GVSU has been pretty consistently been labeled as one of the best value colleges in Michigan, meaning that a lot of your activities and facilities are covered by the university, so students wind up hearing a lot of "such-and-such is free" for students. That being said, there is a handful of items that have associated charges with them, so it's a good idea to know a few of them in advance.
We’ll take care of the biggest charge up front, and that’s parking. Students who want a GVSU parking pass pay $155 per semester. Keep in mind, this is not a necessary charge, since you can use the busing system to get to and from either the downtown campus or the off campus apartments, which is free. Of course, that $155 doesn’t cover your own cost of gas, insurance, buying a car, etc, etc.
After parking, extra costs practically fall off the map. Use of the climbing center is $3 for a day pass with another $2 for equipment rental, tickets for comedians or special musical guests are generally between $5 and $10, intramural sports have an initial charge (can’t think of it off the top of my head, though), and special fitness or athletic services have charges as well (like massages, personal trainers, or nutrition counseling) Use of dance and fitness classes is charged on a semester basis, $20 for mind/body classes, $25 for land/spinning classes, or $40 for all access. Students don’t have free access to the golf course, but they do get a discount; $12 for 9 holes or $18 for 18 holes (walking).
And that’s about it. Pretty much all of our additional charges can be summed up in a paragraph, I can’t think of anything else. I asked around the office, and most other activities on campus are free. Use of the pool, rec-center, turf center, computer labs, printing, guest lecture speakers, busing, internet, advising, counseling, none of these have an extra charge. Some classes in the 300 level or above have extra tuition charges for additional facilities, but these are added to your tuition, so financial aid can cover these, and while they vary from class to class, they’re never more than $20 (also, don’t forget that you have to buy your textbooks, unless you’re best friends with a publishing house). This looks like a good spot to stop, all of the dollar signs in this post are causing me to lament the current economy. If you’ve got any questions, want to know about a particular service, or think you know of a charge that I’ve missed, post it and let me know.
-Kyle
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Odd Weather
I would have to say that this most definitely does not feel like August, seeing as short sleeves feels like a mistake. But there you go, in most places summer is “in like a lion, out like a lamb,” but in Michigan the lion eats the lamb and then has indigestion. It hasn’t really felt like summer at all thus far, so I’m not sure if it will start anytime soon. Most people wouldn’t be happy that I’m saying this, but that’s kind of to my relief; I never cared for hot and muggy, I’ve always preferred cool and dry.
Truth be told, though, that pretty much sums up Allendale. A lot of people think that lake effect weather means massive precipitation, but I’ve always felt that the lake effect just makes the weather somewhat unpredictable (but last time I checked I’m not an anchor for the Weather Channel). If you know a week in advance how much rain or snow will be falling, you’re a miracle worker. To compensate for that, we’ve got pretty great facilities upkeep staff. I’m not sure if landscaping also takes care of snow removal during winter, but whoever does it probably is the aforementioned miracle workers. Just about all of the sidewalks on campus are always cleared off, and they do an amazing job of salting during wintertime. As far as fall and spring go, I would encourage having a good jacket and reliable umbrella, but after that your guess is as good as mine. 12 inches of rainfall? I could see it happening. A snowstorm in April? Sure, why not. Don’t think of it a rough weather, just… adventurous weather. As always, ask if you’ve got a question.
-Kyle
Truth be told, though, that pretty much sums up Allendale. A lot of people think that lake effect weather means massive precipitation, but I’ve always felt that the lake effect just makes the weather somewhat unpredictable (but last time I checked I’m not an anchor for the Weather Channel). If you know a week in advance how much rain or snow will be falling, you’re a miracle worker. To compensate for that, we’ve got pretty great facilities upkeep staff. I’m not sure if landscaping also takes care of snow removal during winter, but whoever does it probably is the aforementioned miracle workers. Just about all of the sidewalks on campus are always cleared off, and they do an amazing job of salting during wintertime. As far as fall and spring go, I would encourage having a good jacket and reliable umbrella, but after that your guess is as good as mine. 12 inches of rainfall? I could see it happening. A snowstorm in April? Sure, why not. Don’t think of it a rough weather, just… adventurous weather. As always, ask if you’ve got a question.
-Kyle
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sports, clubs, and organizations
You’re going to attend a university to get a degree, but most of us will agree that there’s more to college than academics. Some might say that more than others, but that’s another topic. But the fact is that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy (or a compulsive worker, but on the bright side it probably gives him an outstanding GPA), and student life on campus reflects that. There are more opportunities to enjoy oneself on campus than I care to count, and the truth is that I don’t actually know all of them.
We’ve got around 270 student clubs and organizations on campus, and that number keeps climbing (I’m waiting until there are 299 clubs and then making a Gerard Butler appreciation club). If we don’t have the club that you’re looking for, you only need four students and faculty approval to make a club. We don’t have a paper airplane club, you say? Well, find three friends and you’re the president of it. And that’s not to mention student government or intramural sports. If you don’t know about any of the campus clubs, you won’t have to worry about it; the first or second week of class, we have “Campus Life Night,” where all of the clubs cram themselves into the arena of the field house and advertise themselves to students.
If you’re looking for sports, GVSU hosts seventeen Division II varsity sports (counting men’s and women’s), as well as cheerleading. In addition to that we have three seasons on intramurals, with fourteen Fall, thirteen Winter, and four Spring sports. But if you’re like me, and have the hand-eye coordination of a blind sloth, there are great work out facilities for independent exercising, and all of the varsity events at home are free for students to attend.
But don’t think that you absolutely have to be a part of a club or sport on campus. We encourage students to get involved with student life, but if you’re outgoing and independent, you can still meet people and enjoy your time here through your own channels. We just happen to offer a vast array of opportunities.
-Kyle
We’ve got around 270 student clubs and organizations on campus, and that number keeps climbing (I’m waiting until there are 299 clubs and then making a Gerard Butler appreciation club). If we don’t have the club that you’re looking for, you only need four students and faculty approval to make a club. We don’t have a paper airplane club, you say? Well, find three friends and you’re the president of it. And that’s not to mention student government or intramural sports. If you don’t know about any of the campus clubs, you won’t have to worry about it; the first or second week of class, we have “Campus Life Night,” where all of the clubs cram themselves into the arena of the field house and advertise themselves to students.
If you’re looking for sports, GVSU hosts seventeen Division II varsity sports (counting men’s and women’s), as well as cheerleading. In addition to that we have three seasons on intramurals, with fourteen Fall, thirteen Winter, and four Spring sports. But if you’re like me, and have the hand-eye coordination of a blind sloth, there are great work out facilities for independent exercising, and all of the varsity events at home are free for students to attend.
But don’t think that you absolutely have to be a part of a club or sport on campus. We encourage students to get involved with student life, but if you’re outgoing and independent, you can still meet people and enjoy your time here through your own channels. We just happen to offer a vast array of opportunities.
-Kyle
Monday, July 20, 2009
Visit Choices
Presumably a majority of readers of this blog are high school students, parents of students, or potential transfer students (if you’re a current student reading this, don’t take any offense, but you could probably find a better source of information). Which means that one thing most of you will want to do relatively soon is come up and visit our campus. That’s right, this post won’t even be about the campus itself, just the visits, so if you’ve already had a tour you can go ahead and skip this entry.
You’ve got three main choices for dropping by the campus. You can take a tour of the Allendale Campus, which is what most visitors do. This tour covers dining, housing, academics, the whole nine yards, and normally includes two to four families. When you visit is completely up to you, just realize that there aren’t a lot of students on campus during the summer (despite having summer classes), and a majority of dining is closed down during that period. Summer tours do have one advantage, though, in that they have the opportunity to see more of housing, while school year tours can only see the apartment style dorm. The second option is to have a counselor appointment, which can be done individually or in conjunction with a tour. This is a chance to sit down, more or less “one-on-one” with an admissions counselor to talk about admissions, costs, the application process, etc. Keep in mind that this isn’t the same as an academic advisor; the counselors won’t be able to tell you what classes to schedule. The third option is a Preview, which is a group visit that is similar to an appointment in that the same basic information is covered, but in a much more structured format. Approximately 10 families meet in one of our conference rooms, and an admissions counselor walks through all of the basics of the school. In all of the situations there is the opportunity for the same information, it’s just presented in different formats.
One alternative to all of these is to come on one of our student visitation days, which occur periodically throughout the school year. These are the largest visits that we offer, with the tour groups breaking down to between ten and fifteen families. On the plus side, we have presentations by financial aid, housing, admissions, as well as representation by some of the faculty on campus, so there are lots of opportunities for info on these days.
If you’re interested in any of these options, call us at either (616) 331-2025 or 1-800-748-0246. You can also schedule online, but the available dates on our web site tend to be more restrictive over the phone, just due to the fact that as the online times start to fill up they’re taken off the calendar, but there are still some openings. Don’t forget you can post questions.
-Kyle
One thing I forgot to mention when I published this entry, but it would help if you check out a date about 2 weeks in advance, just for the sake of organization.
You’ve got three main choices for dropping by the campus. You can take a tour of the Allendale Campus, which is what most visitors do. This tour covers dining, housing, academics, the whole nine yards, and normally includes two to four families. When you visit is completely up to you, just realize that there aren’t a lot of students on campus during the summer (despite having summer classes), and a majority of dining is closed down during that period. Summer tours do have one advantage, though, in that they have the opportunity to see more of housing, while school year tours can only see the apartment style dorm. The second option is to have a counselor appointment, which can be done individually or in conjunction with a tour. This is a chance to sit down, more or less “one-on-one” with an admissions counselor to talk about admissions, costs, the application process, etc. Keep in mind that this isn’t the same as an academic advisor; the counselors won’t be able to tell you what classes to schedule. The third option is a Preview, which is a group visit that is similar to an appointment in that the same basic information is covered, but in a much more structured format. Approximately 10 families meet in one of our conference rooms, and an admissions counselor walks through all of the basics of the school. In all of the situations there is the opportunity for the same information, it’s just presented in different formats.
One alternative to all of these is to come on one of our student visitation days, which occur periodically throughout the school year. These are the largest visits that we offer, with the tour groups breaking down to between ten and fifteen families. On the plus side, we have presentations by financial aid, housing, admissions, as well as representation by some of the faculty on campus, so there are lots of opportunities for info on these days.
If you’re interested in any of these options, call us at either (616) 331-2025 or 1-800-748-0246. You can also schedule online, but the available dates on our web site tend to be more restrictive over the phone, just due to the fact that as the online times start to fill up they’re taken off the calendar, but there are still some openings. Don’t forget you can post questions.
-Kyle
One thing I forgot to mention when I published this entry, but it would help if you check out a date about 2 weeks in advance, just for the sake of organization.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Apology for last time
Well, I was looking at my last post and realized that it’s pretty bad. So to make up for my aimless, messageless writing, I’m going to cover something that most everyone is interested: housing, or at least as much as I can get to in one post. It’s a pretty big subject, so I’ll just start with freshmen housing and see where we get to.
Before getting to any of the styles, just realize that freshmen are allowed to do whatever floats their boat for housing, there really aren’t any restrictions. It’s just more difficult to get some options (such as on campus apartments) than others (such as the living centers). In general, you’re better off applying early for housing, as the freshman living centers are first-come-first-serve.
GVSU offers three styles of freshman living centers. That’s actually a complete lie, we offer four, but just choose to count two of them as the same style. Those styles are traditional, suite, and apartment styles (not to be confused with on campus apartments), all of which house two students per room. The traditional style buildings are some of the oldest structures on campus, and they’re pretty standard as far as dorms go. They’re smaller, and have a public restroom. Anyone who just read that last sentence has probably already decided that they don’t want to live there, but it isn’t what you think. Traditional style is the only housing in which the bathrooms are cleaned for you. So if you don’t want to live there, buy a toilet brush and have fun. The bathrooms are also what we call “semi-private,” meaning that the showers all have doors and locks on them, rather than just curtains or wide open spaces.
Suite style is a step up from traditional style in terms of both space and privacy. In this style, two rooms share a single, adjoining bathroom. Apartment style is very similar to suite in that it has close to the same volume of space, but has a private bathroom as well as a kitchenette set. Apartment style is the choice that offers two different versions, those being one and two bedroom, but both versions house two students. Everyone kind of assumes that the version with the individual bedrooms is the best, and I’m not really here to make housing suggestions, but you should realize that there are unseen advantages and disadvantages to each style. Two bedroom apartment, for instance, tends to be a very cloistered, secluded community, while traditional is far more social (just as a rule of thumb). That being said, you should pick the style that fits your living habits best.
This post is already way longer than I had wanted it to be, so I’m going to finish here and get to upper classmen apartments some other time. One last note, all of the freshmen dorms come with the same furnishings, all of which are fully loftable, and each has all the pre-requisite outlets for studying/relaxing.
-Kyle
Before getting to any of the styles, just realize that freshmen are allowed to do whatever floats their boat for housing, there really aren’t any restrictions. It’s just more difficult to get some options (such as on campus apartments) than others (such as the living centers). In general, you’re better off applying early for housing, as the freshman living centers are first-come-first-serve.
GVSU offers three styles of freshman living centers. That’s actually a complete lie, we offer four, but just choose to count two of them as the same style. Those styles are traditional, suite, and apartment styles (not to be confused with on campus apartments), all of which house two students per room. The traditional style buildings are some of the oldest structures on campus, and they’re pretty standard as far as dorms go. They’re smaller, and have a public restroom. Anyone who just read that last sentence has probably already decided that they don’t want to live there, but it isn’t what you think. Traditional style is the only housing in which the bathrooms are cleaned for you. So if you don’t want to live there, buy a toilet brush and have fun. The bathrooms are also what we call “semi-private,” meaning that the showers all have doors and locks on them, rather than just curtains or wide open spaces.
Suite style is a step up from traditional style in terms of both space and privacy. In this style, two rooms share a single, adjoining bathroom. Apartment style is very similar to suite in that it has close to the same volume of space, but has a private bathroom as well as a kitchenette set. Apartment style is the choice that offers two different versions, those being one and two bedroom, but both versions house two students. Everyone kind of assumes that the version with the individual bedrooms is the best, and I’m not really here to make housing suggestions, but you should realize that there are unseen advantages and disadvantages to each style. Two bedroom apartment, for instance, tends to be a very cloistered, secluded community, while traditional is far more social (just as a rule of thumb). That being said, you should pick the style that fits your living habits best.
This post is already way longer than I had wanted it to be, so I’m going to finish here and get to upper classmen apartments some other time. One last note, all of the freshmen dorms come with the same furnishings, all of which are fully loftable, and each has all the pre-requisite outlets for studying/relaxing.
-Kyle
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Holiday weekend coming up
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
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
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
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