<p>I have been accepted into UT Austin Liberal Arts School (my first choice was McCombs but I didn't get in :( ), and I just have some questions about UT. What advice would you give a freshman who's about to attend this school? I'm the first person in my family to attend college so any advice would be greatly appreciated. I already applied for housing so hopefully I can get on-campus, and also I would like to study abroad if possible. Also, any imput on what being a student at UT Austin is like would be great. Thank you so much!</p>
<p>Off the top of my head:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you want have an easier time meeting people, join clubs. There are so many to choose from at least one will be interesting to you.</p></li>
<li><p>Go to office hours for your professor or TAs if you have questions. I cannot stress this enough. Don’t suffer through class because you don’t understand something. They are there to help you.</p></li>
<li><p>Go to events hosted by your dorm. You’ll meet people and befriend them.</p></li>
<li><p>Go to class, even if it is an 8am one. You’re paying for them, and it will only help. Don’t depend on people’s notes if you think that will excuse you from going to class. The best notes are your own.</p></li>
<li><p>Do your reading for class. If you don’t, come exam time, you’ll have a horrible time.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure to tell your roommate what you expect when it comes to maintaining the room, times you will study and sleep, etc. It’s better to lay down the ground-rules now rather than when you have problems to address.</p></li>
<li><p>Manage your Dine-In-Dollars wisely! I’ve met too many people who are on their last buck already. The same goes for your Bevo Bucks.</p></li>
<li><p>Look for studies being conducted. They’re great to make a quick buck.</p></li>
<li><p>Study the bus routes so you’ll know where to buy groceries. (Unless you want to pay through the nose on-campus.) Fiesta has cheap fruits and veggies (Bus 21). HEB is near is good for everything else (Red River bus). Walmart is farther but doeable with the Metro (Burnet bus).</p></li>
<li><p>Be on time when you register for your classes. Plan a schedule and at least one other backup schedule. Refresh the page and sign-in for a backup class just in case.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If your goal is to transfer into McCombs, make sure your grades are your number one priority. My friend told me that they basically accept people based on your GPA, and all the 4.0s get in first.</p>
<p>Another thing, make sure you check where the buildings are located on a map before you register for classes. A lot of new students register for back to back classes, not realizing how far you have to walk. </p>
<p>Read reviews of the professors, take on a manageable workload, and make sure that you set up your semester based on what you can handle. It isnt too hard to get a 4.0, but you have to plan ahead.</p>
<p>Hello, I’m a first generation college student as well. Can anyone please tell me how to “plan a schedule” or “look for good professors”? Basically, I found a curriculum for my major, but after that, I don’t know what i’m suppose to be doing with this list of classes.</p>
<p>Many students use myedu.com to look up grade statistics and professor reviews. There are some other sites that students use, but I can’t remember them.</p>
<p>To look for classes, you log in with your UT EID at [Course</a> Schedules | Office of the Registrar](<a href=“http://registrar.utexas.edu/schedules]Course”>Course Schedules | Office of the Registrar)</p>
<p>From there, you pick the semester that you are looking for classes in. From that point, you just search for your classes. The listings will give you the classes, what times they are offered, and (most of the time) what professor is teaching the class. I would make an excel sheet or something with 30 minute time increments, and put in all all the classes with their days and timings. </p>
<p>Then its good to make back up schedules, because for freshmen, a lot of times you don’t get your first choice, so you need to have backups ready to go. Classes get taken up pretty quick, so you need to log in right at your registration time and have all your information ready to be typed in, and be prepared for the system to tell you that the class is full.</p>
<p>Most classes have waitlists, so sometimes you can get on those if the class is full. Other times, if you really want a class but there is no waitlist (or even if there is a waitlist), just show up to the first class and talk to the professor about getting into the class. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesnt, but if you really want that class then its worth it to try. You can add and drop classes the first week or two without getting permission from your advisor, so your schedule can be adjusted.</p>
<p>Also make sure to check what building you class is in, and look it up at utexas.edu/maps</p>
<p>You want to make sure that if your classes are back to back (with only 10 or 15 minutes between classes) that you can walk to class and get there on time. For example, walking from section 1 to section 3 on the map could take you anywhere from 10 to 25ish minutes. Some classes are just so far apart that you’ll have to catch the bus, and in that case, you wont want back to back classes (for example, a class that ends at 9:30am and another one that starts at 9:30am)</p>
<p>I can’t remember when you get your EID, but i think it might be during orientation. Your advisors will sit down with you and help you pick what classes you should take. </p>
<p>You should try to go to the earliest orientation you can, because you register for classes during orientation and classes get full the later you wait.</p>
<p>Be prepared to walk a lot during orientation, and keep a print out of the UT map with you.</p>