Received an email about NSC webchats at 9:00am yesterday. There are to be three sessions and you can only register for one. One is for students to register, one is for the parents, and one is family. Each session can have 100 registered people.
All sessions were filled within hours.
How important are these webchats in preparing for NSC? TAMU has been by far the most complicated process over my other two children’s colleges.
I had my NSC last year, and I never did a web chat (I guess it is new this year). Anyways, there really isn’t anything I learned from the NSC that I did not look up on the internet myself, so I think you should be fine. The important things to do is to get the student I.D. and register for classes, the rest is just getting a feel for campus, traditions, and some information and recommendations about majors (i.e. entry to a major information if son/daughter is an engineer)
Thanks @KievanRus He is an engineering student so was afraid to miss out on anything.
I agree with KievanRus – never heard about a web chat last year. We did learn some good info at the NSC that I had not seen on the website (most helpful were the parking permit tips, and we had just enough time to make a change in the request after the NSC but before the deadline), but, yes, the main goals are to get the student I.D. and register. It seems more complicated than it is once you get there.
I think web chats are new too. You’ll be fine - I came to TAMU totally unaware of how things worked here. Yes, comparing to our friends whose children have gone to various universities, it is a little tougher here. Mostly because there are so many legacy students here that some things are assumed as common knowledge and it doesn’t occur to people that you may not know some of those things. It is also a huge university and thus there are ‘more layers’ to things than at a smaller university. You will get LOTS of information at NSC. I’d be almost surprised if you learned something on the web chat that isn’t also repeated at NSC. My one piece of advice would be to be sure that information you get is current - there has been a whirlwind of changes in the recent years. I usually try to verify what people have told me - we have some Old Ag friends and they do know some insider info but they also don’t keep up with new policies. All these changes are not something typical of the university in the past, policies use to stand for decades not semesters.
Thanks @AGmomx2 and @Loganator Third child, third and different orientation for college. 3 years in a row. You would think I would have the hang of it by now, but they are all so different! Son has been logging into Howdy now instead of AIS and only on AIS (applicant info system) does it have the MPE is due MAY 20 for Engineering students. He has been so swamped with band concerts, percussion concerts, APtest practices, his engineering internship, doing all the prom stuff, grad announcements,etc, he didn’t realize this. Now, he is doing the practice problems but can only take it once because two weeks must elapse between takes and there is no time.
@Loganator I’d love to get some parking permit tips, if you don’t mind sharing! Trying to decide on lots etc. My son will probably be living on the Northside.
I bought my parking for NSC and was totally confused on parking lots as well. My son first choice on dorm is Mosher LLC, so southside. This page was helpful. http://transport.tamu.edu/Parking/faqpermit/res.aspx#housing
I used this map to locate each lot/garage. http://transportmaps.tamu.edu/parkingmap/.
We chose the SSG (southside Garage), then lot 40, then the WSG (westside garage which will be a hike). You also must register for your permit https://transport2.tamu.edu/account/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2faccount%2f
and select which spots you want in pref order. It will not let you choose northside garage and lot 30, if you also select SSG and lot 40.
Parking opened April1 and closes July 1, so I was am 6 weeks behind. I would like to not have to worry about a wait list for parking.
@texashsmom – NSG (Northside Garage) worked out great for my S, who just moved out of McFadden. It was our “last but guaranteed” choice. Before his NSC, we had selected the WCG for that guaranteed option because it was cheaper, but I learned at the NSC that students are technically expected to move their cars out of that garage on football game days, which sounded like a pain since there was no designated spot to put them. (My S had friends who parked there but did not seem to move their cars as the information stated, so it may not be enforced.) I believe our first choice was lot 30, but that didn’t happen. This year he will be living off-campus, so he is hoping for a lot near his buildings…back-up choice is NSG again, though.
My son is in Engineering as well. Our NSC is June 22 - 23. Two questions.
@Mom2Move, If your son is living on campus, he will be able to get to classes without a car – no problem. However, there are a couple of things to consider. Since he is in Engineering, he may make use of A+ Tutoring (many Engineering students use this for Physics and Calc) and a car is needed to get to their evening tutoring sessions (it is NOT within walking distance). My son just completed his freshman year (Engineering) and he had a car in NSG. Parking was $483, however, we saved over $500 on our auto policy by letting our insurance carrier know the car was being parked/driven in College Station versus Houston (Harris County), which is known for high insurance rates. So the cost of parking was a wash. He also had a bike on campus (lived in Hullabaloo but the ENGR 111/112 buildings were a bit of a hike). For his NSC, we stayed overnight in a nearby hotel.
Thank you @lee6666 for that information. Is the tutoring something they continue beyond freshman year?
Also is there a need for both parents to attend the NSC? Unless it is required and may offer some benefits, I would leave my husband and younger son at hotel so hubby can work and YS can get some good sleep without having to walk around in hot sun.
I am a working Mom. Sending a kid to college is almost like a second job. Or is it just me feeling overwhelmed?
@Mom2Move My son is signed up to stay in the dorm for NSC and his dad and I are staying in a hotel. It is not imperative that both, or any parent attend. We just have always done it with our kids but we see many kids attending on their own or with just one parent. If it is like all the other orientations we have attended, and last year’s schedule looks like it is, parents are doing one thing and kids another most of the time.
Our son is taking his car down, and I am going to call my agent, as @lee6666 says, and see if we can get rates reduced. A car is not necessary. Even campus apartments have the buses that run to them. Bus systems pretty much take them everywhere. Even shopping centers. My older two soon realized that driving a lot was over rated and usually drove only when coming home. But for kids used to driving everywhere while in high school, at first they cannot imagine life without their car.
@Mom2Move, I know many who continue with A+ Tutoring all four years. I’m sure my son will use it next year as well. Extremely valuable, particularly for their freshman Physics (get a season pass before they are sold out – well worth the money). No need for both parents to attend NSC. I took my son and, honestly, I didn’t learn much in the parent sessions that I didn’t already know from my own research. I was only concerned about his class scheduling and, for that, parents weren’t allowed to attend anyway. Students need to be prepared ahead of time as to classes/profs/schedule they want.
@lee6666 did you buy a pass for more than physics? Did you purchase the pass before or after NSC?
@Thelma2, My son bought a pass for PHYS 218 and MATH 151 first semester, then CHEM 117 and MATH 152 second semester. We stopped in at A+ sometime during the summer and bought it, but if students go during Gig 'Em week prior to classes starting or during the first week of classes, they will be fine. Passes are about $150 per course, but a season pass gets them into all sessions and you are never denied a seat (which can and does happen if you pay per session). Ali at A+ is fabulous, especially for Physics. I have heard he used to be a Physics prof at A&M. Check out their website and call for more info. – they are great.
@Thelma2, Just saw your earlier post about the MPE. Make sure your son reviews Pre-Calc … as that’s mostly what this test is. My son had just finished Calc in HS and just winged it on the MPE, not realizing it was mostly Pre-Calc, which he hadn’t seen in a while. But all was fine. He placed MATH 151 (Calc I) ready. Although he had Calc in HS, his plan all along was to take it at A&M and he found it just fine. Has had Amy Austin both semesters (MATH 151 and 152). She is A&M’s most requested prof. Not an easy grader, but is a machine when it comes to presenting Calc. If your son doesn’t have her, he can still go to her website to watch her videos, and attend her exam and final review sessions. My son has Amy Austin again in the fall for Calc III!
Oh thanks for the heads up. He hasn’t taken the MPE yet but plans to this week and has been doing the sample problems.
@Mom2Move regarding NSC: Yes, just about everyone has a parent attending NSC. It was rare to see a student without a parent and often if so, an older sibling was accompanying them at TAMU. This may not be the case at other schools - but for TAMU family members do come. I don’t even recall seeing a student without some sort of support system. There are sessions that are joint, students only and parents only. All have specific information targeted to the various groups. The key word here is support - students are new to college and can be a bit unsure of this whole process. No you can’t go in for the class sign up session however, we were allowed in at the end if your student had not yet completed sign ups after a certain time period (this happened to my oldest, my youngest was done in 5 min- my oldest was still re-working her schedule 30 min. later due to filled courses causing her to keep re-working her entire schedule several times). NSC is not the one to ‘skip’ as a parent, your student would be in the very tiny minority, not a very nice way to begin. Do you need both parents to attend, no.
I attended both NSCs with my kids (my husband nor their siblings went), there is lots to do, many decisions to make & information to listen to & recall - it really helps to have two people listening and learning the ins and outs of Aggieland. Both times we chose to stay in a hotel. It is personal preference - keep in mind the lobby of each hotel is filled with parents & future students. Mine liked the down-time of being with mom and having a moment to exhale. The time between Day 1 and Day 2 is very limited - you attend sessions until late evening, then you have to organize a schedule before Day 2 begins. You won’t be ‘missing out’ by not being in a dorm. Dorms have parents & students in them, so it isn’t a student only atmosphere. Fish camp is more the initial ‘meet & greet’ activity for new students.
For cars: getting around campus is primarily done on foot, by bike or by skateboard. You can only park in certain areas, so a car will not necessarily get you closer to your classroom. Most students do have cars - they use them for down-time (grocery shopping, entertainment, tutoring, off-campus meetings, dinners, etc). Transportation home is also a reason for having a car. Personally my kids also used them for storage of items that didn’t fit in their dorm room. You can get around without a car, but it is probably similar to your children not having cars at home - it is possible to do without, just not convenient. There are buses, uber, carpool (a student ride organization), fellow students with cars, even a rental car program for students. Both of my kids had their own cars, and so did all of their friends - actually can’t recall one without a car. If I were to guess, I’d say 85-90% have cars - it is tough to leave College Station without a car.