Parking at UF – It’s Not As Easy As It Sounds!
Michelle Balaun2019-12-19T13:42:06-05:00Get that last spot! You sent them to college with a car and they are grateful. However, although it will make a weekly Publix run easier, no one really [...]
Finding a Roommate at The Swamp!
Michelle Balaun2019-12-19T13:35:01-05:00Adjusting to shared living with a roommate. When I got into the University of Florida, my biggest dream came true. I had envisioned my four years at The [...]
Sorting Out College Life – A Guide to Laundry
Michelle Balaun2020-07-20T11:38:31-04:00Laundry, the worst chore ever! I spent my daughter’s senior year of high school teaching her how to do laundry. I even tried using enticements (aka brib [...]
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 [...]
The Innovation Academy Explained
Michelle Balaun2021-08-31T14:47:51-04:00All the Questions Answered: Innovation Academy So you just got into the University of Florida— what an exciting day! How vividly I still remember the da [...]
Technology Needs for UF Students
Michelle Balaun2020-08-18T03:24:37-04:00HaveUHeard that Microsoft Office 365 technology is free? No need to clean your glasses! It says exactly what you thought it did: Free technology for all [...]
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 [...]
What Not to Bring with You to College
Michelle Balaun2020-04-28T11:03:09-04:00You really don't need that at college! If you haven’t started shopping for your incoming college freshman yet, whether for things for their dorm or clot [...]
Dropping A Class
Michelle Balaun2020-09-20T15:09:24-04:00Dropping the Subject Will it be okay when you think dropping a class is the best choice? When my daughter was a junior, she decided to take a very heavy [...]
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 [...]
Finding an Internship at college
Michelle Balaun2020-08-31T16:36:48-04:00Best way to prepare for a job! What better way to learn about a prospective field or career than through an internship? I am a big believer in internshi [...]
Spring Sports are fun in the sports!
Michelle Balaun2020-05-14T16:11:21-04:00There is always more than football! Spring may not feature the iconic collegiate sport of football, but there are tons of other sports to enjoy! (Don't [...]
Working While in College
Michelle Balaun2020-11-10T13:02:16-05:00Working or Not Working, That is the Question. Some students have to work to pay for college. Some consider their school work their only job and are fort [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Study? The Best Places to Study at UF
Michelle Balaun2020-09-18T00:29:26-04:00Best 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 [...]
The Best Apps For Students
Michelle Balaun2020-11-10T13:02:44-05:00UF and College Studying Apps Remember when you were in college and everything you needed was easily accessible via apps on your phone? No? Well, me eith [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
So your student wants to be a Gator?
Michelle Balaun2020-10-28T12:23:30-04:00So your student wants to be a Gator? That's understandable - Time Magazine ranked UF as the best school in Florida. UF is a great university, right down [...]
Homecoming at UF
Michelle Balaun2020-09-17T17:12:43-04:00Gator Growl? Being part of a huge Gator Family (16 of us went to UF including my 90-year-old uncle when it was an all-boys school); I have been to my sh [...]
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. [...]
Where the Wind Blows, Stormy Weather!
Michelle Balaun2020-09-01T13:47:29-04:00Florida Weather = Storm Having grown up in South Florida, I have made it through more than 45 Hurricane seasons. Yikes! But with that much hurricane pre [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Dance Marathon
Michelle Balaun2020-10-23T13:44:34-04:00You Can Dance If You Want To Perhaps you have seen the Facebook or Instagram posts from your student or friends’ kids that say #FTK or #ForTheKids. Mayb [...]
Honor Roll
Michelle Balaun2020-05-28T21:52:47-04:00My Student Made Honor Roll It's always something of a goosebumps moment when a gold-embossed, cream-colored, linen envelope arrives in the mail. At this [...]
Entertainment
HUH Expert Parent2020-01-10T16:42:54-05:00More than Football...Entertainment That's entertainment! Are you looking for more than the typical? The Hippodrome, a downtown landmark, is a must-see [...]
Nature vs Nurture Get out in nature at UF
Michelle Balaun2020-10-12T13:10:44-04:00Nature vs Nurture Do you love nature as I do? During my older daughter's high school graduation party, when she was excitedly celebrating her admission [...]
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 [...]
Tutoring
HUH Expert Parent2020-09-17T23:22:37-04:00Tutoring Can Help Like students at many other highly sought-after colleges, those who attend UF will be faced with challenging classes taught by respect [...]
Safety Matters
HUH Expert Parent2019-12-19T16:29:18-05:00Safety UF takes safety very seriously. Technology has changed the landscape of how they impart information to students through texts and emails, and soc [...]
U Matter We Care at UF
HUH Expert Parent2019-12-19T13:52:01-05:00We Really Do Care We know you care too! Now you have your college student moved in and they are ready to embark on a new independent life. As a parent, [...]
Rushing His Way
Michelle Balaun2019-12-19T16:52:30-05:00Is It Really an Animal House? Going back to 1978 with the release of “Animal House”, which became one of the most successful comedies of all time, to 20 [...]
Rushing Her Way
Michelle Balaun2020-05-12T11:22:08-04:00To Sorority or Not? Rushing In... Are you rushing in? For parents of incoming freshmen, you probably are starting to hear whispers about sorority recrui [...]
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 [...]
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 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, [...]