By Lily Villa
Lily Villa is an Advertising major and a member of TAG & AAF.
When I first moved on campus this fall, my roommate, who had been here for a year, said, “You might want to download the bus app.” Oh boy was she right. “CU Buses,” and its counterpart “Illini Bus” are both apps you can pull up on your phone that make taking the bus so much easier. For one, you can select from all the listed bus stops and it’ll tell you how many minutes away the buses are. Not all bus stops are marked with signs or benches, so if you don’t know the bus stops, like I did for a while, you can pull up a map that indicates the stops near you, and shows you how long you have until it arrives. At some point, you’ll learn which bus stops and routes you use most often, and can add them to your favorites for easy access. Illini Bus also lets you pull up a map that shows just how far the bus is from your stop, that way you know how long you can stay indoors before it leaves you behind. Trust me, this becomes essential as it gets colder.
Zondr is an app that I also found to be useful in a different way than the bus app. This one lists all the bars on campus and information that could be essential. It shows you what the male-female ratio is, how long the line is, how many people are already in there, and how much you have to pay to get in (important to know beforehand in my opinion.) You’ll also see what the drink specials are for the night as well food specials. I strongly recommend getting to Brothers early for Wednesday night wings. You’d be surprised how long you have to wait when so many college kids want 25 cent wings.
Lastly, I’d like to mention the U of I’s own app. By simply searching “Illinois,” you’ll find most information you could ever need as an Illinois student. The most essential feature is probably the map, which makes it easy to find what buildings your classes are in. Seeing as campus is really big, it’s no fun being lost on the first day of each semester- it’s either unbearably hot, or freakishly cold. The Illinois app also gives you news and events from all the colleges, so you don’t have to feel out of the loop as a new student to campus.