaning that only so many students are accepted into the major each year. This encourages students to strive for success in their early semesters, which really pays off in the long run.
As always, feel free to ask questions of any kind, especially if you're wondering about any individual major.
-Kyle
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Timelines
A lot of students have been coming through over the last couple months who have been scrambling to take care of application and admissions requirements at the last second, so today’s topic is…
Stuff to keep in mind when considering an application to Grand Valley.
The smartest thing to do first is probably check us out online. If you’re reading this, the chances are good that you’ve already done that, so the next step is to visit campus. There are lots of options for visiting the campus, but the standard choice is just a tour of the Allendale campus. We give tours at 10:00AM, 12:00PM, and 3:00PM during the week close to year round, and on non-holiday weekends during the school year. We also offer appointments with admissions counselors (not academic advisors), as well as group visits called “previews.” Keep an eye out for our Student Visitation Days during the school year, which are larger group experiences.
If you’ve decided that Grand Valley could be the place for you the next step is to apply for admission. We accept both paper and online applications, with no particular preference for either. There is a $30 nonrefundable application fee, and students have to be finished with their Junior year to apply. If students apply for admission and submit their ACT/SAT and GPA information before December 31 during their Senior year, it is possible that they could qualify for a few scholarships offered through our office. Once students are accepted, we suggest that they apply for housing quickly, because the different styles of living centers are first-come-first-serve. There is also a $150 application fee for housing, but this one is 100% refundable up until May 1, and if students apply for housing before March 1 they’re guaranteed a spot on campus (both dates apply to the student’s Senior year). May 1 is also the deadline for scheduling Freshmen Orientation, which has a $75 fee attached to it (also refundable before May 1) and is essentially the equivalent of a student’s commitment to GVSU (although you can still cancel later).
Personally, I suggest that students visit at the end of their Junior year, over the Summer, or very early in their Senior year, so they have the information they need to meet the deadlines. And always remember that sooner is defiantly better than later for college. If you want to schedule a visit you can call our office at (616) 331-2025 or 1-800-748-0246. If you have any questions about this information feel free to call us at those numbers or post your questions here.
At this point though I wanted to ask any readers what they’re concerned about. I’ve listed quite a lot of things to think about up here, but is any of it unclear, or perhaps do any of the parents or prospective students reading this have questions I haven’t addressed? Don’t hesitate at all to post those.
-Kyle
Stuff to keep in mind when considering an application to Grand Valley.
The smartest thing to do first is probably check us out online. If you’re reading this, the chances are good that you’ve already done that, so the next step is to visit campus. There are lots of options for visiting the campus, but the standard choice is just a tour of the Allendale campus. We give tours at 10:00AM, 12:00PM, and 3:00PM during the week close to year round, and on non-holiday weekends during the school year. We also offer appointments with admissions counselors (not academic advisors), as well as group visits called “previews.” Keep an eye out for our Student Visitation Days during the school year, which are larger group experiences.
If you’ve decided that Grand Valley could be the place for you the next step is to apply for admission. We accept both paper and online applications, with no particular preference for either. There is a $30 nonrefundable application fee, and students have to be finished with their Junior year to apply. If students apply for admission and submit their ACT/SAT and GPA information before December 31 during their Senior year, it is possible that they could qualify for a few scholarships offered through our office. Once students are accepted, we suggest that they apply for housing quickly, because the different styles of living centers are first-come-first-serve. There is also a $150 application fee for housing, but this one is 100% refundable up until May 1, and if students apply for housing before March 1 they’re guaranteed a spot on campus (both dates apply to the student’s Senior year). May 1 is also the deadline for scheduling Freshmen Orientation, which has a $75 fee attached to it (also refundable before May 1) and is essentially the equivalent of a student’s commitment to GVSU (although you can still cancel later).
Personally, I suggest that students visit at the end of their Junior year, over the Summer, or very early in their Senior year, so they have the information they need to meet the deadlines. And always remember that sooner is defiantly better than later for college. If you want to schedule a visit you can call our office at (616) 331-2025 or 1-800-748-0246. If you have any questions about this information feel free to call us at those numbers or post your questions here.
At this point though I wanted to ask any readers what they’re concerned about. I’ve listed quite a lot of things to think about up here, but is any of it unclear, or perhaps do any of the parents or prospective students reading this have questions I haven’t addressed? Don’t hesitate at all to post those.
-Kyle
Friday, May 15, 2009
Buses and the Campus
One of the nice things about working on campus over the summer is the fact that parking is free over the break. Gas, unfortunately, is not. Keeping my car’s gas tank relatively full is one of the big problems with living at home and commuting to work (aside from not being able to order pizza whenever I want).
The best way that I’ve found to save gas, though, is to only actually drive half way, to the downtown campus, and just take the bus up the other half. Over the summer, the campus connector travels between the two campuses about every half hour, and it’s about a half hour ride to and from the downtown campus. During the school year they come and go at least once every ten minutes or faster (when classes are in session). There are also two more routes that run during the school year that head to apartments off campus.
The truth is, though, that the campus is pretty self-contained. Three main dining halls, several ATMs, lots of venues for entertainment, you don’t really have to leave the campus for very much. But, unfortunately, there are a few things missing, namely grocery stores, banks, and places to dine out. Thankfully, the buses make up for that. The downtown route stops in Standale along the way, about ten minutes from campus. If you need more banking than an ATM, there are several bank branches nearby, if you need more grocery shopping than the on campus convenience shop, the bus drops you off in front of a Meijers. If campus dining isn’t working for you that particular day (and the ten pounds I gained freshman year would beg to differ on that), there are several sit down restaurants right near the bus stop. And that’s not to mention the fact that that bus continues on down towards the second largest city in Michigan.
I don’t really have much more to say, so I suppose this is a good place to stop. Don’t forget to submit any questions you guys have.
-Kyle
The best way that I’ve found to save gas, though, is to only actually drive half way, to the downtown campus, and just take the bus up the other half. Over the summer, the campus connector travels between the two campuses about every half hour, and it’s about a half hour ride to and from the downtown campus. During the school year they come and go at least once every ten minutes or faster (when classes are in session). There are also two more routes that run during the school year that head to apartments off campus.
The truth is, though, that the campus is pretty self-contained. Three main dining halls, several ATMs, lots of venues for entertainment, you don’t really have to leave the campus for very much. But, unfortunately, there are a few things missing, namely grocery stores, banks, and places to dine out. Thankfully, the buses make up for that. The downtown route stops in Standale along the way, about ten minutes from campus. If you need more banking than an ATM, there are several bank branches nearby, if you need more grocery shopping than the on campus convenience shop, the bus drops you off in front of a Meijers. If campus dining isn’t working for you that particular day (and the ten pounds I gained freshman year would beg to differ on that), there are several sit down restaurants right near the bus stop. And that’s not to mention the fact that that bus continues on down towards the second largest city in Michigan.
I don’t really have much more to say, so I suppose this is a good place to stop. Don’t forget to submit any questions you guys have.
-Kyle
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