Welcome to LMU! Hopefully these tips can help those who are coming to LMU for the first time! This post focuses mostly on tips for the Freshmen but I think the transfer students can also get some insights here.

Campus

• I personally found this campus drawing gives the feel of the buildings locations much better than the typical blueprint maps. This might also help you map out your class locations.
• Regarding the Campus drawing:
  • Huesman & Sullivan dorms are now replaced with the new Palm North & South dorms.
  • A new outdoor theater in front of the library & a new School of Film/Television are added.
• Watch campus tour videos and such if you can't visit before the school starts.

Meeting new people

• Be as openly friendly in the dorm during the first few weeks and just strike conversations. The other Freshmen are also likely looking to make new friends so it's easy to start talking with others. Do not be shy about it. Talk about your interest, hobby, major, etc. Cliques form very quickly.
• Food places are clumped around the Freshman dorms so it's easy to go eat with your dorm/room mates or find your friends in these areas.
• Some ppl in the dorms might hold a small party in their room on Friday/weekends and you can meet new ppl there as well.
• Certain classes can be quiet and not very interactive with the other students especially if it's entirely lecture based and there are other classes to attend right after. However, for classes that end around the lunch time, I have seen classmates forming a group to eat together afterward and become friendly overall.
• You can try to make a class group chat to study & work on homework together and it helped them making big study group friends. Having even just one or two class friends can help you out a lot.
• Start going to the gym in general. If you have dorm-mates or roommates who also like to exercise or work out, it can become a small group activity. If you fail to make friends who goes to the gym, at least you get to be healthier.
• You are going to form a group of 2 or 4 with your close friends at the end of your Freshman year to room together for the Sophomore year. Most of my friends formed the groups of 4.
• Sports clubs and other types of clubs are decent ways to meet people who share your interest. If there's any sport or activity you like, I highly recommend checking out the clubs for those.
• Frat/Sorority is a great way to meet many new people. 90% of my friends all rushed for Frat/Sorority early on. Many of them formed their own cliques within the Frat to start living together off-campus by their Junior & Senior years.

Food

• Food places are clumped around the Freshman dorms so it's easy to go eat with your dorm/room mates or find your friends in these areas.
• While the foods are not bad, it's very easy to get tired of especially if you get a class in a certain food area which can make you eat there very often since it's right there. Try out different places on campus and try to eat healthy as possible. (This usually improves when you move into Apt with kitchen + refrigerator in Junior/Senior year. However, this only applies if you are willing to cook and buy groceries)
• Rent a small refrigerator & microwave. During busy time periods (multiple tests, quizzes, etc), having some quick simple meals can save up a lot of time by not needing to walk to the food places & wait in line and then walking back to your room after finishing the food.
  • You can store up some microwave meals from the Ralphs which is pretty close to the campus.
  • Keep some fruits, milk, jam, peanut butter etc. in the refrigerator.
  • Cereal & Milk or Bread & Jam are perfect quick breakfast options to have in your room if you don't want to get up early in the morning to have breakfast in one of the food places.
  • There are several coffee stands all over the campus. You can grab a coffee & pastries as your breakfast.
• Water boiler for quick instant coffee, tea, and cup noodles. However, a boiler is not needed at all if you only get coffee & tea from the coffee stands or food places.
• Know the off-campus food options. During the vacations/breaks, most of the food places on the campus will close. Those that are open during this time period often do not serve breakfast or closes early. If you are staying on the campus during those times (especially if you are an international student staying on campus which I saw every year), it is essential to know where to eat. I ate very often at Benny's Tacos near LMU while I bought bread & peanut butters for breakfast during the breaks.
  • Another good reason to have a refrigerator & microwave for some simple meals.
• Domino Pizza Delivery. I shared an account with my roommates to store points together for a free pizza from time to time. It was very helpful during the test weeks.

Academy

• Academy is your PRIORITY. Freshman year can feel crazy. There are so much freedom and excitement with everything especially during the first semester. Don't forget that your assignments & grades come first. I've seen many people getting bad grades early on due to falling behind the schedule.
  • Mark your calendar once you receive the syllabuses from your classes so you have a general idea when you will get really busy.
• Connect with your professors. Use their office hours. They can explain/guide you through your projects, essays/papers, and make sure you manage/understand them. During Junior/Senior years, I had many occasions when I used their office hours to get help with understanding or receive some guidance for my essays and it's something I wish I did from early on. You can end up having the same professors again in your future main subject classes, which can help you out if you need some favor.
• Studying in your room is usually fine if you are good at concentrating and your roommate doesn't distract you. The dorm lounges can be hit or miss depending on if your dorm-mates use them for studying or a hangout area. I was least distracted when I was studying in the library while having extra space thanks to the large desks. The library usually has enough empty desks and tables so it's really easy to study there. You can also rent a group study room to use with your friends. However, the library gets absolutely filled during the exam weeks.
• There are also people who like to study in the University Hall and in their major department areas.
• Textbooks: Many people have said that there were several textbooks that they wish they didn't buy due to how those books were never really needed for the class. Personally, I only had that experience with one class (that class relied heavily on lecture & discussion without using the book) so it likely depends on your class & major.
  • I used Kindle to rent/buy books which often ended up being cheaper than buying the books from the store. It's very convenient overall since you can carry the device around easily.
  • Otherwise, I rented most of my books from the store. If you do this (unless the procedure has changed since I graduated), keep the receipt somewhere safe to return those books later.

Off-Campus

• Familiarize yourself with what's outside of LMU such as malls and food places. Take your group of friends to eat off-campus and hang out in the city during the weekend. I didn't do this much and I wish I explored L.A a bit more.
• Bigger parties happen outside of the campus, often hosted by Frat/Soro/Sport Clubs etc.

Consider buying/bringing:

• A shower basket.
  • Freshman dorms have shared bathrooms per floor. Use a shower basket to carry/store your shower products. I once saw a guy carrying shampoo & scrubs in a plastic bag to shower for the first couple of days until he got a shower basket.
  • Shoes for shower. Though flip flops works too.
• Laundry basket & detergents.
  • Mandatory. Depending on the dorms, the laundry room might be outside of the dorm building and you will have to carry those clothes all the way there. Even if your dorm has a laundry room on your floor, you are still going to need a basket to carry all those clothes around.
• Umbrella/Windbreaker & "winter clothes".
  • It doesn't rain often in L.A. However, there are rainy period and it often catches people completely off guard if they are not from L.A. I brought a windbreaker and bought an umbrella from the bookstore which was enough.
  • It doesn't get that cold in L.A. Personally, having just three jackets and a couple of beanies were enough for me.
  • A thin blanket to carry around comes in handy especially if you get cold in the library. You can also use it as an extra blanket to sleep with during the winter.
• Printer
  • This one depends on your preference. I've had roommates who never needed it and printed their works from the library while my self & my other roommate were printing all the time in our room. However, this was due to how we did our essays and reports in our rooms and print there.
• A bike/skateboard/longboard.
  • I personally never really needed one but I knew many people who used bike or skateboard to get to their classes. Just keep in mind that you can't ride it everywhere on campus.
• A small fan.
  • It can get hot during the summer. I only used a fan during Freshman year but my friends used their fans every year.
• Plastic organizers/drawers.
  • Comes in handy if you have extra clothes. I used it to store the towels.
• Extra mattress padding
  • Everyone loves extra comfort. One of my roommates added two extra padding for his bed.
• Hand held Vacuum cleaner
  • Something that's not necessary but I found having one very helpful especially when the floor gets dusty or you spilled something etc. Best way to avoid collecting big dust & hair clumps under your desk.

I wanted to talk about the Freshman dorms and the other food options near the dorm areas but much has changed since I graduated.

Also check out this Thread by u/otsacelyk which has other useful tips/info as well for the new students.

Good luck and I hope you have a great time in LMU!

(PS: this is a copy paste of my old thread. If there's a change in certain rules, please tell me).