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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Birthright Israel – Hillel and the trip of a lifetime!
Michelle Balaun2021-01-14T16:20:14-05:00Young Jewish students trip. Birthright Israel is the gift of a free, 10-day trip to Israel designed for young adults of Jewish heritage, aged 18–32. Man [...]
The Stress of College
Michelle Balaun2020-06-01T12:23:24-04:00The Stress of College Stress. It affects all of us, including our kids. Honestly, what do we expect from balancing a full schedule, the welcome distract [...]
PACE Yourself
Michelle Balaun2020-06-12T14:23:31-04:00Pathway to Campus Enrollment In 2015, UF launched a new enrollment program called PaCE, Pathway to Campus Enrollment. PaCE is a program designed to meet [...]
Beauty and the Beast
Michelle Balaun2021-06-10T14:57:30-04:00Beauty and the Beast It's not just for fairy tales. Getting that beauty treatment makes her happy. As the mother of girls (one who's a performer), I kno [...]
Are Your Student’s Valuables Safe – Everything Safe?
Michelle Balaun2020-06-26T15:52:10-04:00How Safe Is Their Stuff? One more thing to worry about: is the stuff safe? Right up there on the anxiety ladder along with the call from my college daug [...]
Staying Fit and Keeping Freshman 15 At Bay
Michelle Balaun2020-08-19T11:29:03-04:00Freshman 15, Keeping Fit! Keeping fit matters. It helps mentally as well as physically. The phrase “Freshman 15” has its own claim to fame, actually inf [...]
Getting There – Transportation
HUH Expert Parent2019-12-18T18:30:07-05:00Trains, Planes, and Automobiles...All the Transportation You Can Think Of Freshmen who bring their cars will quickly learn that parking during the fall [...]
Planning to Sublease an Apartment at UF?
Michelle Balaun2023-05-08T15:52:57-04:00Here’s How to Sublease - The Supply is Greater Than the Demand HaveUHeard that students generally sign a lease for twelve months when they move into an [...]
More Veggies if you please! Here are our pleasing choices.
Michelle Balaun2020-11-05T12:07:29-05:00Vegan-Vegetarian Dining, love veggies. When my older daughter left for UF, she was a carnivore. In fact, one of her last meals at home was her dad’s ste [...]
Eating on a Budget
Michelle Balaun2020-07-09T16:45:35-04:00Budget Eating Is Possible Keeping your college kid eating while at the same time balancing their food budget is a real challenge. Through the years, I h [...]
Books, Books, Books
Michelle Balaun2020-08-20T14:51:36-04:00Book Time A lot has changed since I was a student, but one thing has not: Textbooks are expensive! Sure, the format differs, but the cost for books and [...]
Controversial Speakers
Michelle Balaun2020-06-16T14:44:11-04:00Is Free Expression, Controversial? UF is a melting pot with diverse people from different backgrounds and beliefs. No matter who you are, UF makes sure [...]
Fix it! Repair it!
Michelle Balaun2020-07-10T00:15:18-04:00Repair Shops Car, scooter, or bike, oh my! At UF, you will find all in large numbers. Talk to any student about which is the most useful at UF and you’ [...]
Flu Season Ahead, Wash Your Hands!
Michelle Balaun2020-09-29T13:48:13-04:00The Flu ends with “U” It’s that season again – and I don’t mean hurricanes. Flu season generally runs from October through May, peaking in December. Giv [...]
Searching for Scholarships – Find Your Way
Michelle Balaun2020-08-19T20:01:51-04:00Searching for Scholarships Congratulations on Your Child Being Accepted! Now that that’s settled, the idea of actually paying for college looms. Hopefu [...]
Register to Vote UF
Michelle Balaun2020-09-11T15:58:19-04:00How to Have Your Vote Count While at College No matter where you are on Election Day, your vote counts! Voting is so important that we're giving the top [...]