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.
