Year One Newsletter

Year One Newsletter arrives to your inbox regularly during your first year to help you navigate being New to UB.

Tips for Success

Current students offer their top tips to find success at UB.

Figuring out how to manage your time will ensure your success in and out of the classroom. Be sure to make time for yourself in addition to classes, friends, family, and work. OL Daniel and OL Semat recommend using an electronic calendar or physical planner to help you plan your time in advance and keep track of your responsibilities and assignments.

The academic adjustment to UB can be daunting, but there are many ways to find success! OL Cynthia and OL TJ recommend communicating and building relationships with your faculty early in the semester and utilizing on-campus resources. UB offers many great resources, including academic advisors, teaching assistants (TAs) and Tutoring and Academic Support Services (TASS).

Utilizing your campus resources will allow you to reach your goals and enjoy your college experience as much as possible. OL Alex and OL Nat recommend utilizing the Center for Excellence in Writing (CEW) for class papers (and more!), connecting Counseling Services to maintain your mental health, and making an appointment with your academic advisor to talk about your major, classes, and other academic questions.

Be open to navigating challenges and finding new ways to solve problems. College can bring many new opportunities and obstacles. OL Andrew and OL Jasmine each recommend asking new friends questions about how they worked through challenges, especially upper-class students you might meet in a course or at a club meeting who may have navigated similar hurdles.

The best way to manage the stress of midterms and final exams is to have a plan for studying and ask for help along the way. OL Daniel and OL Cynthia recommend using your preferred planner or calendar to start preparing early, setting aside time for self-care, and actually studying! OL Daniel shares that it can be easy to think that not studying much in high school means you don’t have to study in college, but blocking time to study in college is critical for success.

Current students offer their strategies for how to build connections and community when you are New to UB!

Meet people with similar interests, cultures, or identities. OL Semat loved going to Bengali cultural nights to meet new students during her first year, and OL Sam has found a home at UB as part of the Filipino American Student Association (FASA).

Check out UBLinked to learn about campus clubs and events. Whether you want to find events and clubs with people similar or very different from you, UBLinked is your go-to tool! OL Alex and OL Cynthia both love using this tool to find events and learn about all of the clubs on campus.

Connect your academic experiences with involvement outside of class. If you are excited about getting involved with experiential learning, OL Nat and OL Jeronimo recommend the Career Design Center to explore internships and Blackstone LaunchPad if you have an entrepreneurial spirit!

Recharge yourself with friends, family, and self-care. OL Jeronimo recommends sharing your schedule to make it simple to coordinate a convenient time for everyone to catch up. Weekly video chats are OL TJ’s preferred option for maintaining long distance friendships.

Remember that everyone is figuring things out! It can seem like other students are already part of a group or feel at home right away, but OL Jasmine and OL Sam want you to remember that most students need time to get settled at UB. Remember that UB has tons of clubs and campus resources to welcome you and help you make your college experience exactly what you want it to be.

Helping new students transition to life at UB:

Student Life

University at Buffalo
112 Student Union, North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260

Phone: (716) 645-6125