Residential Life and Roommates
Michelle Balaun2020-05-09T14:01:32-04:00Roommates and other fun life experiences. For many students entering college, this may be their first time away from home for an extended period of time [...]
Eating on a Budget is More Than Just Ramen
Michelle Balaun2020-10-15T17:43:41-04:00Some students actually keep to a budget. I know this is true because I have had three of my own and they all struggled at the beginning, but eventually [...]
Family Weekend for the Parents
Michelle Balaun2020-09-21T18:21:21-04:00Early Bird Gets It - Parents Weekend Get the Deals Our first experience with Parents Weekend meant booking a hotel a year in advance, every weekend in O [...]
Meal Plans
Michelle Balaun2020-06-30T16:22:58-04:00Burgers and Pizza and Fries… Oh my… A Guide to Meal Plans Some of us will miss those family dinners. Others will find some relief. Either way, we all wa [...]
Campus Resources for Students of Color
Michelle Balaun2020-07-27T09:51:53-04:00Campus Guide to Resources for Multicultural Students Campus diversity amongst students has grown considerably over the years and FSU vies to maintain an [...]
Is an A really an A?
Michelle Balaun2019-12-13T16:40:52-05:00Those Pluses and Minuses Do Count! Florida State University is moderately selective and expects you to meet its requirements for GPA and SAT/ACT scores [...]
ProctorU – Online Test Taking at FSU
Michelle Balaun2020-04-29T11:17:10-04:00Online Test-Taking For Today’s Students **While FSU is online, they will be using Honorlock** Proctored test process updates, and watch for communicatio [...]
FSU Coronavirus Update
Michelle Balaun2020-09-18T11:23:03-04:00Update on Latest Plans Seems like finding the right update in this unusual time is tricky. I don’t think I have ever used the word unprecedented as much [...]
Flu Season Ahead
Michelle Balaun2020-10-02T14:18:00-04:00The Flu ends with “U” It’s that season again – and I don’t mean hurricanes. Flu season is generally from October through May. Given that the flu is easi [...]
Volunteering Turns Your Compassion into Action
Michelle Balaun2020-09-01T12:05:06-04:00There are many reasons... Volunteering lets you give back to the community to make a difference in the world, to gain experience, and to change a person [...]
Student Accessibility Resources
Michelle Balaun2020-06-29T16:45:23-04:00Everyone Has a Right to Easy Accessibility When my oldest began college, which can feel tremendous by way of size alone compared to high school, she was [...]
21 and Oh So Fun
Michelle Balaun2020-10-26T15:13:37-04:00Time for fun and "Adulting" My daughter turned 21 in June of her junior year at FSU as do many students. Being that it was officially summer break, they [...]
Scholarships
Michelle Balaun2020-08-21T14:07:34-04:00Now you'll need to pay for that college! Almost as soon as the first acceptance to college came in, so did the idea of actually having to pay for their [...]
The Stress of College
Michelle Balaun2020-06-01T12:39:10-04:00Stress. It happens to all of us, including our kids. As though a full schedule and trying to maintain a social life isn’t enough to cause a little stres [...]
Dance Marathon
Michelle Balaun2020-10-23T13:45:42-04:00You Can Dance If You Want To Perhaps you have seen the Facebook posts from your student or friends’ kids that say #FTK or #ForTheKids. Maybe even fundra [...]
Orientation, Find Out About Your School
Michelle Balaun2020-05-16T17:56:51-04:00Overwhelm Potential Orientation for incoming freshmen for summer and fall 2020 will look different than the blog below describes. Due to unprecedented t [...]
Moving Out
Michelle Balaun2020-11-11T10:24:32-05:00Moving Out Moving out can be almost as hectic as moving into the dorms and apartments. It did not make sense for us to drag the entire dorm supplies hom [...]
Places of Worship Around Campus
Michelle Balaun2020-09-10T17:41:24-04:00Keeping The Traditions of Worship If you're wondering about keeping up the tradition of worship, here are some thoughts. Shortly after my daughter start [...]
Lost and Found – Try this first
Michelle Balaun2020-01-29T13:51:21-05:00Oh No...It Happened! My daughter spent the summer studying abroad. She was warned about pickpockets by friends. And, she has made it through almost two [...]
Is It Safe? All that stuff at school?
Michelle Balaun2019-12-13T17:05:56-05:00Is Their Stuff Safe? Right up there with the call from my college daughter that she lost her phone, keys, student ID, (fill in the blank), is the call y [...]
Where the Wind Blows
Michelle Balaun2020-10-07T12:29:48-04:00South Florida Native, Knows About Wind Having grown up in South Florida, I have gone through more than 40 Hurricane seasons, talk about wind! I prepared [...]
Rushing Her Way – Sorority Pathway
Michelle Balaun2020-07-03T18:09:16-04:00Recruitment Whispers, Sorority For parents of incoming freshmen, you have probably started to hear whispers about sorority recruitment. The way recruitm [...]
After The Hurricane, here’s what you can do.
Michelle Balaun2019-12-13T17:15:23-05:00Post-Hurricane Prior to Hurricane Dorian, our blog talked a lot about Hurricane Irma which definitely left Floridians on their toes. Hurricane Irma will [...]
Cultural Resources for Hispanic-Latino Students
Michelle Balaun2020-08-18T15:18:38-04:00Support, Empowerment, and Connection for Hispanic-Latino Students Campus diversity amongst Hispanic-Latino students has grown considerably over the year [...]
Sorority Girl
Michelle Balaun2020-10-02T16:38:55-04:00So They’ve Joined a Sorority Congratulations if your daughter has found a place to call home. Being in a sorority opens the door to so many wonderful ex [...]
Rushing His Way, the Fraternity way
Michelle Balaun2019-12-13T17:17:39-05:00Frat. Rush. For parents of incoming freshmen, you have probably started to hear about the fraternity rush. The way rush is handled for fraternities is r [...]
Managing the Gap
Michelle Balaun2019-12-13T17:19:03-05:00Where Will They Live During the Gap? Although it feels like you just moved your students into their dorms, you now have to move them out. The worst part [...]
Stay Fit in School, it Helps Your Grades!
Michelle Balaun2020-09-01T10:58:57-04:00It's Easy to Stay Fit! Note: Fitness schedules have changed; some are in person and others are virtual. Check out FSU's new fitness class schedules here [...]
Transportation, Getting There is easy
Michelle Balaun2020-04-27T09:54:53-04:00Trains, Planes, and Automobiles…Transportation to Tallahassee Freshman who brings their cars will quickly learn that parking during the fall and spring [...]
Delivery Services
Michelle Balaun2020-09-15T12:46:05-04:00There's a knock at the door! Taking time away from studying can be the difference between dinner or a bag of chips and a soda. Sometimes it pays to turn [...]
Major Decisions
Michelle Balaun2019-12-13T17:22:23-05:00Choosing or Changing Your Major Considering Florida State University offers a multitude of degrees; how is one to choose? Most students begin college wi [...]
Technology Services
Michelle Balaun2020-08-13T13:30:53-04:00Check Out What You Get for Free! HaveUHeard that Microsoft Office 365 is free for all enrolled FSU Students? For information about downloading this hel [...]
Care Packages for FSU Students
Michelle Balaun2021-02-17T11:48:29-05:00Who doesn’t enjoy getting a care package delivered? We know you really care, you care a lot about your student and want them to be happy. Whether it is [...]
Birthright Israel
Michelle Balaun2021-01-14T16:18:42-05:00What is Birthright Israel? Birthright Israel is the gift of a free, 10-day trip to Israel designed for young adults of Jewish heritage, aged 18–32. Flor [...]
Honor Roll at FSU
Michelle Balaun2020-06-10T16:37:24-04:00Did you get an envelope? It is that time of year when students receive notifications that they have made a collegiate scholar society. The cream-colored [...]
Trouble In Paradise
Michelle Balaun2020-06-02T13:34:56-04:00Trouble, It Happens... I began our conversations about walking alone at night, binge drinking, hazing, and drugs, among other things many months my kids [...]
Get Involved
Michelle Balaun2020-08-10T15:00:15-04:00Be a Part of the Action, Join the Fun With an undergraduate enrollment of nearly 33,000, set in Florida’s capital city, FSU spans 476 acres. It seems hu [...]
So your student wants to be a Seminole?
Michelle Balaun2020-10-28T12:21:08-04:00The Truth... I don’t blame them; FSU is a great university right down to the beautiful brick buildings, deep-seated traditions, and is filled with oppor [...]
Graduation – What You Need to Know
Michelle Balaun2020-10-29T14:28:47-04:00Time Flys! Remember how when our kids were little we couldn’t envision them leaving us and going off to college? Now, if you are like me, you can’t beli [...]
Transferring to FSU
Michelle Balaun2020-05-26T11:18:20-04:00Change is good. Some students leave for college unsure of what to find and realize when they get there it is not the place for them. Perhaps too they ne [...]
Finding a Job During Senior Year
Michelle Balaun2019-12-13T17:31:54-05:00Are You A Senior? Time to start networking. Graduation is only a few months off and, depending on the type of job you are applying for, your senior shou [...]
Career Showcase: A Student’s Perspective
Michelle Balaun2020-08-28T13:30:36-04:00Choosing a major is not only a big decision but a difficult one. For assistance in selecting a program of study, FSU has many resources to aid in studen [...]
Best Coffee Shops at FSU
Michelle Balaun2020-10-21T16:06:17-04:00Coffee, Cup of Joe, a Cuppa, Java Caffeine is king for most college students and, while generally the most economically savvy way of getting it is makin [...]
Finding an Internship
Michelle Balaun2020-09-09T14:33:07-04:00Get some experience, get an internship! What better way to learn about a prospective field or career than to do an internship? What better way is there [...]
Dress for Success
Michelle Balaun2020-08-18T14:43:38-04:00Learning to Live in the Real World. Be a Success! As they get closer to graduation, one of the greatest changes our students are about to experience is [...]
Make the Call
Michelle Balaun2019-12-13T17:35:48-05:00Make the Call to Admissions A distraught friend recently called me wondering why they hadn’t yet heard from FSU although they sent in her son’s new SAT [...]
I’m Not Your Maid: Cleaning Services
Michelle Balaun2020-09-04T15:04:26-04:00Sometimes This Chore Is Just Too Much. I never thought I would be saying this, but sometimes it is a good idea to hire a maid cleaning service for your [...]
Trick or Treat The College Version
Michelle Balaun2020-10-01T12:00:10-04:00It's Talloweek! Trick or Treat That Was Then… I would race home from school so my mom could put together some sort of costume for me then rush to meet m [...]