GT Freshman Survival Guide

Remember to clean your room.

• Yes, cleanliness matters, if not for style points then certainly for your sanity (and that of any visitors.)

• PLs will probably have vacuums you can borrow, but it doesn't hurt to spring for one of your own.

Talk to your roommate!

• Share your schedule. Specifically discuss sleeping schedules, and be considerate of each other. If you go to bed three hours later than your roommate and you don’t have a desk lamp, well, you should change that.

• Discuss room maintenance:

  • Figure out who will do cleaning and who will take out the trash on which days.

  • To call room service, pull out your phone and dial your number. I’ve tried this and the line is always busy.

Have your roommate’s phone number so they can let you back in when you lock yourself out. It will happen eventually.

• If you do lock yourself out during the day, go to your respective housing office (WCHO for West Campus and ECHO for East Campus), give them your GT ID, and they will loan you a temporary key so you can get back into your dorm.

• During the evenings or weekends, call the PL on duty. They are there to help you at any hour at night or on weekends.

• If you happen to completely lose your key, go to your PL or your respective housing office, and they will outfit you and your roommate with a new set of keys and a new lock. The entire procedure could cost you around $50, so be careful not to lose your key!

Get to know the people on your floor. They’re probably an awesome group of people, and they’re going to be a major support system during the year; they’ll be there when life gets stressful.

• At least during the first few weeks, keep your room door open so people can come in and say hi.

• Check out the lounge on your floor. It’s a nice place to hang out and study (unless you can’t hit the books with noise around you.)

• Go to meals with the people from your floor.

• There are a TON of various activities on campus for new students during the first couple weeks at Tech. Ask your floor-mates if they’re up for going to convocation together or hitting up the CRC for some racquetball.

If you have any questions about residence life, classes, activities, or Tech in general, talk to your PL.