There is a particular kind of energy that settles over Tucson every August. It’s the hum of a city waking back up — U-Hauls double-parked on Speedway Boulevard, the smell of fresh syllabi and sunscreen, dining halls at capacity and coffee shops suddenly out of oat milk by 9 a.m. Tucson is, in many ways, a college town that happens to be a major city, and the students who flood back into it every fall don’t just change the campus — they change the whole place.

The University of Arizona enrolls roughly 50,000 students. Pima Community College serves tens of thousands more. Add in students at the University of Arizona South and Eller College evening programs and you’ve got a significant chunk of this city’s population suddenly back in motion, navigating new roommates, new classes, new budgets and new versions of themselves.

That’s what this section is about.

We put together this back-to-college guide not as a checklist of things you should already know, but as a genuine look at what college life in Tucson actually looks like — the texture of it, the messiness of it, the good stuff and the stuff nobody warned you about. Whether you’re stepping onto campus for the first time or returning for your fifth year (no judgment), there’s something in here for you.

Inside these pages, you’ll find lifestyle stories that cover the real questions: How do you eat well when your budget is $40 a week and your kitchen is a hot plate? What does it mean to actually take care of your mental health between midterms and part-time shifts? How do you build a social life in a city that can feel overwhelming when you don’t yet have your footing? We’ve gone out and found people, places and ideas that make those questions a little more manageable.

You’ll also find features on the broader college experience in Tucson — the kind of place-specific stories that remind you this isn’t just any college town. This is a city with 350 days of sunshine, a thriving arts scene, some of the best Mexican food in the country and a student culture that tends toward the creative, the eclectic and the genuinely weird in the best possible way. The Rialto, Club Congress, 4th Avenue, the Mercado — these aren’t just local landmarks. For a lot of students, they become part of the education.

We also know that college looks different than it used to. More students are balancing jobs alongside coursework. More are supporting families. More are coming in as transfer students, returning adults or first-generation college students navigating systems that weren’t necessarily designed with them in mind. We’ve tried to reflect that reality, not just the glossy brochure version of what going back to school looks like.

Tucson is a good place to do hard things. It has always been a city that rewards people who dig in, show up and stay curious. That’s not a bad description of what college is supposed to be either.

So welcome back. Welcome, if it’s your first time. And welcome to the guide.

Whatever this year looks like for you, we hope it surprises you in good ways.