Hey guys,
I’m an incoming freshman at UT and planning to major in Civil Engineering, and my freshman orientation is coming up in a few days. In high school, I did fairly well in math (I have yet to take Calculus) but Physics wasn’t my strongest suit, primarily because of the teachers. Anyway, currently I only have credits for Art, Sociology, Government, Govt 2 (Political Science), and Macroeconomics. Therefore, I don’t really have any credits related to my major.
So I planning on taking 12 Credit hours in the fall and 15 in the spring to gradually adjust into the college academic life.
What classes do you guys suggest I should take that won’t be dramatically overwhelming, but simultaneously keep me on track for a 4yr graduation.
Also, any tips on where I should look out for internships as well as any specific extracurriculars I should look into at UT for civil engineering would also be really appreciated.
Thanks
You should have an advisor who will tell you what classes you should take. There’s not a lot of flexibility. Calculus and physics, along with the physics lab, will be included, I’m sure.
Physics is tough at UT - I struggled with it even though I was a strong student. My first college exam was in physics, and I got a 40! There was a curve, but not THAT much of one. I had an A+ GPA in high school, so that was a shock. I would recommend that you get a tutor right away. Are you taking regular or honors physics? I made the mistake of signing up for honors. If I had it to do over again, I would take regular!
I don’t live in Texas anymore, so I’m not much help with internships or ECs. I was lucky and got a job with Datum Engineering in Austin, starting my freshman year. Working in a structural design office was really helpful.
Good luck! I loved my years at UT. 
http://www.caee.utexas.edu/images/ugdegrees/2018-2020/C-E-18-20-Flow-Chart.pdf is a convenient schedule map. If you follow it, then you should be able to complete your degree in 8 semesters.
You probably won’t have many options. Engineers get a list of required courses and take them, usually in the order listed. There might be one class per semester that is an elective, either inside engineering or to fulfill the ABET requirements (writing, humanities). If you are only taking 12 credits, you won’t take the humanities.
If you only sign up for 12 credits, you’ll have no wiggle room to drop a course if you have financial aid based on being a full time student.
I don’t think I had one elective a semester! I had very few.