A new city and an unfamiliar university campus can be intimidating to first-year students, but fortunately there’s plenty of services to help you out. Here are some of the student services that are available to you.
Health Services – Located across the bridge from the Student Life Centre, Health Services offers a student medical clinic and nutritional guidance, as well as mental health services to all registered UW students.
Counselling Services – Something troubling you? Need to talk to someone? Counselling Services, now located in the new Needles Hall expansion on the second floor, can help. Coping skills seminars, workshops, therapy groups, peer support options, and individual appointments are available for all UW students.
Bookstore and Retail Services – Located in South Campus Hall, students can purchase their textbooks and other back-to-school necessities (including i-clickers) at the UW Bookstore. WriteStuff, located beside the Bookstore, sells stationery supplies, course kits, lab coats, and math-approved calculators.
Libraries – Need help researching an essay topic? Don’t know how to find primary and secondary resources for your research assignment? The Dana Porter Library, located in the arts quad, and the Davis Centre Library, located in DC, are both good places to start. Both have assignment and research help available as well as tech support for students. Both libraries also have drop-in centres for students needing help with writing assignments, where students can talk with a teaching associate about good writing technique and discuss how to organize ideas into an effective essay on a first-come, first-served basis. The libraries also offer tours and workshops as well as a variety of online tutorials for students.
Student awards and financial aid services – Located in Needles Hall inside the Registrar’s Office, student awards provides information and advice on budgeting and various financial aid options, such as awards, scholarships, academic grants, and bursaries. This is also where the OSAP and Work Study Program applications are processed.
Centre for Career Action – Located in the Tatham Centre, the Centre for Career Action offers career advice, job search strategies, career management techniques, and educational planning sessions for students as well as graduate/professional school preparation. Its interview offices and meeting rooms are also the location for most co-op job interviews and workshops.
Turnkey — Located in the Student Life Centre, the Turnkey Desk is open 24/7 and is a place where you can book a study room or lounge, purchase a Greyhound bus or GO Transit ticket, ask for directions if you’re lost, or just enjoy the perfect cup of coffee.
Feds Used Books, Campus Tech, Off-Campus Housing – These are all located in the lower level of the Student Life Centre. Feds Used Books can help you save money by offering a 20 per cent discount on the cost of your textbooks, and once you are done with them you can also resell them there. Campus Tech, specializing in Apple, Lenovo, Fujitsu, Dell, and Toshiba products, has technicians ready to repair your desktops or laptops and consultations available either in-person or by email.
Off-Campus Housing is a service that assists students in finding off-campus rentals as well as sublets, and has information about particular Kitchener-Waterloo neighbourhoods.
Women’s Centre and Glow – In the hallway above the Bombshelter Pub, you can find the Women’s Centre, a resource centre on issues women face ranging from health to sexual violence, and Glow, a centre for LGBTQ students which provides resources for sexual and gender identity.
