Grad school admissions view on taking classes at local university vs. in-residence?

I am going into my second year of electrical engineering at UT Austin. This summer I am taking the introductory Physics 1 and 2 classes at my local university. While it is no doubt less rigorous than it would be taking it at UT, I am making an effort to thoroughly learn the material. These will be the only two major-related classes that I won’t be taking at the Austin campus.

My question is this: how does something like this look to graduate schools? If this does look bad on a transcript,is there some way I could cover it up (for instance, taking some upper-division physics classes during my junior or senior year when I have room in my schedule)?

Don’t worry about this. Lots of engineering students find that they have to take summer classes somewhere in order to fit everyhting in. Focus now on leqrning the material and getting good grades.

Be sure to check what specific graduate programs require. Although generally, as long as UT accepts the transfer credits, it should not be an issue.

These are first or second year classes, it won’t make any difference for a graduate program.