Moving away from your parents to attend university can be an intense learning experience. Here are a few tips to help ease the transition:

- Eat Good Food

In my opinion, the biggest benefit of living on campus is meal hall. The food is usually pretty good, it’s open for the better part of the day, and it’s got lots of healthy options. If, however, you decide to live off campus like I did, you’ll have to think ahead a bit more. I can’t count the number of times I came home from a long day of classes only to realize I had nothing in my cupboards except peanut butter and pickles, (it’s better than it sounds) which can make it really tempting to live primarily off of pizza and burgers. Eating right is essential to staying healthy enough to succeed at school, so plan your meals ahead of time and choose healthy foods.

- Budget

Another huge benefit of living in residence is that all your bills are paid up front with tuition. If you live off campus, you have to deal with monthly bills. If you get a student loan, that first time $3000 dollars shows up in your bank account seemingly from nowhere can be pretty exciting. Be careful not to overspend though, because every month you’ve got to be prepared to pay rent, heat and electric bills, internet, cable, etc. Prepare a budget so you know exactly how much you’re able to spend each month.

- Go to Class

After I moved out, the thing I missed most about my mom was our morning rituals. We’d often have breakfast and drive to town together before school/work, but the part that really threw my mornings off was that she wasn’t there to drag me out of bed when I ignored my alarm each morning. If you’re not a morning person, leaving the comfort of your nice warm bed to go to calculus at 8:30 is terrible. However, it’s really important to miss as little class time as possible. The more you learn in class the easier it is to study!

- Work Out

People often find it very hard to find time to exercise, especially when you’re trying to establish routines in your new life outside your parent’s house. I can tell you from experience though, that you’ll feel much, much better if you make some time to sweat a little. You’ll have more energy. UNB has several athletic facilities for student use including the brand new CURRIE Center, which has multiple gymnasiums, an indoor running track, and pretty much any fitness equipment you could ever want. There are also lots of sports teams and clubs to join, such as the ski/snowboard club or the Judo club, that will help keep you active.

Finally, my best piece of advice for anybody leaving home for the first time: don’t be afraid to call your parents! They can give you better advice than some guy on the internet could ever dream of.

If you’re a future student, what excites you the most about leaving home?

Current students, what advice would you add? Let us know in the comments below!

I often find the most difficult part of my day is dragging myself out of bed for a 10 am class. I’m the kind of person who puts my alarm clock on the other side of the room to force myself from between the sheets. Today however, was different. Today, I bounded out of bed like a six-year-old on Christmas Day, and gave my snooze button a well-deserved break. I was dressed, fed, groomed and out the door in time to catch the 7:45 bus. What caused this uncharacteristically excited morning? Today was my first day at my first ever co-op job!

I arrived at the Center for Nuclear Energy Research promptly at 8:30am and was greeted by my supervisor. He gave me a tour of the building, showed me my desk and handed me the design documents for the project I’ll be working on (the six-year-old me would never have thought that 500+ pages of UML diagrams and design specifications could be more exciting than a Superman action figure!). After I met everybody I’d be working with, I got to see the lab and an entire room dedicated to simulating a nuclear power plant. I was like a kid in a candy shop. Did I mention I was getting paid the whole time?!

The remainder of my workday was spent reading technical documents and design specifications, interspersed with coffee breaks and water-cooler conversations. It almost felt like something straight from the mind of Scott Adams, though when it was all said and done, it was a pretty good first day. Now I’m just eager to get my hands on some code!

Now many of you are probably reading this and thinking, “Well, working on software for nuclear power plants doesn’t sound like very much fun at all…” To you I say, “Fear not!” There are all kinds of jobs to apply for in the co-op program. Are you great with people? Try customer support with Genesys in Moncton. Like fixing computers? Apply for tech support at UNB. Those options don’t suit you? Go make video games with EA, or design software for cell phones with Research in Motion. The possibilities are endless, and these are jobs you can get before you’re done school!

When I first heard of the co-op program, I was skeptical. I figured all the jobs would get scooped up by the people with 4.3 GPAs. My grades are good, but nowhere near that good. I thought- there’s no way I could even compete with some of the geniuses who I go to school with. However the truth of the matter is that there are more jobs than there are students who apply for them. I got job offers from three different companies this semester alone. There are so many reasons to do this program: the money, the experience, the networking opportunities, etc. etc. I strongly recommend co-op to everyone. It’s one of many reasons to love Computer Science at UNB Fredericton.

“What’s your greatest strength?”

“What are your long term goals?”

One question I didn’t think warranted preparation, however, was “How do you like your program?” That’s easy, I love it!  I was caught a little off-guard though when the interviewer looked up from his notepad and asked me why I loved Computer Science. I hadn’t really thought about it. Sure, I love my program, but I hadn’t actually thought about specific reasons for it.  Following the interview I decided I wouldn’t be left stuttering and sputtering out a half-hearted answer again.  I sat down and made a list.  So here it is; my top 4 reasons to love the Computer Science program!

Breakfast with the CSA!

4. The Faculty

The Computer Science profs are absolutely stellar.  They’re all knowledgeable, intelligent, and incredibly friendly.  They’re always willing to provide insight and extra help when you’re stuck on a tough topic.  Small class sizes mean they get to know you by name, and you can always tell that they’re really invested in the success of their students.

Many profs in the CS Faculty are very involved with student activities as well.  It’s not at all uncommon to see my Software Engineering prof, Natalie Webber, organizing student events or just hanging out in the student lounge, or Rick Wightman sporting the ever-classy bacon mustache at one of our Computer Science Association pancake breakfasts!

3. The Students

I’ll be honest, when I started the program I expected the halls to be populated by a bunch of awkward computer nerds, fresh out of their mom’s basement.  What I found though, was a community of creative, diverse, intelligent (and very attractive!) men and women whose interests vastly overstep the bounds of their computer screens.  Spend some time in the student lounge and you’re just as likely to hear lively conversation about things like philosophy, theology, hockey games and keg parties as you are to hear about zeros and ones.  I’ve met many of my best friends in Computer Science, and I couldn’t ask for a better bunch of people!

2. The Co-op Program

In my case, a huge draw to the Computer Science program at UNB is the Co-op program.  The program sees students spend at least four semesters working for various employers from all over the country throughout the course of their five-year degree program.  Among the list of companies that offer these co-op jobs are:  JD Irving, McCain Foods, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.  I actually just accepted a job offer from AECL (Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.), and I’ll be starting with them in January!  The Co-op program is fantastic because it offers real, meaningful, PAID work experience, and students can start working as early as the summer after freshman year!

1. The Feeling of Progress

The thing I love most about Computer Science is the fact that I’m constantly learning relevant skills, and seeing tangible results from using those skills.  At the start of the semester, I had only a basic understanding of creating programs.  A few days ago my group and I passed in our term project – a fully functioning video game built from scratch.  It’s this type of real, measurable progress that validates my effort and makes me feel like I’m constantly moving forward.  And that’s what I love about Computer Science at UNB Fredericton.

Sure the weather is awful (it’s already snowed once this year), the school work is hectic, and Christmas break seems like a distant mirage in a desert of assignments, papers and midterms, but I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for November; it gives me a perfect excuse to grow a mustache!

Movember is upon us, my friends. For those of you who haven’t heard, Movember is an annual month-long event aimed at raising awareness for the oft-ignored issue of men’s health – specifically, prostate cancer. Men around the world help achieve this goal as they spend the month cultivating their universal symbol of masculinity, the mustache.

On November 1st, the Computer Science Movember team kicked off their mustache growing.

One could practically smell the testosterone in the room as Faculty and students alike stood side by side, proudly holding their clean-shaven chins high. Their goal: raise money, awareness, and of course, a mustache for the sake of men the world over! The Computer Science Association’s Movember team is one of thousands of teams from around the world that you can sponsor with donations.

Movember has become more than a novelty. Since 2003, 1.1 million registered fundraisers have raised $176 million in support of men’s health. In 2010 alone 119,000 Canadians raised $22.3 Million CAD. It’s not just men either! “Mo Sista’s” as they’re affectionately called, are women who support Movember and the Mo Bro’s who grow a ‘stache.

Now, while growing a mustache is a wonderful thing in it’s own right, the real satisfaction comes from showing it off. This Friday, the Mustachioed men (and their Mo Sista’s) of the CSA are hitting the town with their lip warmers in the “Where’s the ‘Stache’?” pub crawl. It should be a night worth remembering as they don their pub crawl t-shirts and invade the most reputable of Fredericton’s fine establishments, raising awareness and making merriment the whole night through!

This Movember, as you admire all of the fine mustaches around you, remember what they’re for.

They’re not just an extension of one’s masculinity, or a fashionable way to keep one’s lip warm. They’re a reminder, a symbol of unity and awareness to encourage men to take a proactive approach to their health. So support this worthy cause! Donate, fundraise, spread the word, and of course, grow a ‘stache.

CS Movember team: http://ca.movember.com/mospace/1536256/