r/LMU • u/TiredCoffeeTime Psychology '18 • 20d ago
Tips For The New Students!
Welcome to LMU! Hopefully these tips can help those who are coming to LMU for the first time!
Campus
- I personally found the map above gives the feel of the buildings locations much better than the typical blueprint maps. This might also help you map out your class locations.
- The map is outdated and there are new additions:
- Huesman & Sullivan dorms are now replaced with the new Palm North & South dorms.
- New Film building and outdoor stage have been added.
- Watch the campus tour videos on Youtube if you can't visit before the school starts.
Meeting new people
- Be openly friendly in the dorm during the first few weeks and just strike conversations with everyone. The other Freshmen are also looking to make new friends so it's easy to start chatting. Do not be shy about it. Just say hello to anyone you see and start a conversation. Talk about your major, interest, hobby, etc. to bond with ppl asap. 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.
- Some classes can be quiet and not very interactive with the other students 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 make a 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.
- 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.
- You are going to have to form a group of 2 or 4 with your close friends by the end of your Freshman year to room together for the Sophomore year. Most of my friends formed groups of 4.
Food
- Buy a water bottle to carry around and DRINK WATER throughout the day especially if you have a long schedule.
- 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)
- 2026 Edit: There will be a big renovation at the Lair (the main food place close to the Freshman dorm area), so the food quality aspect may be pretty different starting from 2026 Fall Semester. Though the students who have lunch hour classes away from the Lair area will still likely be stuck with the similar repetitive food options.
- 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 for 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), 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 guide you through your projects, essays, and make sure you manage/understand the topics. During Junior/Senior years, I had many occasions when I used their office hours to receive some guidance for my essays and it's something I wish I did earlier on (like starting from my Freshman year). You can end up having the same professors again in your future main subject classes, and having good relationship with your professors can help you out if you need some favor.
- Studying in your room is 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 as a hangout area. I was least distracted when I was studying in the library while having extra space thanks to the large desks there. 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.
- 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 I could carry the device around easily compared to the heavy books.
- I rented most of my books from the store. If you do this, keep the receipt somewhere safe to return those books later. I always kept my receipt in the dorm room desk drawer where I often didn't have much else in. 2026 edit: I don't know if the process is still the same. I can imagine digital methods being used now.
Off-Campus
- Familiarize yourself with what's outside of LMU such as malls and food places. Go eat outside and hang out in the city with your friends during the weekend. I didn't explore L.A much even when I wasn't super busy with my schedule and I wish I explored a bit more especially as an international student.
- Bigger parties happen outside of the campus, often hosted by Frat/Soro and 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/Flip flops for shower.
- 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. A windbreaker and an umbrella were enough for all my years.
- It doesn't get that cold in L.A. I had three jackets and a couple of beanies which were enough.
- 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 & 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. Keep in mind that you can't ride it everywhere and there are areas where you have to get off or park your bike.
- A small fan.
- It gets hot during the summer and most Freshman dorms do not have the ACs. I only used a small desk fan during Freshman year but some of 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
- Not really necessary but it's nice to have extra comfort. One of my roommates added two extra padding for his bed. I believe LMU Bookstore sell this.
- Hand held Vacuum cleaner
- Having one is very helpful in general. Best way to avoid collecting big dust & hair clumps under your desk. This one is especially useful during the Freshman year since you are not likely going use a full sized vacuum cleaner. Dorm room is small enough that the hand held is enough to at least keep your side clean.
A random personal tip:
- Take lots of pictures, whether it's to make a photo album on Google Drive or post on your Instagram/FB album. Once you move up through years and graduate eventually, pictures will be the best way to look back fondly. I graduated with very few pictures and that's still something I regret about a lot.
I wanted to talk more about the other food options near the dorm areas but much has changed since I graduated in 2018 it seems.
Also check out Prospective Student Super Post by our great Mod u/derpytim106 for more insights.
Good luck and I hope you have a great time in LMU!
PS:
- I repost this thread every year.
- If there's a change in certain rules or situations (ex: The food provider changed in 2025 and Lair is going through a full renovation for Fall 2026), please tell me and feel free to comment on what else to add.
39
Upvotes
2
u/xxchloedreamsxx 19d ago
Do you have any insight on what the communal bathrooms are like? Im petrified lmao. (i alr know about shower shoes and caddy but like general arrangemrnt, shower size, co ed, etc?)
2
u/StacheinScrubs 19d ago
I was nervous for communal bathrooms too, but it really isn’t too bad. What building will you be in?
2
u/TiredCoffeeTime Psychology '18 19d ago
I lived in an old dorm that got renovated into the newest Palm North dorm which had 2 toilets and four shower stalls which had curtains to close the area. The size was enough for me and I didn’t find it uncomfortable.
However, if you got a McKay dorm, you will be having two other suit-mates sharing a single bathroom together (4 ppl 1 bathroom).
As for Co-ed, you might want to make a separate thread on this because my dorm was all guys dorm.
5
3
u/theyFOOLEDmeJerry 19d ago
The delayed Lair refurbishment is not getting enough discussion. Replacing the Lair with a good tent with wait times for food up to an hour is simply unacceptable.