UF Gator Bucket List
Michelle Balaun2018-11-08T11:15:01+00:00Check out these Gator things to do! If you have committed to becoming a Gator, there are a few things that you might want to check out over your next fo [...]
Staying at UF for Thanksgiving
Michelle Balaun2018-11-19T11:37:24+00:00Make it a Friendsgiving Although UF is officially closed from November 22nd-25th, 2018, not all students will be going home for the holiday. Flights can [...]
Finals Are A Bear – Send A Care Package!
Michelle Balaun2018-11-14T14:31:34+00:00Send Help Now! Final exams can be some of the biggest stressors for your student. I typically do not get to speak to my daughter during exam weeks. My c [...]
Midterm Blues Care Package
Michelle Balaun2018-10-16T15:49:13+00:00Surprise Them With a Box of Love! Midterm and final exams can be some of the biggest stressors for your student. I typically do not get to speak to my d [...]
Safety Tips For Using Rideshare
Michelle Balaun2018-10-10T17:38:31+00:00Important Reminders I remember when I first heard about Uber and thought it was a brilliant concept for so many reasons; one of which was that it shoul [...]
Send a Little Halloween Love…
Michelle Balaun2018-10-01T17:27:43+00:00Have Some Halloween Fun! When my daughter left for college, I sent her a Halloween care package. It was nothing fancy; just some dollar store decoratio [...]
Fun Classes When You Need Electives
Michelle Balaun2018-09-27T13:13:39+00:00What Students Wish They Took Today, universities have students declare a major almost immediately. That is not to say they cannot change their major but [...]
Gameday Outfits for UF Parents
Michelle Balaun2018-09-28T10:10:22+00:00Show Your Team Spirit! I love going to college football games- there is nothing like game days but, TBH, I am not going to wear some of the outfits that [...]
Where to Pregame at UF
Michelle Balaun2018-08-29T08:26:29+00:00All Part of the Gameday Football Tradition Football season is upon us and other than making sure you will be properly attired in orange and blue and hav [...]
Money, Money, Money
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:35:06+00:00When Will Financial Aid Disburse? The time has come to pay for your college costs and panic sets in. I remember receiving my tuition statement for my d [...]
Food for Thought
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:37:22+00:00No Student Hungry Much like the national campaign No Kid Hungry®, there are many students at colleges throughout the United States that are barely getti [...]
Volunteering Turns Your Compassion into Action
Michelle Balaun2018-08-05T11:16:54+00:00Volunteering with passion is key. From personal experience, I have found that those who volunteer with a passion and find purpose in their work, have a [...]
Namast’ ay with Yoga at UF
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:46:17+00:00Keeping Stress at Bay with Yoga I started doing yoga several years ago after being invited by friends. I never thought of myself as much of a yoga pers [...]
Game Day Attire
Michelle Balaun2018-10-05T16:56:49+00:00Try these great gameday outfits! Picture this- It is a beautiful Saturday, your roommates and you are getting ready for pregaming, there is not a cloud [...]
Preparing for Grad School Exams
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:40:21+00:00The fun keeps going! It may seem like you just finished studying for the ACT/SAT’s and left for college, but before you know it, graduation will be loo [...]
What to Get Dad on a Limited Budget
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:38:26+00:00Don't Forget About Deal Old Dad! My sister and I are daddy’s girls but not in the way you would think. We grew up playing sports and having him as our [...]
Happy Birthday Care Packages
Michelle Balaun2018-10-19T04:57:47+00:00Time to blow out the candles! When their birthday rolls around, it can be just one more reminder that you won’t be celebrating together so putting toge [...]
Care Packages – Because Sometimes They Get Sick
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:35:09+00:00You can close the distance with care! I don’t know about you but when they call to say they are sick, the miles between home and school seem even longe [...]
Shopping Guide for New Students
Michelle Balaun2018-08-23T15:40:44+00:00The Top 7 Categories of What They Need! Back to school-college is the second biggest consumer spending season right behind winter holiday season. Parent [...]
Exam Care Packages
Michelle Balaun2018-10-23T12:09:00+00:00This will help the stress go away! Midterm and finals can be some of the biggest stressors for your student. I typically do not get to speak to my daugh [...]
21 and Oh So Fun
Michelle Balaun2018-08-15T12:30:41+00:00An official adult now! My daughter turned 21 in October of her junior year at UF as do many students. At UF, many girls who turn 21 have what is called [...]
Transferring to UF
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:38:58+00:00Better late than never. Some students leave for college unsure of what to find and realize when they get there it is not the place for them. Perhaps to [...]
Valentine’s Day Gift Guide
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:35:11+00:00Sent With Love As far back as I can remember we always celebrated Valentine’s Day; not in the religious sense; it was a tradition I grew up with and con [...]
Spring Sports
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:38:27+00:00There is always more than football! Spring may not have football games but there are tons of other sports to enjoy! When people think of UF sports, the [...]
Reitz Union Football Lottery – Bet You Already Knew That!
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:19:32+00:00Reitz Union Football Lottery Reitz Union Football Lottery...HaveUHeard? Due to the tremendous demand for rooms at the Reitz Union Hotel during Universit [...]
Searching for Scholarships – Find Your Way
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:36:09+00:00Searching for Scholarships We invested in Florida Pre-paid for our daughters and encouraged them to get as much as they could from Bright Futures Schola [...]
They’ve Been Accepted
Michelle Balaun2018-10-23T12:07:38+00:00They've Been Accepted Congratulations Class of 2023… It is great to be a Florida Gator for so many reasons. You can now take that sigh of relief that a [...]
Calendar of Events and Important Dates for UF
Michelle Balaun2018-10-22T15:41:58+00:00Here is where you can find a list of events and important dates for students and parents of the University of Florida. We would love to list every event [...]
Computer and Phone Repair
Michelle Balaun2018-08-05T11:35:50+00:00Computer and Phone Repair My daughters have dropped their phones more times than I care to admit (or they care to share); so much so that even the insu [...]
Study? The Best Places to Study at UF
Michelle Balaun2018-10-23T12:25:09+00:00Best Places to Study at UF My daughter, like every other college student, has her own way of studying. She does not like to study in a group but prefers [...]
Trick or Treat
Michelle Balaun2018-10-22T09:54:07+00:00Halloween, the most fun time! 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 [...]
Sorority Girl
Michelle Balaun2018-08-05T12:10:26+00:00So 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 [...]
Bright Futures
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:38:58+00:00Bright Futures – Shining Bright On Friday, March 9th, Governor Rick Scott signed the SB4 bill, which amongst other items encourages universities to grad [...]
Graduation at UF
Michelle Balaun2018-10-22T15:46:53+00:00Remember When... 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’ [...]
Lost and Found
Michelle Balaun2018-08-05T11:35:51+00:00Oh No...It Happened! It's Lost. Have you ever lost anything really important before? My daughter spent the summer studying abroad. She was warned about [...]
Budget 101
Michelle Balaun2018-08-05T12:10:26+00:00Asking for Money? I can vividly remember being in college and having to make the dreaded call home to my father to ask for money. My parents had three d [...]
Pets
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:37:24+00:00Paws at UF I cannot begin to tell you how many times my kids have called from college saying they want to buy or foster a dog or cat. “Oh mom, you shoul [...]
Study Abroad UF
Michelle Balaun2018-10-04T17:56:51+00:00Study Abroad? Not all classrooms have four walls. No place is this more evident than in the growing number of students that study abroad. This is one o [...]
PACE Yourself
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:35:18+00:00Pathway to Campus Enrollment In 2015, UF launched a new enrollment program called PaCE, Pathway to Campus Enrollment to meet the growing demand of quali [...]
Get Involved
Michelle Balaun2018-08-05T12:10:27+00:00Get 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 [...]
Health Insurance
Michelle Balaun2018-08-05T11:16:55+00:00The Plan for Insurance Students at many colleges today must have a health insurance plan that meets their University’s minimum requirement. And, if you [...]
Dance Marathon
Michelle Balaun2018-09-24T18:21:13+00:00You 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 [...]
Entertainment
HUH Expert Parent2018-08-02T16:38:27+00:00More than Football...Entertainment That's entertainment! Are you looking for more than the typical? If a movie night is what you are looking for, head t [...]
Nature vs Nurture
Michelle Balaun2018-08-05T12:10:27+00:00Nature vs Nurture When my oldest daughter was accepted to the University of Florida, during her high school graduation party, a relative who attended U [...]
Getting There – Transportation
HUH Expert Parent2018-11-05T16:23:20+00:00Trains, Planes, and Automobiles...All the Transportation You Can Think Of Freshman who brings their cars will quickly learn that parking during the fall [...]
Hotels
HUH Expert Parent2018-10-08T18:33:00+00:00A Nice Place to Stay There are plenty of hotel options for visiting Gainesville. Remembering this is a college town, you should not be expecting to see [...]
Tax Time
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T16:37:53+00:00Always Right Around The Corner! As you are preparing your return or having a CPA prepare your return, do not forget to take advantage of the Education T [...]
The Next Four Years
HUH Expert Parent2018-08-02T16:35:21+00:00The Next Four Years So you have a student ready to spend the next four years at UF? That means you will undoubtedly be visiting once or twice. If you ha [...]