A Freshman's Guide to WPI

Living On Campus:

• All of the dorms have a sort of different culture, but none of the standard dorms are specifically better or worse than any others (except Messenger because it’s brand new and has AC)
• Here’s a list of the cultures (as of 2017/18 at least):

• Riley (singles, doubles, triples, and quads): smaller floors that allow the entire floor to be one giant friend group

• I have heard from a lot of people that the singles in Riley are stuffy and lonely. They’re all confined to the 4th floor and they are very small, but really loneliness can find anyone if you don’t branch out :)

• Morgan/Daniels (triples): essentially identical. Giant floors that lead to 4 or 5 different friend groups. People always in the common rooms, and great for mingling
• Founders (suites with singles and triples): Suit living, which is great for very close knit friend groups. Very good option if you’re confident that you will get along well with the people you’re living with. Also great for more personal space. Not great for mingling because of the suite style.
• Institute (doubles or triples? Can’t remember): very small floors that allow the floors to be VERY close. Everyone I knew who lived in Institute together when I was a freshman are still best friends to this day.
• Stod (triples): Very small floors that lead to tight knit communities. Floors are single-gender as far as I know. Really nice bathrooms tho

Living Off Campus

• Whatever year you plan to move off campus, you should start looking for an apartment in B term of the year prior (around October to November). Any later than B term, anything in an optimal location will be gone
• Reasonable rent can be anywhere from $400-$600 a month. Anything more is probably a ripoff because the quality of the apartments in the area is almost standardly mediocre across the board. 
• It’s technically illegal to have over 3 people in the same apartment, but don’t listen to people who tell you this will be a problem. It won’t be. No one cares.
• I highly recommend living in your Greek house if applicable. My year in the Phi Sig house was the best year of college for me. Fun af. 

Registering for Classes

• If you get waitlisted for a class you really want or need to take, don’t drop it and settle for something else. Wait lists roll quickly once they open up and there’s a good chance you’ll get in.
• If you don’t get in off the waitlist, email the professor a day or two before the term starts and politely ask if they will let you into the class. Professors don’t choose the number of seats offered in their classes, and 99% of the time they will be more than willing to let you in.
• This is a little more complicated if all the labs are full but it’ll always work out. Don’t stress
• On the topic of full classes: EVERY year, the calculus classes fill to capacity. They ALWAYS create more sections to accommodate everyone who needs to take them. You will get into the calc classes you need - just be patient. Don’t stress :)
• People are going to talk all the time about their 4 year plans, and it’ll stress you out. Pro tip: only a handful of people actually have a super comprehensive 4 year plan, and if you never end up figuring one out, it will still work out PERFECTLY FINE as long as you track what classes you have left to take.  

Dining Plans

• VIP Plan is generally not worth the much higher cost, but it can be if you like to stockpile snacks or value having a wide variety in your dining options
• A lot of people either get the 14 or 19 meal plan, but generally speaking, most people only need the 14 (takeout a couple times a week, only having time to eat 2 meals a day, etc)
• Freshman meal swipes reset on Saturday nights, so use up all your weekly swipes before then, or else you’re just wasting them. Upperclassmen will always graciously accept free meal swipes that would otherwise go to waste!
• A lot of upperclassmen have a voluntary meal plan, which is very convenient if you live off campus and does not expire until you graduate
• Goat bucks are a great alternative to meal plans because you can load however many you need/whenever you want, and if you have more than $5 remaining when you graduate, you get the money back! 

Greek Life

• Greek life is not for everyone, but I personally recommend going through recruitment/rush if you have even the slightest inkling that it might be for you.
• There is nothing lost from going through recruitment/rush and not joining a Greek org. However, there is a lot to gain if you choose to go through with it.
• Unaffiliated people like to shit on Greek life, but there are more benefits than I can count to joining a Greek organization (extreme networking both on campus and across the country, MANY leadership opportunities, opportunities to grow your professional skills, opportunities to become a more well-rounded person overall, etc)
• Try to stay away from learning the stereotypes before you join one - it will cloud your judgement during the recruitment/rush process and raises the chances that you’ll end up somewhere you don’t feel like you belong
• The stereotypes are generally untrue, so don’t listen to them. If you choose to join Greek life, join the organization you feel at home in. 

Tips

• Don’t show up to line up at a fraternity party before 10pm. You won’t get in early, so you will have to wait, and it ruins it for everyone when the line is already a mile long by 9:30.
• College is about your education, but it’s also about the experience. A 90% is no different than a 99%, so do not miss out on fun nights trying to earn points that won’t make a difference. Your life is important too. 
• GO TO OFFICE HOURS IF YOU’RE HAVING TROUBLE I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH
• MASH (math and science help) as well as individual tutoring are literally amazing, if you’re struggling in a class that offers this THEN GO. it’s seriously the only reason I passed diff eq’s
• Read the syllabus
• Use your Outlook calendar for EVERYTHING. It makes life so much easier.
• Go to the activities fair and sign up for shit, even if it’s only 1 thing that vaguely interests you. Clubs and teams are the best way to make friends outside of class!
• Use the resources available to you while you’re there! There are so many awesome resources that you can use for non-academic projects (Innovation Studio, Makerspace, 3D printing lab, machine shops, laser cutters, powerful computers, etc)
• I applied to over 160 jobs before accepting one and exactly 0 potential employers asked about my GPA. So stop stressing about your GPA. It’s not as important as they made it feel in high school. As long as it’s not like a 2.3 it doesn’t matter. Above a 3.0 is ideal but it’s not make or break and 99% of employers won’t even check. 
• Think long and hard before you “strategically NR” something. In most cases, it’s more work than it’s worth to retake a class than it is to just accept a C and move on. C’s are not the end of the world. Not even close.
• Almost everyone fails something at least once. You’re not a bad student just because you make mistakes. And you’re ESPECIALLY not stupid because of it.

Best Restaurants

• Pizza: Boomers, Blue Jeans, Antonio’s, The Boynton
• Nicer places: Peppercorns, VIA Italian Table, Sole Proprietor, 111 Chop House (EXPENSIVE af)
• Bubble Tea/Crepes: Yoway Cafe on Park Ave (also has frozen yogurt), BubbleBee Cafe in the Worcester Public Market, Gong Cha
• Culturally authentic foods: any place in the Worcester Public Market, Thai Time on Highland, Shawarma Palace
• Casual Places and/or Takeout: The Boynton, Boomers, Thai Time, really any pizza place in the area, Wooberry (frozen yogurt and ice cream), Buffalo Wild Wings (Shrewsbury), Moe’s (Shrewsbury), Chipotle (Park Ave), Wings Over Worcester (their ranch SLAPS so hard), Jimmy’s Tavern (Shrewsbury), The Fix Burger Bar
• Breakfast: Birchtree Bread Company, Altea’s, Miss Worcester Diner, Lucky’s Cafe

***There are literally hundreds of places to eat, I can’t list them all but Google “xyz food near me” and there will be options for almost anything. These are just the places I frequented.

Study Spots

• Library

• Main floor (second floor): regular volume floor, IT services is here
• First floor: Quiet floor. People go there for silent studying
• Bottom floor: Best floor in my opinion. Often empty, quiet but not required to be quiet so you can go there with friends and actually get shit done
• Top floor: has good white boards, honestly my least favorite floor for no reason other than having to walk up the stairs 

• Foisie (now called the WPI Innovation Studio)

• Great for casual study
• 1965 Conference Room is GREAT if you can actually snag it before it gets taken
• I&E studio (i think that’s what it’s called?) on the second floor has awesome tables and you can study, hang out, do homework with friends
• Has the makerspace (so many tools you can take out)

• Random classrooms are always good, and a lot of people have one favorite classroom that they always go to. SL115 is newly renovated with really nice tables and chairs + lots of electrical outlets but the tabletops aren’t smooth and that irritated me when I tried to write on top of them
• CC

• Fun with friends
• Loud
• I wouldn’t recommend studying here if you have trouble focusing
• Great spot to study if you want to mingle!