The Ultimate Guide to Student Tickets: Tips Every Freshman Needs to Know

The guide below is everything we wish someone told us before our first season as college freshman. We broke it down school by school so you can skip straight to yours.

The Golden Rule: Stay Away from Snapchat and GroupMe

Before we get into the school-specific stuff, we need to talk about this. Every single campus has GroupMe chats and Snapchat stories where people buy and sell tickets. Please do not use them.

We have seen so many students get burned. Here's what happens:

- No buyer protection. You Venmo someone $80 and they block you. That money is gone. No refund. No dispute. Nothing.

- Fake tickets everywhere. People screenshot their mobile tickets and sell the same one to five different buyers. You don't find out until you're at the gate getting turned away while your friends are inside.

- Sellers get screwed too. You transfer your ticket to someone and they just never pay. Now you're out a ticket and there's nothing you can do about it.

- Account bans. Some schools monitor social media sales and will straight up revoke your ticket privileges if they catch you.

Use Student Seats Instead

Student Seats was built for exactly this. College students buying and selling student tickets with actual protection built in.

- Zero selling fees. You list a ticket for $40, you get $40. That's it.

- Escrow payment protection. When someone buys your ticket, the money is held until the ticket is actually transferred. If the seller never sends it, the buyer gets a full refund automatically. If the buyer never pays, the seller keeps their ticket.

- Built for students. The whole platform is college students trading with other students at their school. You're not competing with scalpers or bots.

Indiana Student Tickets: What Every Freshman Needs to Know

Indiana football has been on the rise and Memorial Stadium on a Saturday has real energy now. Here's what you need to know as a freshman.

How to Transfer Student Tickets

Indiana uses the IU Athletics ticket portal through Paciolan. You buy a student season ticket package through the athletics department and your tickets get loaded to your mobile account. You can access them through the IU Athletics app or the Paciolan web portal.

Season tickets are the way to go, although, for 2026, the university implemented student packages that only include 5 games instead of the entire season. Individual game availability is limited and the big matchups sell out fast.

If you can't make a game, you can transfer your ticket through the official portal to another IU student.

Freshman Tips

- Buy as many tickets as you can early. They sell out. Without one, you might not be getting into the big games.

- Show up early. IU's student section is general admission. First come, first served. If you want to be close, you need to be there well before kickoff.

- Don't sleep on basketball. Assembly Hall is one of the loudest arenas in the country and student basketball tickets are a separate purchase. Worth every penny.

Ole Miss Student Tickets: Tips for Your First Season

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium with the Grove in full swing is something you have to experience to understand. SEC football is different, and Ole Miss student tickets are some of the most in-demand in the conference.

How to Transfer Student Tickets

Ole Miss students get tickets through the Ole Miss Athletics ticket office. Season packages are sold through the university and individual game tickets are loaded digitally. You'll use the Ole Miss Sports app for mobile entry.

Ole Miss allows digital ticket transfers through their portal to other students with an active account.

Ticket Prices

Ole Miss by far has the most expensive resale prices. It has been a point of controversy between students, parents, and faculty. Season packages were being resold for $3,000+ on resale markets. A typical rivalry game may cost $800 or more to attend compared to less than Alabama student tickets that are usually less than $175 for rivalry games.

The Athletics Department has been searching for solutions to fix this issue and they recently partnered with SeatStock, a student resale marketplace similar to Student Seats. However, SeatStock's platform has several limitations for students. SeatStock's platform charges selling fees, does not offer a native mobile app (nor any android app whatsoever), buyers are randomly paired with sellers, payouts and refunds take up to 10 business days, and their bidding/auction system may be keeping resale prices high. On top of this, the University instructed them to implement a $250 price cap, which has great intentions, but has led some sellers back to unsafe platforms like Snapchat and GroupMe. Meanwhile, Student Seats offers no selling fees, price trends charting, a native mobile app, instant payouts and refunds, price lowering incentives (tickets listed lowest to highest) and seller transparency including publicly displayed seller ratings, seller sale counts, seller badges. We've also implemented a price cap, but at the $600 mark, which is far more reasonable to keep tickets as cheap as possible while providing a safe environment to purchase them on.

The SeatStock Story

In 2023, Josh Cohen, the founder of SeatStock, reached out to the founders of Student Seats while preparing for a business pitch competition. At the time, Cohen was looking for advice about his business pitch. The founders of Student Seats were willing to help and shared advice based on their experiences building Student Seats, which at the time had been operating for 3 years. During the conversation, Cohen was asked what business he was building. He did not provide an answer. It was later revealed that the business Cohen was developing was a competing student ticket marketplace.

Competition itself is not unusual. Student Seats welcomes competition and believes students benefit when they have more legitimate options for buying and selling tickets. What is notable is how closely certain aspects of SeatStock's platform and documentation followed Student Seats. Student Seats had already developed a marketplace model centered around verified users, ticket transfers, transaction protection, a defined complaint period, and a specific process for buyers and sellers to complete transactions. After SeatStock launched in 2024, its Terms and Conditions included numerous user representations that are word-for-word identical to language that had previously appeared in Student Seats' Terms and Conditions. The design of SeatStock's website, particularly the How It Works section, closely resembles Student Seats' How It Works page. As of September 10, 2026, these similarities can be viewed publicly on both websites.

The differences between the two platforms reflect different approaches to the student ticket marketplace. Student Seats believes students should not have to accept seller fees or auction-based pricing as a prerequisite for participating in the college sports experience. Its goal is to make buying and selling tickets safer, more transparent, and more affordable for students.

Freshman Tips

- The Grove is not optional. Even if you're not a huge football person, the Grove tailgate is a core part of Ole Miss culture. Go early, stay late, soak it in.

- Dress up. Ole Miss is one of the few schools where students dress up for games. Don't show up in gym shorts. You'll stand out and not in a good way.

- SEC games fill up fast. If you don't have a season package, your only realistic option for big games is buying from another student through Student Seats.

Wisconsin Student Tickets: A Freshman's Complete Guide

Camp Randall Stadium. "Jump Around" between the third and fourth quarter. If you've seen the videos, you already know. If you haven't, just wait. It's a bucket-list college experience.

How to Transfer Student Tickets

Wisconsin uses the UW Athletics ticket portal. Student season tickets are purchased through the athletics department and loaded to your Badger account. You'll use a mobile ticket through the Wisconsin Athletics app to get in.

Wisconsin's student section is one of the largest in the Big Ten but it still fills up fast for big games. Season ticket holders get priority. UW allows student ticket transfers through the official system to other verified UW students and UW students at satellite campuses.

Freshman Tips

- Arrive early. The student section is general admission. If you want to be close, you need to be in line well before gates open. For big games, students line up hours ahead.

- Stay for Jump Around. Between the third and fourth quarter, the entire student section jumps in unison. The stadium literally shakes. Do not leave early. Ever.

- Layer up for late-season games. Madison in November is cold. Camp Randall is open-air and the wind coming off the lake is brutal. Don't let weather keep you home from a great game.

- Hockey is massive at UW. The Kohl Center for Badger hockey has an incredible atmosphere. Student hockey tickets are their own thing and totally worth looking into.

Purdue Student Tickets: Everything You Need to Know

Ross-Ade Stadium has one of the most passionate student sections in the Big Ten. Purdue fans show up every week, and as a freshman, your first gameday in West Lafayette will set the tone for the next four years.

How to Transfer Student Tickets

Purdue students buy season tickets through the Purdue Athletics ticket office. Tickets are digital and accessible through the Purdue Athletics app. The student section at Ross-Ade is general admission within assigned blocks.

Purdue allows transfers through the official ticket system to other Purdue students. Make sure you get it done before the transfer deadline for each game.

Purdue has a really active student ticket market on Student Seats. If you didn't buy a season package but want to go to the rivalry games or a big Big Ten matchup, check listings early in the week for the best prices.

Freshman Tips

- Breakfast Club is a thing. Purdue students start gamedays early. Very early. Plan accordingly.

- The student section gets loud. Ross-Ade's student section has a reputation for being one of the rowdiest in the conference. Lean into it.

- Basketball at Mackey. Mackey Arena is consistently rated one of the best college basketball atmospheres in the country. Get those season tickets too.

Michigan Student Tickets: Your Freshman Gameday Guide

The Big House. Over 107,000 fans. The largest stadium in the Western Hemisphere. Nothing prepares you for walking through that tunnel and seeing it full for the first time.

How to Transfer Student Tickets

Michigan uses the Michigan Athletics ticket portal through Paciolan. Student season tickets are purchased through the athletics department and you access them through the Michigan Athletics app. Your student ID is linked to your ticket account for verification at the gate. Michigan's student section is general admission with over 20,000 seats. It's the largest student section in the country. Michigan allows student-to-student transfers through the official portal. You can transfer to another verified Michigan student. Michigan's transfer system has specific deadlines for each game. Don't miss them. If you're listing on Student Seats, do it as soon as you know you can't go. Big games like Ohio State, Michigan State, and any top-10 matchup see prices peak early in the week and then drop closer to gameday.

Freshman Tips

- Give yourself extra time. 107,000 people going into one stadium means long lines. Don't show up 10 minutes before kickoff.

- The rivalry games are everything. Michigan-Ohio State and Michigan-Michigan State are the two games you cannot miss as a freshman. Plan your semester around them if you have to.

- Student Seats is huge at Michigan. Thousands active users at U-M use the platform to buy and sell tickets. It's way better than scrolling through GroupMe chaos.

- Buy the season package. Individual student tickets to big games are nearly impossible to get without one.

Michigan State Student Tickets: First-Year Tips

Spartan Stadium on a fall Saturday is one of the most underrated atmospheres in college football. The student section is passionate, the tailgating is elite, and your first game in East Lansing is going to be unforgettable.

How to Transfer Student Tickets

Michigan State students buy season tickets through the MSU Athletics ticket office. Tickets are loaded digitally and accessed through the MSU Athletics app. Mobile entry is required. No paper tickets.

MSU allows transfers through the official portal to other Michigan State students. Get it done before the game-day cutoff.

Michigan State's student ticket market on Student Seats is active, especially for the Michigan rivalry game and big non-conference matchups. If you're selling, list early. MSU students are planners and start shopping for tickets by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Freshman Tips

- Tailgating starts early. Munn Field and the surrounding lots are packed by 8 AM for noon kickoffs. The tailgate is half the experience.

- The Michigan game is sacred. This is the one game every Spartan freshman needs to be at. Don't sell it. Don't skip it. Just go.

- Breslin and the Izzone. The Izzone is one of the most famous student sections in college basketball. Michigan State basketball tickets are a must.

- Don't sell on Snapchat. MSU's campus has tons of GroupMe and Snap ticket markets, but students get scammed all the time.

Penn State Student Tickets: The Freshman Playbook

Beaver Stadium holds over 106,000 fans and Penn State's student section, the S-Zone, is the heartbeat of the whole place. A White Out game is regularly called the best atmosphere in all of college football. It's hard to argue.

How to Transfer Student Tickets

Penn State uses the Nittany Lion Club ticket system for students. Season tickets are purchased through the athletics department and accessible through the Penn State Athletics app. Mobile entry is standard. The student lottery for individual games is competitive. If you want almost guaranteed access to every home game, the season package is the move.

Official Ticket Exchange

Penn State allows student ticket transfers through the official system to other verified Penn State students. Being a Ticketmaster school, Ticketmaster offers an official student resale marketplace, however it charges selling fees. Some students have critiqued this as the university earns money from selling the tickets once and earns even more money on the resale marketplace. Granted the marketplace is much safer than Snapchat, if you do not want to pay selling fees then you should choose Student Seats.

The annual White Out is the hardest student ticket to get outside of the season package. If you don't have one, Student Seats is your best bet. Prices for the White Out will be premium no matter where you look, but at least you won't get scammed like you would buying from a random person on social media.

Freshman Tips

- The White Out is a must. This is the best atmosphere in college football. Full stop. Do whatever it takes to get a ticket.

- Learn the fight songs. Penn State students take traditions seriously. Know the words to "Fight On State" before your first game or you'll feel lost.

- You will not sit down. The S-Zone is standing the entire game. Wear comfortable shoes and be ready to be on your feet for four hours straight.

- Plan for the stadium location. Beaver Stadium is not right next to campus. Know the bus routes and shuttle schedules, or be prepared for a long walk.

Ohio State Student Tickets: What New Buckeyes Should Know

Ohio Stadium, "The Horseshoe," is one of the most legendary venues in college football. Over 100,000 fans, Script Ohio on the field, and an intensity that hits different when you're standing in Block O for the first time.

How to Transfer Student Tickets

Ohio State students buy season tickets through the Ohio State Athletics ticket office. Tickets are digital and accessed through the Ohio State Buckeyes app. Your BuckID is linked to your ticket account.

Student demand at Ohio State is massive. Season packages sell out fast and individual game access is extremely limited if you don't have one.

OSU allows student-to-student transfers through the official portal. Being yet another Ticketmaster school, Ticketmaster offers an official student resale marketplace, however it charges selling fees. Some students have critiqued this as the university earns money from selling the tickets once and earns even more money on the resale marketplace. We've written an article discussing the launch of the official marketplace.

Freshman Tips

- Watch Script Ohio. If the marching band is forming Script Ohio during pregame and you're not watching, you're doing it wrong. It's one of the greatest traditions in all of sports.

- The Michigan game. THE game. If Ohio State hosts Michigan your freshman year, that ticket is worth more than anything else on your schedule. Do not sell it.

- Block O is GA. General admission, so getting a good spot means arriving early. For big games, very early.

- Watch out for fake tickets. Ohio State's ticket demand makes it a prime target for scammers. Screenshots of QR codes are worthless.

Iowa Student Tickets: Tips for First-Year Hawkeyes

Kinnick Stadium is proof that you don't need 100,000 seats to be one of the loudest stadiums in the country. The student section is right on top of the field and the "Wave" to the Stead Family Children's Hospital is one of the most powerful moments in all of sports.

How to Transfer Student Tickets

Iowa students buy season tickets through the Iowa Athletics Ticket Office. Tickets are digital and managed through the Hawkeye Athletics app. Your University ID is linked to your account for verification. Iowa allows transfers through the official ticket system to other verified Iowa students. The deadline is typically a few hours before kickoff.

Iowa's Student Seats market is especially active for rivalry games and big Big Ten matchups. The Cy-Hawk game against Iowa State sees the most demand every year. List early for the best price.

Freshman Tips

- The Wave. At the end of the first quarter, the entire stadium turns and waves to the children in the Stead Family Children's Hospital watching from across the street. It does not matter how tough you think you are. This will get to you. Participate.

- Kinnick is LOUD. The stadium is compact and steep, which traps sound and makes it one of the loudest per-seat venues in the country. Visiting teams hate playing in Iowa City.

- Iowa City tailgating is top tier. The tailgate scene around Kinnick is one of the best in the Midwest. Get out there early and explore.

- The Cy-Hawk game. Iowa vs. Iowa State is one of the best in-state rivalries in the country. If it's in Iowa City your freshman year, you need to be at that game.

Iowa State Student Tickets: A Freshman's Guide to Jack Trice

Jack Trice Stadium has been one of the toughest places to play in the Big 12, and Cyclone Alley brings the energy every single week. Your first football Saturday in Ames is going to hit different.

How to Transfer Student Tickets

Iowa State students buy season tickets through the Iowa State Athletics ticket office. Tickets are mobile and accessed through the Iowa State Athletics app or the Cyclone ticket portal. Iowa State allows student-to-student transfers through the official system. Transfers go to verified ISU students and need to be completed before the game-day cutoff. Iowa State's Student Seats market has been growing fast, especially for the Cy-Hawk game and big Big 12 matchups. The platform handles everything. Escrow protection for buyers, zero fees for sellers.

Freshman Tips

- Cyclone Alley gets rowdy. Iowa State's student section is known for being one of the most passionate in the Big 12. Show up ready to be loud.

- The Cy-Hawk game. Whether it's home or away, this is THE game on Iowa State's schedule. If it's at Jack Trice, do not sell your ticket. Period.

- Don't underestimate Ames tailgating. The lots around Jack Trice fill up early and the energy carries straight into the stadium.

- Hilton Magic is real. Hilton Coliseum for Iowa State basketball is legendary. Get your basketball season tickets too.

Final Tips That Apply Everywhere

No matter what school you're at, these are universal:

1. Buy the season ticket package. It's always cheaper per game and it almost always guarantees you get into every home game, including the ones that sell out.

2. Know your transfer deadlines. Every school has different cutoffs. Miss the window and you're stuck with a ticket you can't use and can't sell.

3. Use Student Seats. Escrow protection provides the most protection you can have. Zero seller fees mean prices stay fair. It's built for students and it works.

4. Never Venmo strangers for tickets. No protection, no refund, no accountability. Students get scammed this way every single week during football season.

5. Go to the games. You get four years of this. Four seasons. Maybe 24-28 home games total in your entire college career. That's it. You will never get this time back. Buy the ticket. Go to the game. Every single time.

Student Seats is the #1 student ticket marketplace with zero selling fees and built-in buyer protection. Available at studentseats.com or on the app store ( iOS / Android )