<p>Hey guys :D. I was just wondering if anyone has been to orientation yet and who is willing to impart some wisdom to those of us who haven't gone yet :P. Btw I'm going to the June 23-26 one.</p>
<p>-don’t get your ID on the first day, the lines are super long. instead, go right after a required event and beat everyone there or go on the morning of the second or third day.
-bring money, the cafeteria closes at 7:00 and the only food place left in Jester is Wendy’s, which doesn’t take the $60 card. you’ll also need $10 to pay for the ID.
-the $60 card expires on the 25th of August. so if you’re not planning on returning to UT till then, you should purge the rest of your money on souvenirs.
-if you haven’t lived in Jester before, the beds are pull-out.
-prepare a class schedule beforehand. it eliminates any surprises and pre-registration stress
-it’s gonna be very hot (high 90’s) and you’ll probably be walking a lot. bring water and wear light clothing. the buildings are air-conditioned though.
-you’ll get a schedule of all the activities you need to attend and a map, so don’t worry about being lost and confused. your cohort leader will walk you and the others that live in your hall to most of the required activities.
-bring paper and pencils, if there’s trouble with classes, you might need to make a lot of notes.
-Guadalupe Street…go there if you haven’t
-other orientees are very approachable. don’t eat by yourself, go up to someone and introduce yourself, it’s not that bad and chances he/she will be glad to hang with you.
-it’ll help to bring a laptop, but it’s really not that necessary. you can use the computers in the library (PCL)
-if you plan on bringing a backpack, you won’t be the only one.
-take advantage of the free stuff they give out, especially the shirts.
-you’ll have a couple hours of free time in-between the required activities. take that time explore the campus, get to know people, or check out the gym.
-you’ll be waiting quite a while to register (I waited an hour). you can technically go register in the library and get it done in minutes but if you bump into any problems, you’re pretty screwed so I think it isn’t worth the risk.
-it’s really fun and the activities are very entertaining, so if you’re not excited, then get excited.
-don’t wear an A&M shirt to orientation :)</p>
<p>wow!!! thanks so much for the info :D.</p>
<p>What is the $60 card you are talking about henryj223? Also, how much money do you think would be enough? What all do you do during the 3 days besides register for classes? What fun activities are you talking about like can you explain them in detail? Thanks.</p>
<p>if you’re living on campus, $60 of your orientation fee goes towards buying food and UT stuff. they give you a card with $60 on it and you can get most of the things in Jester by using the card as a credit card. to get food, you basically go into the cafeteria, get the food you want, and the cashiers charge you with how much food you got. you can also get supplies from the convenient store and gift shop in Jester the same way.</p>
<p>At orientation, do you get to use the bus system for free yet or is that only after you start classes?</p>
<p>you can use it for free</p>
<p>nicee. thanks for all this great info. and, btw i thought that they had “all you can eat” dining halls?</p>
<p>true, there’s an all-you-can-eat buffet on the second floor in Jester but I think they closed it during the orientation.</p>
<p>actually i don’t think so…i was a Boy’s State Junior Councellor when they were conducting the 9-12 session and the orientees were able to eat at J2 trust me it was hell with all the crowding actually…</p>
<p>Last year orientees could not use J2 during my orientation, but that may have been because there weren’t any conferences there while I was there. Everyone used JCL.</p>
<p>Also, JCL may be open because summer school kids are living on that side of campus this year, so that may be the reason.</p>
<p>Is registering classes going to be very difficult for me since I am undecided? I’ve heard others say that you should have a rough draft of the classes you want to take so that you’re not freaking out when you go and sign up, but how do I choose if I don’t know what I want to take? I was thinking that I could just sign up for the basics, but then why would I need a ‘rough draft’ if I was just going to end up taking basics?</p>
<p>If you’re not sure, you’ll have both your orientation and your academic advisors help you decide classes. However, if you already made up your mind on which classes to take, you can start thinking about what times and days you want to take those classes and create a schedule. remember to constantly check the UT class registrar to make sure the specific classes you picked are still open.</p>
<p>Thank you. I’m just really worried because I don’t want to show up to Orientation and be completely behind everyone else.</p>
<p>nah, there’s a bunch of people who pretty much wing it at orientation. I totally prepared myself with a complete laid-out schedule, but from my advisors, I still found some flaws because I decided to be in a FIG and one of my classes was restricted. So on the night before registration and even the morning of, I was still rearranging my schedule to make things fit. But i doubt your registration experience would be as dramatic as mine. So take registration seriously, but lose your hair over it.</p>
<p>I know the days I go for orientation, but I can’t recall if there was a schedule given to me about what goes on on those days and how to prepare for the event. </p>
<p>Oh and another thing. I know there are some placement tests being administered during orientation. Will I find out there which ones I’m supposed to take since I really won’t know until I have an idea of what classes I’m going to be taking, or how does that work? </p>
<p>Is there a UT Austin c/o 2013 FaceBook page?</p>
<p>yeah, its called Texas class of 2013 (official group)…its not exactly official, but its the largest group with 2015 people as of this reply…</p>
<p>M-5, they will give you a booklet with all the events that goes on and which ones are the required ones. you don’t really have to prepare for the activities, the only ones that require your participation are the advising ones. As for the placement tests, I you can ask for help once you get to orientation. There would be advisors on the first day from 8-10:30am helping people out. The chemistry, and language tests are on the first day, and the government test is on the second day. the math test is on the first and second day, depending which day you are assigned to take it. You aren’t forced to take any of the tests, it is solely based on your decision whether you want to get credit or not.</p>
<p>I really appreciate all of your help. I’m not stressing as much.</p>
<p>My parents were going to drop me off at Austin but weren’t sure if they were required to stay all 4 days. Are there special parent events pretty much on all the days? My step sister is going to Baylor, so we’re currently at the Baylor Orientation; it’s only 2 days though, so they’ve stayed. Would you recommend that they stay at a hotel and attend the orientation with me? And while I stay at the dorms during orientation, is there a check-in and curfew? Like, am I required to stay in after a certain time?</p>