University of Florida
HUH Expert Parent2020-05-07T16:04:41-04:00University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611 (352) 392-3261 Congratulations! If you are on this page, you have a UF student! Read on to find out the insi [...]
Career Showcase
Michelle Balaun2020-08-06T20:41:17-04:00A Student Perspective Sometimes the thought of choosing a career is scary. Attending a career showcase is important for all students no matter what year [...]
Graduation Restaurant Reservations
Michelle Balaun2020-10-16T14:59:01-04:00Great Places to Celebrate Do you really need to make your restaurant reservations now? Graduation is a time to celebrate and a celebration requires a ni [...]
Tax Time
Michelle Balaun2020-04-29T14:19:00-04:00Tax time is Always Right Around the Corner! Taxes, we have to admit, are decidedly not fun. But they ARE necessary. Whether you are preparing your retur [...]
FAFSA
Michelle Balaun2020-10-02T10:23:23-04:00What is – FAFSA? First Applicants Find Substantial Assets, of course! FAFSA is the national Free Application for Federal Student Aid but, based on how a [...]
Off Campus Living INfo on Every Price
Michelle Balaun2020-07-06T11:52:55-04:00Economical to Extravagant Off-Campus Living Just a few months in from your freshman starting college and they already bring up the subject of where they [...]
Make the Call to Admissions to Get Answers
Michelle Balaun2020-04-29T15:02:49-04:00If You're Worried, Then Call... Sometime later in February, the UF Admissions department sends out with their acceptance letters. My older daughter, my [...]
Favorite Apartment Rentals
Michelle Balaun2023-05-08T15:57:58-04:00Favorite Apartment Rentals Here are some great tips about our favorite apartment rentals. In my case, neither of my daughters stayed in the dorms beyond [...]
They’ve Been Accepted, Now What?
Michelle Balaun2020-06-09T16:37:30-04:00They've Been Accepted Congratulations Class of 2024… YOU'VE BEEN ACCEPTED! It IS great to be a Florida Gator for so many reasons. You can all now take t [...]
Bright Futures
Michelle Balaun2020-04-28T12:13:12-04:00The Future Is So Bright You'll Need Shades! **SEE END OF BLOG FOR CHANGES EFFECTIVE WITH THE 2020-2021 ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR** Bright Futures has long be [...]
Orange and Blue Gator Debut Football
Michelle Balaun2020-10-22T11:06:09-04:00It's Gator Gridiron time! There will not be a Gator spring football game for the University of Florida this offseason, at least according to schedule. D [...]
Sending A Package to Your Student?
Michelle Balaun2020-09-29T13:54:09-04:00Make Sure Your Package Gets There For all the many reasons that a student receives a package, most of them bring a welcome highlight to their day. Wheth [...]
Storage UF, where does the stuff go?
Michelle Balaun2020-05-15T00:35:33-04:00Where Will They Put All Their Stuff? Can you put it in storage? Oh, PLEEEASE can you put it in storage?? It's that time between semesters when they want [...]
First Time Student Loan Borrower?
Michelle Balaun2020-07-09T12:28:33-04:00You Need to Do This What is an Entrance Counseling? In July of 2016, the U.S. Department of Education instituted a requirement mandating that all studen [...]
Choosing or Changing Your Major
Michelle Balaun2020-09-18T01:13:30-04:00You can change your mind and your major! The University of Florida offers a million-gazillion (okay, a multitude of) degrees. How is your student suppos [...]
Spring Break
Michelle Balaun2020-04-30T12:42:36-04:00Letting Off Steam before Finals Mention Spring Break to most parents and immediate visions of lawless partying comes to mind. I get it. I grew up in For [...]
Budget 101
Michelle Balaun2020-10-16T15:24:43-04:00Asking for Money? I can vividly remember being in college and having to make the dreaded call home to my father to ask for money after I blew through my [...]
Ready for The Next Four Years
HUH Expert Parent2020-04-30T13:53:42-04:00Are U Ready For The Next Four Years? You now have a student ready to spend the next four years at UF! That means you will undoubtedly be visiting once o [...]
Meal Plan and Other Ways to Eat
Michelle Balaun2020-09-08T10:57:15-04:00Burgers and Pizza and Fries…Oh my! A Guide to Meal Plans With college right around the corner, I see you fearfully envisioning your student’s diet as on [...]
Orientation, You can Do It Yourself
Michelle Balaun2020-04-30T14:40:54-04:00I Remember When... I remember when my younger daughter was attending UF Orientation. This was my second go-around, yet, I was still wildly excited for h [...]
Making the Most of Summer B
Michelle Balaun2020-04-30T14:42:54-04:00Summer can be the best season ever! Ask any older Gator what their favorite semester has been so far and many will tell you it was freshman year Summer [...]
Dress for Success and be ready for Adulting!
Michelle Balaun2020-08-18T14:48:18-04:00Time to look the part! As they get closer to graduation, one of the greatest changes our students are about to experience is the need to abandon their s [...]
What U Should Do Before Heading to UF
HUH Expert Parent2020-06-11T11:36:56-04:00Before you leave! Before you leave to take your kid to college, there are a few items you will want to take care of that are extremely important. Althou [...]
Home Sweet Dorm
Michelle Balaun2020-09-24T16:16:19-04:00Does Their Dorm Room Feel Like Home Yet? You may be surprised at how one can transform a dorm that is mass-produced and industrial-looking into a warm a [...]
Move Out Now?
HUH Expert Parent2020-11-11T10:34:44-05:00Time to Move On... Moving out can be almost as hectic as moving into the dorms and apartments. When it comes to dorms, you are typically assigned a move [...]
Are You a Pre-Med Major?
Michelle Balaun2020-05-28T22:18:15-04:00Tips every pre-med student should know! Planning on going to medical school one day? If so, there are a few things that I wish I knew as a pre-med fresh [...]
Banks and Credit Unions at UF
Michelle Balaun2020-06-24T16:02:27-04:00Many Places to Grab Money, Banks Galore! Leaving for college comes with so many new things, but handling their own money can be one of the scariest. We [...]
Need Advice About Your College Career?
Michelle Balaun2020-02-27T13:12:31-05:00A Guide to Getting Advice As a fourth-year college student at the University of Florida, the best semesters were the ones in which I created my schedule [...]
Good Advice To My Freshman Self
Michelle Balaun2020-08-06T20:18:17-04:00Advice Every Freshman Should Know Starting a new experience like college is a good time for good (not just any, but legit) advice. As a senior in high s [...]
Money, Money, Money
Michelle Balaun2020-08-19T20:49:04-04:00When Will Financial Aid Money Disburse? The time has come to pay for the first college bills. For some reason, this always cues panic. I remember receiv [...]
Lunch Bunch
Michelle Balaun2020-08-18T03:14:13-04:00Mid-Day Munchies- what’s for lunch? The best part of lunch is the break it gives you in the middle of the day! But it’s even better when you’re enjoying [...]
Football Seats in The Swamp at UF
Michelle Balaun2021-04-23T12:38:26-04:00A Guide to The Swamp! Everyone should get to at least one Gator football game. Or, perhaps you want to get season tickets. One of the keys to making it [...]
Brunch is Breakfast plus Lunch plus Fun
Michelle Balaun2020-08-15T10:17:53-04:00"Brunch is breakfast without an alarm." -- Unknown Most college kids sleep late. It’s a well-known fact. So going out for breakfast, particularly on wee [...]
An Insider’s Guide to Campus Dorm Living at UF
Michelle Balaun2020-06-04T16:55:32-04:00Campus Living -- We have the inside scoop! For sure, start your process by reading about the dorms and where you should live on campus on the UF Housing [...]
Sick at School
Michelle Balaun2020-09-29T13:53:17-04:00Mom.........I'm sick. It’s bound to happen. At some point, the phone will ring and your mature, independent college student will cry “I don’t feel well. [...]
Get Involved
Michelle Balaun2020-08-10T15:03:04-04:00Get Involved With an undergraduate enrollment of over 35,000, spanning over 2,000 acres, UF is huge. That massive size means that students should find a [...]
Grocery Stores
HUH Expert Parent2020-07-09T14:28:23-04:00Let's Eat Calling all Gator chefs de college cuisine! Here's where to find your grocery stores. Those of you from Florida -- or any of the Southeastern [...]
Grad School Housing is More Grown Up!
Michelle Balaun2023-05-08T15:54:09-04:00Because Grad School Needs Are Different For Grad School students, finding an apartment entails completely different criteria, especially if they are hea [...]
Fun Classes When You Need an Elective
Michelle Balaun2020-10-06T16:30:40-04:00What Students Wish They Took Today, universities have students declare a major almost immediately. That's not to say they cannot change their major but, [...]
Managing the Gap, when they are in between
Michelle Balaun2020-06-26T13:16:51-04:00It's Gap Time...Where Will They Live? Although it feels like you just moved your students into their dorms, you now have to move them out. The worst par [...]
Eating Healthy when you are a student
Michelle Balaun2020-07-09T15:40:13-04:00OK to be Eating...Healthy! As with other college campuses, the amount of burger, pizza, and fast-food restaurants at and surrounding the UF campus is a [...]
Study Abroad UF
Michelle Balaun2020-08-18T14:15:37-04:00Study Abroad? Not all classrooms have four walls. The best often have no walls. Nowhere is this more evident than with the growing number of students th [...]
Health Insurance
Michelle Balaun2020-10-15T11:14:00-04:00The Plan for Insurance Students at many colleges today must have a health insurance plan that meets their University’s minimum requirement. HaveUHeard t [...]
Roommates and Residential Life
Michelle Balaun2020-06-26T14:52:35-04:00Learning to Live With Roommates... I'll never forget my first visit to Preview with my elder daughter. The UF advisor leading one session asked for a sh [...]
Are U Ready For Some Football
Michelle Balaun2020-10-22T11:04:57-04:00You can almost hear the crowd roar... Now may not yet seem like the time to talk football. But if you are planning on coming up for a game in the fall, [...]
The Benefits of Joining the UF Alumni Association
Michelle Balaun2020-09-15T15:11:12-04:00Alumni Networking, Perks, and More… Before you know it, your student is walking across the stage at graduation and, with that last step, they are offici [...]
Wake Up Gators, It’s Game Day!
Michelle Balaun2020-10-22T11:09:21-04:00Get ready for the big game with these attire tips! The best feeling for any college student, especially if you’re a Gator, is waking up knowing it's gam [...]
The ABC’s of 529 Savings Plans UF
Michelle Balaun2020-08-24T11:32:26-04:00What 529 Pays When you decided to have kids, I would bet your first thought was not, "How am I going to pay for college?" But it might have been your se [...]