First Year Experience

Welcome to the South and the heat! During the late spring and summer it is humid and hot. Many students will wear shorts and t-shirts to class for the first few weeks of the fall semester because it is so hot outside. Auburn tends to have a very mild winter where you usually do not need big winter coats. Many out of state students will trade out their summer wardrobe when they go home for Thanksgiving and bring back layers and a warmer jacket. We highly encourage having one jacket here just in case a cold spell comes early.

Every person you ask will probably give you a different answer to this question. Ultimately, while it will make life a little more convenient it is not a necessity and there are many students at Auburn without a car. Tiger Transit provides Friday shuttles that either go to Walmart or Tiger Town (where many restaurants and Target are located). Students without cars are usually able to find friends who are willing to give them a ride and Auburn also has Taxi & Uber services if you need to get around as well. Be sure to read the question in the Travel section about getting to and from the airport as well.

A great place to start is the Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau at aotourism.com/Accommodations/. Like any travel arrangements, making reservations earlier is often better so you have more options available. Be sure to book in advance for home football weekends, or events when lots of families are in town like Move-in/out, Family Weekend, and Graduation. Those times often fill up quickly.

In 2016, there were 2,071 out of state new students (freshmen and transfer students) mainly coming from Georgia (717), Florida (283), Tennessee (156), and Texas (131). To see the state breakdown for the full Auburn student body, visit: web.auburn.edu/ir/factbook/enrollment/stuchar/enbstate.aspx 

Please check out University Housing & Residence Life's Important Dates page: auburn.edu/administration/housing/dates/. Residence Halls close for Thanksgiving Break, Winter Break, and Spring Break.

This varies from student to student, but most out-of-state students will go home for Thanksgiving Break since it is a week long break. Fall Break is usually only a day or two so many choose to stay on campus or go on a quick road trip with friends. For Spring Break, students often go on a trip either back home or with their friends. Be sure to check out Alternative Student Breaks (auburn.collegiatelink.net/organization/asb). They plan service trips around the country and internationally over many of the university breaks and these can be a great option if you are unable to go back home for one of the university's breaks.

If you want to plan in advance, you can view the academic calendar here: auburn.edu/main/auweb_calendar.html.

Auburn is wonderfully placed between Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Birmingham-Shuttlesworth (BHM). ATL is about an hour and 45 minutes away (and you will change time zones from CST to EST), and BHM is about 2 hours and 15 minutes away. ATL tends to be the more preferred airport because it is a larger hub, provides more airlines, and flight options.

Students often will utilize the Groome Shuttle auburn.groometransportation.com which will take students from campus to the ATL airport. There are also many parking locations in and around the airport if students choose to drive themselves.

While earlier is often better in terms of ticket pricing a good rule of thumb is to hold off on purchasing plane tickets until your student receives their syllabus from each course. The syllabus outlines when assignments are due and when the course final exams will be administered.

Please view the Office of the Registrar's page dedicated to Residency: residency.auburn.edu/. Questions concerning residency can be submitted via e-mail to: residency@auburn.edu.