The University of Tulsa: What should you know as an International Student? - Part 2

Hello folks,

This post will be the second part to my post "The University of Tulsa: What should you know as an International Student?". While the last post described the process of coming to TU (University of Tulsa), the application and the organizational part, this post will focus on the university and the experience of spending a semester at this university. Even though I am depending on my personal experience at TU, I do believe that there are some universal things you can "learn" from my experience that is true for any semester abroad.

The University of Tulsa is a beautiful place to study! The weather is nice and warm even through October and the campus is incredibly well kept. Apart from being pretty to look at, the campus offers quite a few options to spend your free time outside. There are tennis and basketball courts, fields to play soccer/ football/ lacrosse/ ultimate Frisbee, outside seating areas in front of the library, a pool and also beach volleyball fields. No worries though! If you just want to hang out in the sun, the new and old U, are perfect for a quick nap in the sun.

The new U and McFarlin Library

So while you're there you should take advantage of those opportunities and use them to make new friends. Just go ahead and ask people in you classes if they would like to hang out, play some ball or have lunch in the sun instead of in the Caf or ACAC (aka the Student Union). Equipment for soccer, tennis, football or volleyball can be borrowed with you student ID at the Collins Fitness Center.

The Collins Fitness Center (CFC) is another great place on campus. It is free for all students and also offers classes like yoga for a little money. They are pretty strict and you should check out their rules, but if you play along their few simple rules, it is a great place to stay fit or meet with friends. The CFC has three basketball courts which can also be used for volleyball or badminton and there is also room for table tennis tables. Also, all cardio machines can be hooked up to the media wall via head phones. This way you can watch your favorite shows and movies on TV while working on your cardio. There is a clue to it though. The audio only works, if you are actually moving on the cardio machines. After your workout, you can have a coffee or smoothie at the little smoothie bar in the lobby. Or if you prefer it, you can simply go for a smoothie and skip the workout. ;)

If you are reading this and you are not going to TU but some other American college, this specific information obviously won't help you much. However, you should check out your schools website to see what your school has to offer. American college is very much about having a community where the students live and learn together. Most likely your school has similar things to offer on their campus. :) 

Apart from all those great options to spend your time on campus, there are also lots of fun events. Above is a picture from one of the football games. At TU all sport events are free to students. You should definitely take advantage of that at least once. It can be a lot of fun to go to some games with your friends and feel the school spirit. In my opinion school spirit is something you need to experience when going to any school in the US. It's part of the American school experience and simply something new at least to German (college) students. :) For all the great events happening you should check out the Student Association homepage. I personally love that most events have free food. :) 

For all of you who made it this far through my post, I got one last piece of advice. Making new friends is rarely easy and it costs a lot of energy, but it is always worth it in the end. So put yourself out there, be a little pushy about getting together with new people and make new friends. I promise: "No Ragrets" ;) 

Thank you for reading!

Jenny Sch.