Undergraduate Admissions

This journal is an archive of the experiences of a UB student in the 2006-2007 school year; it’s no longer being updated.  If you’d like to read about some current UB students, please check out this year’s bloggers.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, but the week getting back from break is usually one of the most hectic ones for me. As I have said in previous blogs I am in a fraternity, and currently I am in charge of philanthropy. On Friday night we participated in an event that we have on campus hosted by the American Cancer Society known as Relay for Life. This is my third year doing it, but it was my first year as our team captain. So all this week I have been doing things to raise money for our team, and I am really happy to say that in the end all of our teams combined raise approximately 1,500 dollars. Now the event is a lot fun, especially because there are so many different organizations and people that participate. It actually takes place inside alumni arena which is where our basketball team plays. Throughout the night they did a lot of special activities for people participating. My fraternity is a big fan of the Relay idol part. Pretty much at 3 am we got to do a little Karaoke. So from 7pm to 7am I was at alumni arena on Friday night. As much fun as it is I am just happy to be able to relax now because it is a very tiring event.

Now something that I am really happy to talk about is Springfest. It was officially announced who will be coming for it. Now I know last time I said if you show up for preview day on March 31^st I would tell you, but I guess I’ll inform you now. This year we have Guster, the Roots, Jason Mraz, and there is one more group I just can’t remember yet. I am a big fan of Springfest. This year Springfest takes place on April 22^nd.  I am a bigger fan of when the event is outside, but either way it is a free concert for UB Students. In the past we have had a lot of good people come here and play so it becomes a big deal for all of us.

Besides Springfest the students are gearing up for another fun election. Last year was the first year I got involved in helping out a party campaigning and this year I am doing it again. If you do come here next year elections are extremely important because the people you elect into office make important decisions for all the students because they have some of our money. It gets hectic, but its fun to get involved in elections because you do meet a lot of new people who do truly care about UB. Well I would like to update you with some more stuff, but I have to go and get ready for my soccer game. So keep checking back, and hopefully I see everybody on Saturday March 31^st for Preview Day.

Sorry for the lack updates, but I have been extremely busy with midterms and on top of that I was really sick. Well being that midterms are pretty much over I would say that I did a really good job on them. I was actually lucky this year to have them spaced out rather then one on top of another, which is always annoying. The thing that was really terrible about midterms was the fact that I was really sick. I feel as if that one of the worst parts about being away from home is when you are sick. Everyone knows that their parents take care of them when they are sick, and you are able to go to your own doctor. Up here I was on my own, and I had to go the school doctor. Well I guess at this time of the year everyone’s been sick, but when I got my appointment finally set up I was able to make it down to south campus to see a doctor. It’s actually really convenient to have that on campus. Another good thing up at school is having friends that take care of you when you feel like death. People were nice enough to bring over soup and other items to make feel better.
Now that I am finally better I am just happy to be in spring break. Unfortunately this year I didn’t go away, but I am just happy to be relaxing with nice weather. I think the hardest part about it being spring break is realizing that this is possibly it. I am on the final stretch when I get back to school. It gets more and more upsetting to realize like I said in the past I might not be seeing some of these people that much anymore. Even though it is ending there are a lot of things to look forward to as well. I am just pumped for Springfest. Springfest is a free concert that we have up here in the spring that we usually bring in a big band. There have been a lot of rumors about who is performing, but I won’t give out any false information. Maybe if you read this and come up for Preview Day, which is on March 31st, then I’ll be able to tell you in person who is our main act. Besides that I really am excited for Al Gores speech which later in April as well, and oozefest which is our giant mud volleyball tournament. So even though it’s ending, I would like to say that I will at least go out with a bang here. Well now that I am better I will be updating more often, so keep checking back as always.

            Sorry for the lack of updates recently, but it has been a busy week with multiple tests and papers. Besides school work this week was a very special week for me because it was Mardi Gras. Since I am finally 21 and I got experience a part of Buffalo that I never had an opportunity to when I was younger. Buffalo has the 2^nd largest Mardi Gras festival next to of course New Orleans. I was so excited to go to downtown Buffalo, and when I got there I was amazed to see how many people were out. There was a special event that a local radio station puts together, where you pay 5 dollars to get into almost 100 bars. So immediately my friends and I went there, and as soon as you get the bracelet they give you some typical Mardi Gras gear aka some Beads. So we were pretty excited. Now at the time we were purchasing our bracelets, we heard huge screaming and noticed immediately a huge crowd of people coming towards us. Right next to the street we were on is HSBC arena, and that is where the Buffalo Sabres play all of their home games. We immediately realize that Sabres had won, and that they were all here to celebrate. So Buffalo was rocking at this time. Coming from the New York City area I always try to compare Buffalo to the Metro area, and though some things are similar and obviously different, I could not have imagined a better place to be for Mardi Gras.

            Besides Mardi Gras, downtown is awesome place to go. They have a lot of things that make it a special place for any type of person. If you are a sports fan like myself then you have the Sabres(NHL), Bison’s (minor league baseball), and other professional teams. Besides sports if you are interested in the theatre we have a place known as Shea’s Performing Art Center. They have a lot of shows and usually are able to bring actual casts from Broadway. Besides that we have museums, art galleries, and great restaurants including some specifically for what we are famous for up here Wings. Overall downtown is an awesome area to go to whenever its nice out or evening if its snowing kind of hard.

So this semester I am taking one online class, and looking back to the first time I took the class I am a lot more comfortable taking it. The first time I took it I learned a lesson the real hard way. It was my sophomore year, and when I was registering for classes I noticed that one of the required classes I had to take was online. I was like this is awesome I won’t have to go to class. Needless to say, the first test finally came up, and I had to catch up 5 weeks worth of lectures. So with each week having 2 lectures that was an hour and half each I had a total of 15 hours worth of videos to watch and take notes. Now, some might not think this is a big deal, but these were soo boring to watch. So being the smart sophomore I was I decided to watch in double time. This was the genius I had at the time. So as the lectures kept going on I just kept increasing the speed. I figured if I was able to hear it I would still be fine. I finished the lectures in probably 8 hours. Pretty solid, and I was like this test won’t be hard. Got to the room, the test began, and I had no idea about any of the material. I got my grade back a week later, and I definitely learned the hard way about how to take a online class. At least they dropped one test. So now I am senior, and I have one more online class. I finally learned that I should watch a lecture a week, and other tricks to do well. I guess you learn a lot about yourself when you have a chance to try something new. I had my first test today in that class and I feel as if I did a really good job. I am pretty pleased with it.

Besides the test, this past weekend I started intramurals. I currently am the Captain for my indoor soccer team. Back in the day I use to play soccer all the time, and then unfortunately when I got up here I got kind of lazy. So a few of us decided we wanted to play again, and I realized how out of shape I was. So this week I have hit the gym, and hopefully I am prepared for our big game this weekend. I promise to give you some of the highlights. Besides soccer we have other quality sports like softball, basketball, dodgeball, football, and some more. Usually it is a good way of getting to meet new people, and it is also another good way of staying in shape. Otherwise I hope everyone is enjoying their Valentine’s Day, and for those people who were off from school today I am kind of jealous.

So as I told you last post it was rush, and with it being finally over I would definitely say it was a success. I am happy it’s over because I need to get back to doing school work and everything. It was really was time consuming, but now that it’s over I can start telling you about other stuff. Well back when I was in high school I played a lot of sports, and this semester I am a captain for my indoor soccer team. I am really pumped to “come out of retirement.” Intramural’s is awesome. There all different types of sports that people like participate in. It is a lot of fun because we have competitive and care-free leagues. Teams get put into divisions, and play organized games on a specified night of the week.  It gets kind of crazy because we have playoffs and stuff, and hopefully since this is my final year being eligible to do this hopefully I can get a nice trophy. I definitely will be able to tell you some great stories about that soon.

Besides sports my classes so far are really good. I really do like my schedule this semester. Being off on Mondays and Fridays is a really nice perk. I have lucked out with my schedule over the past 4 years, and hopefully if anyone reading this decides to come here next year lucks out as well. Something that I definitely learned since coming here is what works and what doesn’t.  When I was a freshmen I had morning classes, and I am really not the type of person who likes waking up early. So the first chance I had to make my schedule I tried to see what times of the days were good and bad, and from that I have never had a problem with a class. Comparing it to when I was high school everything was back to back with classes, and  now in college sometimes you can have classes that are spread out which makes you want to come back to your dorms and take a nap. That was a lesson I had to learn how to adapt properly.

Well besides school work, our UB Basketball team is finally picking it up again. I know I talked them up and they aren’t performing to our expectations, but they are going to be on the right track soon I promise. I am pumped for the ESPN Bracketbuster Game we are having up here soon. On a side note if we are on TV maybe my friends and I will paint our chests again. A lot better doing it for basketball games then football since it is freezing up here in case you have been watching the weather channel. Otherwise I am just looking forward to things warming up, and Springfest to happen, supposedly we are having a big music group. So look forward to that blog, because I am a big fan of our concerts up here. Well that’s all for now, so keep coming back and hopefully comment on anything that you might want to hear about.

Sorry for the lack of updates as of recent. First of all I guess everyone must be happy it’s finally February. Being that it is the beginning of the new semester I am extremely busy with rush week. I know really haven’t spoken too much about this, but I am in an on campus fraternity known as Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE). So tonight is the 2^nd night of rush week, and we have a mixer with the Rho Chi’s. Rho Chi’s are different representatives from the sororities on campus. They will be bringing perspective girls that are going through formal rush with sororities for a mixer. TKE will be having any perspective guy come as well. It’s a nice event, and one of our many events for the week. The way it works for guys is pretty much for one week the on campus fraternities put together different events to showcase their organization. Currently the social fraternities on campus are Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Sigma Phi, Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Kappa Theta, Pi Lambda Phi, Sigma Chi Omega, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Pi, Sigma Tau Gamma, and of course my fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon. All of these organizations are similar and different of course. They definitely are all on the same page about not hazing though. During this week when perspective members get to see what Greek Life is about here at UB, at the end of the week the student usual goes through an interview. During this time it’s a chance for members to ask questions to find information about the perspective member. After the interview the fraternities usual have a vote to see who they want to join. Then the people receive bids, and decide if they want to go through the pledging process. Some people usually ask me “What are some of the best things about being in a fraternity?” I personally enjoy how all the organizations are extremely involved in the community and on campus. For instance we try to participate in events like the American Red Cross Relay for Life or going to houses in the community and giving out stuff. Besides that, all of these organizations have mixers and other fun events. Something that I like to tell people is that we don’t only have social fraternities/sororities, but we have a lot of professional fraternities. Even though UB is a large school there is not a huge percentage of people involved in Greek Life, and the people that are involved usually love it and the ones that aren’t are still having a great time. I hope everyone who comes here next year and reads this does try and look into Greek Life because it is getting bigger and better, and to all the males that read this RUSH TKE next year. You will have a good time I promise you. Once this week is over I’ll be happy to be back on my normal schedule, so keep checking back and be happy winters almost over.

Well first off I want to wish everyone a happy new year. I know it’s been a while, but my winter break was awesome. It’s pretty crazy that it’s my final semester ever as an undergraduate. Well the first week of classes actually went by really quickly. I like my teachers, and especially like having Mondays and Fridays off.  Besides school starting, I am back in the admissions office. It’s crazy that while I am home I am pretty lazy, but I guess coming back up here rejuvenates me. Besides that I am starting to get busy again with the fraternity stuff. I said a while ago that I was in Tau Kappa Epsilon and rush week is coming up (and that means more meetings.) I am happy that this is going to be my last rush, and even though I enjoy some parts of it the other parts can be very draining on the body. As always I like to tell about the weather in Buffalo, and finally winter in buffalo is right. I am actually happy to see snow even though it was like 70 in New York City before coming up here. I am surviving though; I got a nice winter jacket. 

Well I have been thinking a lot about this being my last semester. It is kind of scary not knowing what is next. Not seeing some people that you have been around with for four years everyday anymore. A couple of my friends and I were talking about it, and all we kept thinking about is freshmen year when everything seemed so much simpler. When we all were starting the same journey here, and were all in the same boat not knowing anything. We did everything together, and even though some of us went our separate ways for the most part we all remained friends. It is really hard to know that I have to in some sense start over again. Since coming to Buffalo I have made friends from all over the place. I think I said in a previous blog I am from Long Island, and now I have friends from all over New York and out of state.  I am also going to miss my nice apartment.  Not looking forward to potentially living with my parents again. I am pretty sure every senior is on the same page when discuss that. The only thing is at least my mom can start doing my laundries again. On a serious note though, I understand that everyone looks forward to college, and my only advice is to enjoy every minute of it while you can. 

Well now off the depressing topic things are really good up here still. I recently got a new roommate which is really nice, and finally being back up here after a month is awesome. I really do enjoy doing things up here such as yesterday I went to Wild Wings with a bunch of guys for wings and football. Always a quality time. Friday night I got to see a live band in downtown buffalo which was awesome. Once I get some of those pictures back I will hopefully be able to post them up here. Well things to look forward to hear about this semester obviously will be graduation (even though it’s sad at the same time), Springfest, Comedy Series, Distinguish Speakers Series (Al Gore is coming to Buffalo kind of crazy), formal, and hopefully much more. Keep checking back, and like I said about a billion times I am really happy to finally be back in Buffalo.�

Finally I am finished with classes. Since thanksgiving break I have had nonstop amount of work to do, and today I finished the last of it. Next week I have 3 finals which I am not too worried about, but at least classes are over now. This whole week I had presentation after presentation which was a little overwhelming at some points, but now that it is over its a relief. It’s crazy how now that I am senior that most of my classes have so many presentations and group projects. Sometimes I enjoy doing them, and other times I hate it because of my group members. It’s also really annoying because it’s one meeting after another always so it feels endless. Well besides the annoying part all the group meetings paid off and I did really well. 

It’s crazy that I have one semester left of my undergraduate career. It is sad knowing that next semester is my last one. I am definitely going to miss this place. I can remember my first day up here moving in like the other freshmen, and now it’s sad that I am soon going to have to start packing up my stuff for good. Well moving onto things that aren’t so depressing. I want to wish two of my friends happy birthdays (dec 1st and dec 6th). We went out to celebrate them this weekend which was a blast. It’s crazy that one of them is 22. He makes me feel young still. Besides that this weekend I have a friend coming up to visit. We are going to the UB vs. Pittsburgh basketball game. That should be fun. Also I want to congratulate one of my good friends on graduating (Clark you will be missed). Good luck in Arizona, you’ll miss this cold place. I also hope everyone enjoys their holiday whichever holiday you celebrate. In addition to that Happy new years even though I will be posting before that. Finally good luck on finals to everyone, and stay warm its freezing up here. So keep checking back for more and hopefully I have some good stories to post soon. 

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Well I hope everyone enjoyed their thanksgiving, and now that the break is almost over I am in the final stretch with classes. This semester has definitely gone by really fast. As each day ends it means my undergraduate career is over. It is really sad that it is ending. I am excited for that next phase in my life AKA grad school, but I am really scared just because it’s inching closer to the real world. I still wish I was a freshman when everything was so much easier I came home early for the holiday to start researching graduate school. It really feels like I am in high school again looking at different colleges. It makes me think back to my first visit to buffalo. It was a plane trip, and I remember almost every detail of it. It was by far the biggest factor in deciding if I wanted to go to UB or not. I wish they did stuff like that for graduate school. Besides visiting graduate schools, I also got to see some of my home friends. I think it gets weirder every time I come home due to the fact that I don’t come home to often. It is obviously not the same as when I was in high school where i got to see the same people everyday. It’s hard to keep in contact with everyone since I am not always home, and I am always busy. Even though it is like that for me, for others they find it easy to jump right back into their hometown action. I always say this, but it is truly what you make of it. Some people do a great job of balancing that, while for me it is really hard just cause of time constraints.

In other news as I said earlier I don’t go home that much, but when I do I fly to Long Island. I think that’s one of the best parts how I can do that rather then driving all the time. That really did help me in making my decision if I wanted to go to UB or not. I am going to miss flying all the time. It is a lot of fun when you are on a plane with all your friends even if it’s a short flight. Well I hope everyone is doing well, and as always come back for more news. Things to look forward to Basketball season, finals, and of course the Gala (its like a giant end of the semester celebration put together by our student association.)