<p>Hi all,
I just came home from taking my D to orientation. My H and I attended the parent orientation.. She will be in Austin until Friday. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask :)</p>
<p>Did you feel like the parent orientation was worthwhile? Do you have any suggestions for what I should do or ask? I go week after next. I’m looking forward to it! We just have to get through graduation first.</p>
<p>I remember from when I went that the sessions on “on campus housing” and “security” were particularly good. I picked up information at those two sessions that I would not have learned in any other way. (For me, the orientation was worthwhile.)</p>
<p>Yes, I do think it was worthwhile. You are able to attend several “breakout” sessions that you are interested in. My D is living in a private dorm so I did not go to the housing session but I am sure it will be helpful if your S is living on campus. I did go to the Financial Aide session and the Greek session. I also attended the session for her major. I found them all very helpful and was impressed that parents were able to ask questions at the end. There will be a big push for you to join the Longhorn Parents oraganization. I joined and my friend that is already a member told me it is very much worth it. She gets weekly/monthly e-mails with pertinent dates and events that you might not get otherwise…especially if you are depending on your student to give you the information :)</p>
<p>I will tell you to get to Jester early as the line to check in is very long…even at 7:30 a.m…They start at 8:00 and your son will be paired with whomever he is in line with. The lines are alphabetical. The parent BBQ was excellent and very well ran. Be sure to visit all the tables that the organizations have set up. He will get several free t-shirts there if he is early enough :)</p>
<p>My D found her orientation roommate on their class page on Facebook and they arranged with each other to be in line at the same time.</p>
<p>My parents weren’t going to go and I’m bad about telling them stuff. But mom is good about nosing out info from the UT website. Should they really take off work to go or can they get enough info online?</p>
<p>What all were you told from your d’s major dept? What did financial aid have to say? It doesn’t matter how long your post is, but if you could just tell us what they said, please.</p>
<p>SWTCAT, thanks for the report! We’ll make sure to get there early. The parents’ organization sounds like a great idea!</p>
<p>Nunya…there were plenty of kids there that did not have parents there…the only problem is that there will not be a chance for you to go to a financial aide seminar…there is only one for parents…so if you need info on financial aide, your parents will need to go.
The financial aide seminar mainly addressed the process for funding of loans/grants and how to pay your tuition. They did stress that tuition has to be paid on August 11th by 5:00 or you will lose your entire schedule and have to start over…this would be a nightmare in my opinion. </p>
<p>As for the meeting with her major department, mostly it was just a “feel good” meeting to let parents know that thier kids are in good hands for the next 4 years…you will get plenty of info regarding your major in your own breakout sessions…my D had a 4 hour meeting with her major today in fact, and when I spoke to her, she said that it was very informative…she is planning to transfer to another major and they are helping her with that process.</p>
<p>Please let me know if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>I attended last year. I did not share the enthusiasm for the value the sessions had. I hated sitting through a lot of dumb questions asked by other parents. Many were common sense.
I did join the texas Parent group. Thought it was worthwhile to support. I ended up winning two nights at the ATT conference center for parents weekend. A big savings. Well worth it in the end.</p>
<p>Truth be told, if I had to do it again, I would not spend the money on airfare and Hotel for the one day orientation. If you can drive there, maybe. For OOS parents, save your money. </p>
<p>Just my opinion…</p>
<p>^^Socaldad…I would have to agree that it might not be worth a big expense. We are within a 3 hour drive, so to me, it was well worth the 3 hour drive. We actually stayed at the AT&T Conference Center and it was well worth it…it is a 5 minute walk to Jester Center and very convienent. Luckily for us, there weren’t too many “common sense” questions…many of them were quite informative. We did leave early from one of the sessions because we could see it ws going to go that way :)</p>
<p>Mainelonghorn…I would assume that you will stay with your parents, so I would think that it will be worth it for you…it was really kind of fun for my DH, who is an alum…class of '85…to see what has changed since he stayed in Jester at his own orientation :)</p>
<p>I would have come down with DS anyway, just to see my family and help him get his driver’s license, voter registration, etc. I also like any excuse to be on campus! If it gets too boring, I will just wander around - maybe walk over to SRD to see how it’s changed.</p>
<p>swtcat,</p>
<p>I agree. A short drive would be worth the trip. I did not mean harm by my assesment, just giving another view.</p>
<p>AT&T is a great hotel. We stay there all the time now. You can walk to campus, parking is less than downtown hotels, and it is easy to get to 6th street.</p>
<p>Mainelonghorn,
There is a dept of motor vehicles right next to campus. I think it is around 15th street. Go early, as they sometimes have lines as the day goes on. It is between campus and capitol. FYI, you can have them send the license to oyur Portland home. The license will show your texas address, but mailings can go out of state or anywhere. Very Helpful for you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the heads-up, socaldad. I hadn’t thought about getting there early.</p>
<p>Oh, thank goodness I looked online for the driver’s license requirements. Since DS isn’t 18 yet, Texas requires proof of driver’s education! I can’t believe I actually found it. Whew!</p>
<p>If this is your first child in college and you will be there anyway, it is a nice day. Don’t kill yourself to get to the Parent Orientation though. The information is on the website.</p>
<p>Is it correct that we do not need to bring sheets, pillows, and blankets to orientation if they are staying in the dorm?</p>
<p>Kinda. They provide a sheet and a pillow, but I would highly recommend bringing your own if you have the means to. If you’re just driving from somewhere else in Texas, throw a blanket or a pillow in the back seat and bring it just so you’ll be more comfortable. I mean think about it, they don’t use at all except for orientation each year… not the highest quality or comfort IMO.</p>
<p>Is there a lot of walking for the parents? Should I wear good walking shoes?</p>
<p>@emptynester10</p>
<p>I believe there is. When I was walking around as a new student during orientation, we’d pass by groups of parents doing their tours, so they’re going to be walking around too I’m sure.</p>
<p>We will be attending orientation on July 6th. We have two younger children, ages 13 and 12, who will be with us. Is this a bad idea?</p>
<p>The younger sibs can go to the BBQ but there is not much else for them during this orientation. (Is this like a little vacation in Austin for your family? Take them on the Duck Tour)</p>
<p>They’ll be bored when you want to go to the sessions on things like financial aid. If they are responsible 12-13 year olds, you could let them bowl when you go so specialized sessions - the bowling alley is in the basement of the union and the sessions for parents are right upstairs, so they’d be in the same building as you. There are video games down there too.</p>