19. Top Ten: Facts about BYU That Cannot Be Gleaned from byu.edu

     When choosing to come to BYU, many factors motivated my enrollment:  gospel-centered learning, location, strong education, and many more.  Throughout my high school years, I studied the BYU website, planning what classes I wanted to take, what activities I would participate in, and even which Freshman dorms seemed the most appealing.  Since I am so familiar with byu.edu, I have compiled a list for future students of ten facts not readily accessible to the earnest BYU applicant.

      

                                                                    Pros

1.  The Best Part of Homecoming Week is "True Blue Foam."  At this event, hundreds of students gather at Helaman Fields to participate in a soapy blue slip-n-slide down a fairly large hill.  I would compare it to a Color Run but without the running and a greater adrenaline rush.  Hair, skin, and clothes will be dyed completely blue.  

2.  BYU likes to give out thousands of free shirts.  At three home football games, ten thousand free shirts were given out, many of which were in the student section.  If you like shirts to work out in or even pajama shirts, BYU football games have you covered.  Just from the first semester, I have accumulated nine free t-shirts!  

3.  Do you remember being a dorky fourteen-year-old and going to EFY?  BYU is the perfect opportunity to become reacquainted with all of your old "COWs" (Crush of the Week).  Likewise, many of the counselors you looked up to still attend BYU.  Many times as I walk through campus, I see familiar faces and wonder, Where have I seen them before?  After several minutes, I usually answer my own question out loud, "EFY."

4.  You will love your roommates at BYU.  Yes, every apartment usually ends up with one roommate who chooses to avoid everyone else in the apartment.  However, the chances are that your roommates will be a lot more like you than you think.  While you might come from different states or even countries, have different accents, or enjoy different hobbies, most students seem to connect with their roommates because of mutual goals and beliefs.

5.  The inside of the Testing Center looks like the testing room in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  When you first arrive at the testing center, you may feel intimidated by the lines and normal test anxiety.  However, after picking up your test and sitting down, many think, "I can do this.  I'm in Harry Potter."  Also, if the aesthetics of buildings make any difference to you, the Hinkley Center resembles Hogwarts.

BYU Testing Center

Harry Potter Testing Center

                                                               






                                                                           Cons

6.  As I have mentioned before, just because you attend BYU does not mean you will be going on dates every weekend.  If your goal is to be married quickly or at least by graduation (not your first priority), do not live on campus.  At least for the first semester, your goal will likely be enjoying the new friends you meet, not spicing up your romantic life.

7.  A portion of your grade in many classes will be determined by I-clicker questions.  "What are I-clicker questions?" you may ask.  An I-clicker question is an autonomic nervous system stimulator and method used by professors to see how much of the material you know right after he lectures on it.  These questions are scattered throughout lectures and actually count for a portion of your grade.  If you end up like me and have 8 AM Chemistry, do not plan on ever feeling safe in class.

8.  As summer transitions to fall, the trees outside the JSB (Joseph Smith Building) create a loathsome odor.  On the bright side, the location of the majority of classes allows students to avoid this area of campus.

9.  BYU loves acronyms and nicknames.  Before you can go anywhere, you must memorize a set of about 20 acronyms that stand for building names.  Before going to your 8 AM Chemistry class, make sure you understand that the BNSN is the Benson building.  Yes, JFSB, JSB, and JKB are all very different but important buildings.  If you don't want to starve or need to buy textbooks, look for the WILK.  If you desire to exercise or sign up for intramural teams, you must locate the RB or the SFH.  To an incoming freshman, the acronyms might be the scariest, not meeting roommates or completing schoolwork.

10.  This fact is a pro and a con--really.  If you do not want to exercise, you're in luck!  To get from student parking by the Richards Building to the majority of your classes on campus, plan on walking up 107--or is it 108--stairs.  Most likely, you will blame your breathlessness on the altitude.  I exercise six days a week and these stairs get me every time.