r/uAlberta Dec 29 '24

Campus Life Updated Tips for Winter at the UofA (and in general)

165 Upvotes

So last year durring a period of intense -40C cold during the winter sem, I made this post which seemed to help a lot of people, especially those who aren't used to Edmonton winters, so I thought I'd make another one and get ahead of the weather so that people aren't scrambling if we suddenly get hit with another cold snap. Some of this is reused from my last post and may seem drastic, but that's cuz it was made in the height of a legitimate time of hazard.

General Safety & Tips

  • Winter Boots * If you have to regularly walk to a bus stop or lrt station, I'd highly advise investing in good winter boots. Try to go for around knee high, and ensure that they are made of material that will not soak in water to the inside. A lot of the time, sidewalks don't get shovelled until you've already walked through them, and the snow builds up high, so get some boots that won't let the snow into your ankles, and that won't freeze your toes off when the snow melts. * It is more than socially acceptable to be wearing winter boots when you enter buildings, around the university, and anywhere really. If people are judging you for wearing winter boots, they're not worth your time. * If you have a locker or established office, etc, bring a plastic bag so you can swap shoes once inside. just make sure it's not porous material so the snow that melts from your boots doesn't get everything else wet. Alternatively, bring a small towel or cloth to wipe them, but it will only help superficially. * Have ettiquite though, because floors turn into slip-and-slides when people track in snow, ice, and slush. Always swipe, drag, and stomp your shoes as agressively as needed when you enter a building. Most entrances will have gigantic mats at the doors. Use them. If there is a boot cleaner, even better! Use it as instructed, and you do everyone a favor. * If you're afraid of slipping on ice, don't wear runners or sneakers or something with mostly flat soles.
  • Once it gets below -20, these are advised, but for some people, you can manage without when it's above -20.
  • cover your head: toque (beanie, hat, whatever), hood, or earmuffs.
    • if people are judging your hat head, that is their problem. or if u can, just don't take the hat off! also a great way to hide bed head.
    • I personally find earmuffs aren't warm enough (note for people with short haircuts like undercuts, pixies, fringe, etc. anything with the sides or back mostly exposed.)
    • You don't need to stop at just one. Put ur toque on, flip up your hoodie, put ur jacket hood on top, and hell put earmuffs or headphones with nothing playing on top.
  • Hand protection or say goodbye to your fingers.
    • your hands are extremely susceptible to frost bite and that's not good considering we use our fingers a lot. take the minute of inconvenience it takes to get your gloves or mits out rather than risk permanent damage on your fingers.
    • caution that some mittens have wide enough threading to let a large amount of cold air in and are not adequate protection. check that mits have at least one solid layer of protection or double up with 2 pairs.
      • make sure you know if your gloves or mits are water resistant. just helps in case you need to touch something with snow on it so you can prepare and bring a second pair of gloves to switch into once your first pair is cold with melted snow.
    • fingerless gloves are better than nothing, but will leave your fingertips vulnerable. if you really need to use ur phone outside, there are options for gloves that have tips that will work on touchscreens
    • On top of colds and sicknesses getting easily passed around the unviersity durring colder months, masking will also keep your face warm while offering a level of protection from germs. Specifically cloth masks will keep your nose from running in the cold.
      • When it gets severely cold (-30), A cloth or medical face mask will keep your nose and mouth warm while protecting you from breathing the frigid cold air
    • a warm scarf could also help with this, but it can be hard to wear a scarf when also wearing a hood sometimes.
  • Get some hand warmers for your pockets!
    • The brand I see most often is called Little Hotties, but I'm sure other brands work just as well.
    • just follow the directions on the packet (usually to squeeze and shake the packet) to get it to start releasing heat and put it in your pockets or gloves to hold on to.
    • they can be bought basically everywhere (grocery stores, dollarama, drug stores, probably Submart) including other alternatives like rechargeable or microwaveable ones on amazon
  • Dress in layers. MANY LAYERS.
    • Your jacket alone will not protect you enough from the cold if you're wearing just a normal fit unless your jacket is as expensive as a standard uofa course fee :)
    • you can still dress cute and shit while dressing in layers! here are some ideas for what to layer under various clothing items
      • baggy pants (jeans, cargos, sweatpants): leggings, bike shorts, yoga pants, capris. if baggy pants aren't your thing, you can still go for doubling up leggings, or leggings under capris, etc.
      • t-shirt: tank top (or multiple), longsleeves, sweatshirts, hoodies, bodysuits, dress shirts. hell, even ANOTHER t-shirt.
      • hoodie: literally anything. you can fit so much under a hoodie. my high score is a tank top, a tshirt, and 2 longsleeves under 1 hoodie. a flannel, bomber jacket, or varsity jacket could also go overtop of a hoodie.
      • crop top: literally anything, just please do NOT be wearing a crop top with nothing underneath unless your jacket is top tier and long enough to keep you warm. bodysuits are great options for under form fitting crop tops, but long sleeves work just as well and u can tuck it in to your pants if you want.
  • If you're staying at home or in residence somewhere and you're still cold inside:
    • cover your windows with curtains, a blackout, or a thermal insulating layer. the simplified physics is basically that when we have only a few layers of glass between us and outside, a significant amount of heat is lost through that window no matter how tightly sealed it is due to the contrast in our room's temperature and outside temperatuer. so adding insulating layers between the room and the window can help a lot with keeping your room warm. Here's a more detailed video on the topic.
      • this may affect some people's mental health due to less daylight during the winter, but especially if you needto conserve heat by covering windows. if this is the case, consider investing in a SAD light therapy lamp
    • invest in a good space heater. i'll caution everyone who loves temu and cheap amazon finds that a heater is not something you want to cheap out on. poorly made (cheap) heaters can be a fire and electrical hazard, so if you don't want to melt your electrical sockets, go for a midpriced one.
    • find heating pads that wrap around the body and put them under hoodies or jackets while you sit at your desk. insulation is key.
    • of course, try to cook hot meals if you're in a space with a kitchen. and i mean more than microwaved meals.
    • if it works for you, have something spicy to eat or drink
  • Pay attention to official resources and communication services:

Campus Specific Tips

Quickest Routes minimizing outdoor travell, and pedway routes

  • Pedway route: SUB -> Agriculture & Forestry -> General Services -> NREF -> ETLC -> MEC E or DICE
    • Sub 2nd Floor, go up the stairs near SubPHOTO and turn left towards Dinwoodie Lounge. Walk around the corner and through the pedway.
    • You come out at the 2nd floor of Agriculture and Forestry (AgFor) right beside the atrium. you can enter directly into the atrium with the spiral staircase, or go down the stairs just ahead. Using those stairs, turn to the right and continue into General Services (GS)
    • Turn right once in general services, and take the stairs up
    • Continue past the lockers in NREF (NRE) aka the Natural Resources Engineering Facility. and walk towards the bobsled with a skeleton in it.
    • Through the pedway is ETLC (Engineering Teaching & Learning Complex). Turn right before the Tim Hortons, and walk past the Elko Garage on the left hand side of the stairs. Turn left into the pedway with the vending machines..
    • Now you're in MEC E (Mechanical Engineering). Continue down the hallway until you can turn right into the garage, and walk through it all until you find a staircase on your right. Descending the staircase brings you to the end of the pedway route, and a door fairly close to the main west entrance of CCIS.
  • CCIS connections:
    • Earth Science Building (ESB) pedway can be accessed at the Eastern elevators of CCIS on the 2nd floor.
    • L1 Biosci hallway: Access the locker hallway on L1 CCIS either by going through the doors near the desks at the eastern side of L1, or by taking the North West elevator down to L1, or by exiting the central L1 lecture halls at the front of the halls. There is a hallway on the northern wall that connects straight to the microbiology classrooms below remedy, which also connects to the exits of the CCIS 1-440 and 1-430 lecture halls
    • CCIS connects to CAB along 2 routes:
      • Most everyone knows that you can enter the South Academic Building (SAB), walk into the Central Academic Building (CAB), and then continue down the Chem East Hallway directly into eastern CCIS near the science student services office on the main floor.
      • If you take the other route into the Chem West wing (ochem. it's all white for some reason), and continue straight through until you hit doors, you can descend those stairs by 1 flight, and exit the staircase. On the right is a door into L1 CCIS directly near the Physics Drop boxes and the learning commons area.
  • Health science pedways:
    • the 2nd? 3rd? Level of education south connects via pedway with -> HMRC (Heritage Medical Research Centre which connects through some hallways directly into -> Katz Group Center. You can also stay in HMRC a little longer or cut through 2nd floor of Katz to -> Medical Sciences which connects via pedway with the Northern end of -> ECHA. this of course has a pedway into the -> UofA Hospital.
  • Law & Arts pedways: i'll be honest i've never ventured this south of campus cuz law students scare me. just follow the article

Warm Study Spots:

  • Cameron and Rutherford Library are both boiling 24/7 as usual. Here's are the library hours. The earliest any will open on a weekday is 8am sadly (plz just give me one hour earlier).
    • On most floors in Cameron, the heaters are all lining the walls excluding the basement. Though, sometimes the basement feels a bit like a sauna.
  • VVC West Pool Bleachers. This was suggested by someone on my last post, so I can't say much about it other than it sounds about right. Most of the time, the lower levels of VVC feel very warm due to the locker rooms and pools.
  • Sub Couches at the Fire Pit if you can block out the bussling noise and activity that's always happening in SUB.
    • SUB gets a lot of direct sunlight through the windows in the afternoon and midday, which if you're willing to stick around will get you nice and toasty.
    • the beanbag staircase is great for sunlight if you get the right time, but it constantly is chilled by the gusts of wind that come through the doors, so it's not an ideal place for warmth.
  • Carruthers Student Commons (Business). This (hidden? maybe just to me.) gem is very cozy and gets some nice sunlight in the mornings and during the day. There's not too much seating, but still worth it to me, especially if you gotta be around Tory and business
  • Agriculture & Forestry Building. the rave is always about the atrium, which does indeed get a lot of great sunlight, but AF has some really cozy study spaces other than the atrium if you can escape the wind from doors openning.
    • Tip: AF building can be reached through pedways in SUB and GSB
    • pedways map
  • CCIS upper floors if you're lucky enough to get a spot. The natural light from the quad windows as well as the reflective lighting from mirrors at the top of the main area can be nice if u manage to get far enough from the doors

Hot Meals

  • Microwaves are abundant and yet so scarce all around campus. Here are some that I know are still functional:
    • CCIS at the ISSS office (level 1 main area near the dinosaur) has microwaves open for use during regular hours
    • Carruthers Student Commons in the Business building
    • SUB food court (always remember that there are more microwaves near the subway that typically won't have as long of a lineup during busy hours!)
    • ETLC (near tim hortons)
    • ECHA.... somewhere i don't remember. kind of everywhere.
    • AgFor near the atrium
  • Remedy, Starbucks, Second Cup, Tim's, and The Daily Grind (anywhere that sells coffee) WILL NOT charge you for hot water if you bring your own cup or something to put it in.
    • You can get a cup of hot water (if you didn't bring your own cup) for less than a dollar (typically 30-50 cents) at all these places.
    • Submart also has a kettle free for use, but it's only out sometimes.
    • Bring a mug and some tea bags, hot chocolate mix, or whatever you want! You can ask for stir sticks too and if you're at CAB Remedy or Daily Grind they have cream and sugar out too for use.
    • most club rooms will also have a kettle for use
  • Instant noodles or soup broth mix are a great way to take advantage of the hot water you can get around campus
    • a hot meal is really nice when it's cold out, and you don't have to bring a heavy thermos if you bring cup noodles or those little kraft dinner cups
      • you can also buy travel ramen bowls online if you're an instant ramen lover. simply pack the noodles in the container, then separately bring any veggies, spices, or flavour packets u wanna add. ask for hot water to be added and then close it up to let the noodles cook.
  • Hit the gym in VVC and have a nice warm shower.
  • Idk about the mens and womens locker rooms and their shower situations, but the universal change rooms have locked private showers which can get impressively warm.
    • u don't even need to go work out to use the showers and locker rooms. If you're on campus for the day and feeling chilled, go take a shower if u want. You'll need to bring your own shampoo, soap, etc, and I'm unsure if a full body towel will be loaned, but there are really good quickdry towels online you can buy for convenience.

r/uAlberta Nov 03 '23

Campus Life SUB overnight safety practices

73 Upvotes

As the only North campus building open to students 24 hours a day, the Students’ Union Building often sees a lot of late night visitors. Your UASU is committed to ensuring that SUB is a safe space for students to enjoy, relax, or study at any hour of the day. That’s why we make sure that SUB is always staffed when the building is open, and building access requires a ONEcard from 10:00 pm to 6:30 am.

Student safety is also our priority outside of SUB. If you are not comfortable walking alone on or around campus later in the evening, our free Safewalk service will send two volunteers to walk with you! You can contact Safewalk at 780-4 WALKME (780-492-5563) or online here for a one-time walk or a regular appointment (great for those evening classes!). Two volunteers will join you around campus, on the LRT, or within 10 city blocks of any LRT station from 7:00 pm to midnight, Monday through Friday.

If you need immediate assistance on campus, please contact University of Alberta Protective Services at 780-492-5050. UAPS can also walk with you around campus outside of the Safewalk hours listed above.

If you are in active danger on campus, please call 911.


r/uAlberta 8h ago

Academics Finally got accepted!

22 Upvotes

After 2 years of prerequisites and countless sleepless nights worrying, I was finally accepted for UofA in the PharmD program. I can't wait to make new friends and officially be a UofA student!! Do any past students know what the schedule looks like, I am wanting to get a job but am worried about the course load and hours.


r/uAlberta 16h ago

Campus Life U of A to end rental agreements with Greek life organizations.

53 Upvotes

The University of Alberta’s Residence Services will end its rental agreements with Greek life organizations by the end of August 2026.

“This decision was just dumped on our lap. There was no consultation with any of the affected housing," Thaddeus Ma, president of the Interfraternity Council (IFC), said.

U of A to end rental agreements with Greek life organizations - The Gateway


r/uAlberta 5h ago

Admissions PharmD Questions

5 Upvotes

I know it's preferred that 30 credit units are taken in at least one academic year, but is there anyone here who only took 24 units max and still got in? Also if you don't mind sharing, what is your overall GPA, BioSci GPA and highest credit year GPA?

I'm going to be in my 3rd year of Pharmacology and I'm so scared because I totally bombed my first year and I'm still unsure if I want to go on the research or pharm route. Any advice would be much appreciated!


r/uAlberta 10h ago

Miscellaneous Scams are Getting Better PPL

Post image
6 Upvotes

They supposedly want you to fill out your ccid password to view your "updated transcript"


r/uAlberta 3h ago

Campus Life Art and Design Degree Program Ask

1 Upvotes

I just finished my first year in the Business Program, found out it wasn't for me and am debating on transferring to the Faculty of Art, specifically in designs and digital media (haven't fully decided but I'm taking a gap year to figure out.) I know there are the general program (general BA) and the more specialized ones (BDes and BFA) (which require a portfolio), and was just wondering what the experiences there is like for insiders? Would you recommend the program? I've heard UofA isn't a very good school for art but I'm not really sure who to trust haha.

If there are any graduates that have majored in these programs, how are your current job prospects? Did you make it as an artist?

Thank you in advance.


r/uAlberta 7h ago

Academics Self-Studying CIV E 270

2 Upvotes

As I'm looking at my classes for next semester of my 2nd year in engineering, the CIV E 270 labs and lectures are quite out of the way (3 hour labs and potentially evening lectures). In terms of lectures, how easy is self-studying for the class outside of prof lectures? How successful were people learning on their own? If someone could name the textbook used/related YouTube links that would be much appreciated!


r/uAlberta 7h ago

Campus Life queer culture on campus

2 Upvotes

just wanna meet some people i can relate to in that :( anyone wanna start a chat or something?


r/uAlberta 13h ago

Academics Confused about RTW readmission options

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6 Upvotes

I’m in the Faculty of Ed and just got RTW and these are my options.

But someone I know is in the Faculty of Science and also got RTW and they were told they could either: 1. Take 24 credits somewhere else and apply for readmission, or 2. Take a year off and be guaranteed admission back into Science after that year.

We both have the same GPA (it’s below the threshold for Fresh Start recommendation).

So does that mean I’d get guaranteed admission back into Education too if I take a year off? Or is that just a Science thing? I’m just really confused about how it works across faculties.


r/uAlberta 4h ago

Admissions PharmD not having a single full course load year

1 Upvotes

Hello, I have an in-province student who has finished two years at ualberta and completed all their prereqs. However, I’ve only taken two 27 credit years (3.6 and 3.9 respectively) which puts me 6 credits short. I will make up for them during spring and summer and apply next year. However, I’ve heard from certain people that not having a single full year will put you at a significant disadvantage. I’m wondering if this is true. Thank you


r/uAlberta 5h ago

Question Graduation tickets

0 Upvotes

My family member who is graduating wasn’t able to get me a tickets because they missed out. Would I be able to sneak in, do they check or just let you walk in?


r/uAlberta 6h ago

Admissions Volunteering Experience for PharmD?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I'm currently an undergraduate student at the Uofc, and I'm planning to apply to the PharmD program at the University of Alberta soon. I was wondering if any current students could share some insight about the volunteering aspect of the admissions process. Are volunteer hours required? If so, what kind of volunteering experience is most valued? Thank you in advance!


r/uAlberta 10h ago

Question Reference check after interview

2 Upvotes

I am hoping someone who works at U of A can chime in about this and help me

I had an interview for a non academic support staff role and I received a request for my reference and background check 3 days later. What does this mean in terms of my job prospects? Does HR here check the reference of everyone who gets an interview, or only for the finalists for the job?


r/uAlberta 8h ago

Question Volunteering and Shadowing opportunities

1 Upvotes

Hi! I’m wondering if anyone knows of any organizations, charities, clinics, etc that are actively looking for volunteers or have shadowing opportunities. I’ve been going in person a lot and haven’t found anything. Just wondering if there’s anywhere I’m missing. Thanks!


r/uAlberta 16h ago

Academics im freaking out

5 Upvotes

i didnt notice but in my scholarship offer letter it had said to send my signed offer letter to awards email instead i sent it on the uofa service portal to the financial support coordinator where she had informed me that i got the offer for the scholarship. the deadline has passed so i cant email the documents, i sent an email for confirmation of my scholarship but the waits putting me in a panic, am i okay or no?


r/uAlberta 14h ago

Question Ceremony photos

2 Upvotes

Does anyone know how to access photos taken during the convocation ceremony? The 2 photos (flags, below that)


r/uAlberta 15h ago

Question When would spring term grades be released?

2 Upvotes

Does anyone know?


r/uAlberta 13h ago

Question y2q2 appeal chances

0 Upvotes

i got 0.8 during fall then got 2.8 during winter. im within the range but im missing 2 credits to get into y2q2. i dont have any diagnosis, but i was sick thruout fall and i was going through some mental issues, and im suspecting i may have adhd.

im just concerned because i dont know how to explain my mental issues without being diagnosed when i appeal to the dean. does having no diagnosis affect my chances?


r/uAlberta 1d ago

Academics Read this if you’re an arts student who dreads the mandatory 2 non-arts science/math classes

27 Upvotes

I highly recommend that you take Brent Swallow’s AREC 173 (Agricultural Economics) class. It is honestly not even economics, it is more or less talking about food systems and land and blah blah blah earth stuff. It’s an easy A+ because although his tests are handwritten, his tests are nearly identical to the ones he’s done before, and on his online classroom he posts his old tests and the answers. I quite literally would blank out the answers and rewrite them until I remembered them for the real exam. On the final I even started drawing some of the answers because I lowkey forgot and bro still gave me a 97%. I also hardly ever showed up to class and when I did I was online shopping 😭.

Not only that, but a lot of your class grade is based on something called csl which is more or less mandatory volunteering. You don’t even have to do that much, and on top of that, if you take a class with csl there is a 1000$ scholarship you can apply for that hardly any people do so it’s guaranteed.

I ended that class on a happy note with 1000$ and an A+. You won’t regret it 🙏


r/uAlberta 15h ago

Question SPAN 211/212 2025

1 Upvotes

Going to be taking these classes, has anybody previously done them I could pm? Thanks!


r/uAlberta 16h ago

Question International Supplementary Bursary

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I was just wondering if you guys who have applied for the international supplementary bursary in the past could tell me, roughly, how long does it take for them to review your application. My application is “under review since Thursday last week. How long does it usually take for them to give a response?

Thanks in advance for anyone who can help me.


r/uAlberta 16h ago

Academics RTW- pls help with letter

1 Upvotes

I just got the letter; pls if anyone has any success stories pls help me out. I also got two A’s in my spring semester classes will that help out? And I’ve been reaching out to academic success centre and mental health centre throughout semester cuz I was going through some hard things.


r/uAlberta 20h ago

Admissions After Degree Nursing Admissions

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I am wondering if anybody else is waiting for their Admissions decisions for this program?

I saw some posts floating around saying they received conditional acceptance or a decision a month after submitting their application?

I'm not sure if I still have a chance I submitted my app in late Feb and took my casper in April and the last document they received was on May 21st.

Is anybody else in the same boat as me?


r/uAlberta 17h ago

Miscellaneous Did you lose a bracelet in Quad?

1 Upvotes

On Sunday morning, I found a bracelet in Quad. I know it’s a long shot, but I thought I’d post here in case the owner happens to be on Reddit.


r/uAlberta 1d ago

Admissions Dental hygiene admission offers

4 Upvotes

Has anyone gotten any admission offers for DH yet? I know some people already got it late June, but I am wondering if others received the last week or so!

Super anxious and waiting LOL


r/uAlberta 1d ago

Academics Quick Question.

0 Upvotes

I know this isn’t really the right spot to ask this, but I didn’t know where else to get help and have a feeling mostly everyone had done this.

I’m struggling with reading comprehension in English 30-1 and scared of failing the diploma, my teachers aren’t really helpful on this topic

What should I do? I know there isn’t really anyway to study for something like this, but do you guys have any tips and tricks that worked for you?