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Your first year is just the beginning.

Tools and school guides to help you manage classes, money, campus life, and what comes next. Start your first semester prepared. Keep using your toolkit through graduation and beyond.

  • Free guideNo card. No trial.
  • Fact-checkedOfficial sources, linked.
  • IndependentNo school paid for this.

Campus guides available for: Florida State University, University of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of South Florida, University of Miami, Florida Institute of Technology, University of Alabama, University of Georgia, Louisiana State University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, West Virginia University, University of Notre Dame, University of Michigan, The Ohio State University, University of Southern California, The Pennsylvania State University, The University of Texas at Austin, University of Oregon, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Georgia Institute of Technology.

What you get

Three guides. Zero guesswork.

Free

The Student Guide

Your first year, start to finish. Moving in, picking classes, finding your people, handling money, and asking for help before things pile up.

Inside

  • Your first two weeks
  • Holds and hidden charges
  • Financial aid, explained
  • How college classes work
  • Roommates and home base
  • Your first-year calendar

Plus money defense, study habits, your rights, and ready-to-use checklists.

Send it to me
$24.99 each

Campus Guides

Unofficial, campus-specific playbooks. Each one unlocks the 28 guide-included student tools. Twenty in final review.

Find my school
Free

The Parent Guide

For the people doing the drop-off. What to expect, when to step in, and when to let go.

Parents, start here

PDF + online pages

Download it once, or read it on your phone between classes.

Built for every kind of freshman

  • Living on campus
  • Commuting
  • Out of state
  • Close to home
Unofficial

Nobody's brochure

Freshman101 is independent. No school wrote, paid for, or approved these guides.

Campus guides

Pick your campus.

Each guide will be $24.99, yours to keep: that school's content in PDF and online, plus the 28 guide-included student tools. They open one school at a time, as each one passes its final fact check.

Twenty schools: 20 in final review

In final review(20)

Written and being fact-checked. We'll email you the day yours opens.

How it works

Three steps. About a minute.

  1. Step 1: Start free

    Get the free student or parent guide. No card, no account.

  2. Step 2: Pick your campus

    Choose your school in the form and tick the updates box. We'll email you the day its guide opens.

  3. Step 3: Read it anywhere

    Every campus guide is a PDF plus online pages, so it works on your phone between classes.

Free vs. campus guide

Start free. Add your campus.

The free guides and tools work for any college. A campus guide adds everything specific to your school, and every school's page has a free sample chapter.

What's free and what a campus guide adds
What you getFreeCampus guide, $24.99
Free Student Guide (PDF, any college)Included in the free versionIncluded in the campus guide
Free Parent Guide (PDF)Included in the free versionIncluded in the campus guide
Planning tools16 free toolsAll 44 tools
Your school's deadlines, with a countdown and calendar exportNot included in the free versionIncluded in the campus guide
Holds and hidden charges at your school, and how to clear themNot included in the free versionIncluded in the campus guide
Your school's class rules: drops, withdrawals, repeatsNot included in the free versionIncluded in the campus guide
Game day planner with the home schedule and stadium rulesNot included in the free versionIncluded in the campus guide
Where to Eat near campus, plus student deals and freebiesNot included in the free versionIncluded in the campus guide
A first 48 hours checklist built for your campusNot included in the free versionIncluded in the campus guide
Advising prep, study planners, and the résumé and letter studioNot included in the free versionIncluded in the campus guide
Online pages for your phone, plus the magazine-style PDFNot included in the free versionIncluded in the campus guide

Tools

Tools that do the math for you.

16 free tools, no signup: two in each student category, plus all 8 parent tools. 28 more student tools come with your school's guide.

FREEFor parents

All 8 parent tools are free.

No guide needed. Using one doesn't give you access to your student's accounts, grades, or saved work.

WITH A GUIDE

28 more with a campus guide

Included with every campus guide, alongside that school's content.

Your School6

  • First 48 hours checklist
  • Holds and money traps checker
  • Semester deadline countdown
  • Game day planner
  • Academic advising prep
  • Internship and career tracker

Money6

  • Textbook cost comparer
  • Student loan payoff estimator
  • Credit card payoff calculator
  • Scholarship application tracker
  • Shared expense splitter
  • Emergency fund planner

Classes and Study Time10

  • Exam study planner
  • Syllabus semester planner
  • Attendance tracker
  • Graduation pace tracker
  • Focus timer
  • Flashcard builder
  • Group project organizer
  • Research and citation organizer
  • Essay and presentation planner
  • Office-hours prep sheet

Campus Life6

  • Packing list builder
  • Campus food and student deals finder
  • Shared chores planner
  • Move-out and deposit checklist
  • Weekend plan builder
  • Résumé and letter studio
See all 44 tools

Free download

Get the free student guide.

Drop your email and it's yours. Takes about ten seconds.

You must be 13 or older. We use your email to send your guide and, if you opt in, Freshman101 updates. Privacy Policy

Off campus, too

Find your people.

Apps don't make friends. People do. These four sites can point you to groups, events, and volunteer shifts beyond campus. They're links, not tools, and you don't need a guide to use them.

  • Meetup

    Find local groups and events built around shared interests, like hiking, reading, or networking. Join a group, RSVP, or start your own.

    First step
    Search near campus for one hobby you already have, and RSVP to a single event to see what the group is like.
    Account to browse?
    Not for a first look at upcoming events. A free account is used to browse groups, find events, and RSVP. Members must be 18 or older.
    Open Meetup (opens in a new tab)

    Run by Meetup, not by Freshman101. We don't endorse it.

  • Discord Discover

    Browse public Discord servers by category, including Education and Science & Tech. Each server sorts its conversation into topic-based channels.

    First step
    Browse a category for a hobby or study topic. A server with your school's name in it isn't official unless your school says so.
    Account to browse?
    No, not to browse the directory. You need an account to join a server.
    Browse Discord (opens in a new tab)

    Run by Discord, not by Freshman101. We don't endorse it.

  • Eventbrite

    Search events by city and category, from workshops to concerts, and get tickets or register where an event offers it. Some events are free and some cost money.

    First step
    Search your college town and filter for workshops, community events, or volunteer activities.
    Account to browse?
    No. Tickets and refund requests run through an Eventbrite account.
    Open Eventbrite (opens in a new tab)

    Run by Eventbrite, not by Freshman101. We don't endorse it.

  • Idealist

    Search volunteer opportunities by keyword, skill, interest, and location. It's a volunteering site, not a social feed.

    First step
    Search for volunteer roles near campus for a cause you care about. A regular shift means seeing the same people week to week.
    Account to browse?
    No, not to browse and search.
    Open Idealist (opens in a new tab)

    Run by Idealist, not by Freshman101. We don't endorse it.

Every campus guide has the full social apps directory: what each app does, how to start, and the privacy settings worth checking.

Pick your campus

For parents

Parents, this one's for you.

A free, plain-English guide to the first year. What's normal, what's not, and how to help without hovering.

  • Written for parents and guardians, not students
  • Free, and yours to keep
  • Buying a campus guide for your student? Check out with your email and forward the link

You must be 13 or older. We use your email to send your guide and, if you opt in, Freshman101 updates. Privacy Policy

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Yes. No card, no trial. Give us an email and it's yours.

Your first year starts here.

Free guide now. Campus guide when you're ready.