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Hey there future Tigers! My name's Brooke and we met in my last video, an overview of
the Housing Process. If you missed it, go watch that first then come back and catch
up with me here to find out all about Learning Communities and Freshman Interest Groups at
Mizzou. So I am standing in a FIG right now. And a Learning Community. All at the same
time. The floor below is the same community but the floor above is a different Learning
Community. I see you lookin' at me with your WHAAA? face. Okay, let me explain. This seems
complicated and a little weird but it makes you a better student.
No, really! Bear with me. I am standing in a Thematic Learning Community, or TLC, for
Journalism and Communication. All the students who live on this floor live with other students
who are also interested in Journalism and Communication and selected to live here because
of this TLC. But there's also a Freshman Interest Group, also known as a FIG, on this
floor. Each one of these four doors has a double room behind it and all of the eight
students living in these rooms are in the TLC and also part of an Exploring Journalism
FIG. So... you can be in a Learning Community without being in a FIG, but you cannot be
in a FIG without being in a larger Learning Community. Everyone on this floor is in the
TLC. Some of the students are also in the FIG. The residents in this wing are ladies
and the wing over there that smells different is for the dudes. ... Wait, can I say that?
SO, when you pick a room in a hall you have also picked a Learning Community and possibly
a FIG ... and vice versa! There are also two types of Learning Communities. In
addition to Thematic Learning Communities, or TLCs, like the one we just visited, there
are also General Learning Communities, or GLCs. Let me tell you a little bit about GLCs,
TLCs and FIGs to help you understand what makes them different. General Learning Communities
don't have a specific academic theme or interest. That makes them popular, so they fill up fast during ROAR. Students who fit well into GLCs are confident
they are going to get excellent grades without the added support of a themed community.
There are 12 GLCs spread out in the halls and each one is named
after the hall where it's located. Students who live in GLCs can attend events in their
halls that cover a broad range of topics. For example, last year's events ranged from:
learning about the Student Success Center so you can make awesome grades, meeting with
advisors to come up with a four year plan, volunteer opportunities with Tiger Pantry
or local food banks, Study Abroad opportunities, and career building events. At the beginning
of the semester you can give ideas for events you would like to see hosted throughout the
year. There will be student led study groups in the halls as well as tutoring available
in or nearby your hall for common first year courses. For more information about GLCs,
check out our website. Thematic Learning Communities are built upon a foundation with an academic
focus. They provide opportunities for meeting new people in a subject you're interested
in both within and beyond the Mizzou community. If you already have someone in mind to be
your roommate, it's important that you both have similar academic goals and interests
because you'll both be in the TLC. Random Roommates aren't really all that random in
TLCs because, just like you, they are selecting the same TLC so they share your interests
or academic goals. There are 21 different TLCs spread all throughout our 23 residence
halls. They can be based on a major, such as "World of Business", or a theme such
as "Carver Community for Sciences and Mathematics", or an interest such as "Pangaea". So what
do TLCs do all year? They have events that can range from career fairs to build your
resume and practice your interviewing skills and internship-finding events to lunch with
professors from a TLC-related field and TLC-themed movie nights or social events with discussions.
For more info about TLC's, visit our website. So, what if you are looking to be more involved
in your interest area than what a TLC can provide? Well, that's what FIGs are for.
Let me explain... Freshman Interest Groups are similar to TLCs because there are
students living together with common interests, but there's more to it than that.
All students in a FIG actually take four classes together during the fall semester. That's
right, they get up in the morning and go to class together. Three of the classes are general
courses that most freshman take and CAN be based on the FIG theme. The fourth class is
DEFINITELY based on the FIG theme. It's called a FIG seminar and it will connect students
with many academic resources. The FIG seminar class is taught by your Peer Advisor with
the assistance of a faculty member. Your Peer Advisor is an upper-class student mentor who
also lives within your hall community. You don't have to take all four of the classes
if you have an AP course that covers one of them, but IF you already have a bunch of AP
credits you are bringing in with you, you'll need to check the classes on the FIG lists.
If you've already taken a couple of the classes, then you should probably choose a different
FIG or go to a TLC or GLC instead. Additionally, a bunch of FIGs have requirements to get in,
such as a certain ALEKS math exam score or a specific major declared. If you don't meet
those requirements, you won't be allowed to select that FIG when you ROAR. Roommates are
more difficult to request in FIGs because both roommates have to meet all the requirements
and take the same classes too. Random roommates in FIGs aren't really random. You already
know you will have a ton in common because they chose exactly the same thing, down to
the same classes, that you did. As I showed you before, FIGs also live within a TLC or
GLC on the same floor. There are more than 100 FIGs to choose from and each FIG has about
20 students in it and most are about 50% male and 50% female. So, if you are interested
in say, the Social Justice Issues FIG, of which there is only one, with only 20 spaces
in it, there are only 10 spaces available to girls and only 10 to guys. With a freshman
class of over 6000 students, you can see why many FIGs fill up fast! Visit the Residential
Life website to learn more and search through the list of requirements and classes for each
FIG. In order to know which TLCs, GLCs or FIGs that fit you best, you will need to do
your research ahead of time. I know I sound like I'm set on repeat, but it really is
important that you spend some time on the Res Life website, digging up more information
about all the community selections offered and what they require. Since each TLC, GLC
or FIG is part of a specific hall, you will also want to look at the costs associated
with the hall. Come up with AT LEAST seven scenarios in different buildings, Learning
Communities and FIGs. Here's an example of a list of possible choices for a Journalism major
like me. Maybe I had thought about rooming with my friend Angie, but she's an Engineering
major and her list looks like this, so it would be best for us not to room together
initially. This doesn't mean we won't see each other. In fact, it expands our friendship
possibilities because we're going to be making friends in two different communities. Our
next video is all about roommates, and includes useful information you should know whether you have a roommate in mind or not.
Let me show you one more example. This is a list for someone who hasn't settled on a
major, but has interests in many areas. Write down and hang on to your list so that you're
prepared for ROAR. Also, keep in mind that the later you ROAR, the longer your list should
be. As options fill up, you will want to know what your backups for your backups are. If
you have any questions, ask us at MU Residential Life on Facebook or send us a Tweet! We answer
within a day and others can see the answers to your questions! Next, join me as I introduce
you to some really cool people that are going to help me explain this whole roommate thing.
Like my roommate Taylor from my freshman year at Schurz!
Go watch the video now! Go do it, please! Go do it now!
What are you doing?! Go watch the video! Here's the link.