Looking for Advice from UT Students (past and present)

1) Don't underestimate college. If you breezed through in high school, then you're in for a world of pain. Treat college like a 40-hour workweek. If you don't have homework, study, review over lectures, do something. Also don't get lulled to sleep by those core and introductory courses, they are easy. Of course they are easy; once you start getting into your majors the difficulty ramps up. I got my ass kicked because I didn't take it seriously enough. GPA is suffering.

2) One thing for sure take the eco credit. I've heard bad things about eco at this university. As far as the other classes, take the credit. Unless you didn't learn a thing in class, take the credit. Ask yourself if not taking credits and boosting your GPA is worth an extra $10,000 onto your debt. The only good reason to not take the credit is if you are really shaky on the subject. Also, you don't have to make that choice right away. AP credits don't expire, you can redeem them now, or you can redeem them a year from now.

3) Depends on your major. Engineering/CompSci/Nat Science your free time is going to be extremely limited. You're a business major, I don't really know what your workload is going to be so that's a personal decision. Honestly, I'd spend that time doing recreational stuff like playing basketball or hitting the gym. Might as well get swole breh.

tl;dr don't underestimate college, this is your livelihood, and every semester you screw around that's another $5k needlessly tacked onto your student debt. Bust your ass off! I know I have to now. Don't let it get to the point where you're forced to bust your ass, bust your ass because you want to succeed!

P.S. Also there's a chance I might see you in a few of your business classes lol. As part of my major I'm fulfilling a Business Foundations Program certificate that requires about 8 courses worth of McCombs classes lol.

NEVER SKIP CLASS. Especially if you live off-campus! It snowballs, you tell yourself you know the material, then bam you do worse than you should have on a test.
Also I'm entering into my second year now, so my opinions and advice might change. My perspective is that of a soon-to-be Sophomore.

 

Didn't go to UT, but my experience at UF (finance major) was probably similar.

1. I'm prob not the best to give advice here since I thought college was easier than HS. Obv tips would be to go to class and don't procrastinate, but I did the opposite. I never went to class and pulled all-nighters the night before exams, yet still graduated with high honors.

2. I took AP Calc in HS, barely got a 3 (didn't even answer any of the non-multiple choice questions lol), and didn't have to take Calc in college because of it. Micro and macro were really easy to me, along with QMB (business stats). In terms of general advice, talk to your peers - figure out which classes are SUPER easy GPA boosters... take AS MANY AS POSSIBLE, especially in your first semester(s) to ease you in.

3. Easy. Two words - frat hard (srs).

 

Oh and most importantly - just have as much fun as possible without failing out. You'll regret anything less.

 

That's how I was in high school, didn't pay attention in class, never studied, aced/passed tests regardless. Damn it I miss the easy days.

 

I really really liked that I joined a FIG (back then they called it Freshman Interest Group; now it's First-year Interest Group) my first semester there. You take classes with other people who join a FIG, and that way you share experiences together and make good friends.

https://www.utexas.edu/ugs/fig/

 

I went to Mccombs

What can help you with your grades is realizing that it directly impacts your job search. 4 years seems like a long time but it really isn't. You want your choice of high paying jobs? Get a high GPA.

It's actually really important for high GPAs your first 2 years. Why? You can get top choice of internships after your sophomore year, which puts you in good position for a junior year internship, and then a full time job.

What I would suggest is get a high gpa then get an internship following your sophomore year. You'll have a leg up for junior year internships which are really important.

 

Take 2 classes for your major and 2 of the easiest electives you can possibly find.

 

You need to avoid taking calculus at UT if you can. It is not that people cannot learn calculus or do not understand the material; it is a problem of some teachers not giving curves and the tests being ridiculously hard. In comparison to calculus, I would not worry about economics too much. If you liked economics in high school, you will probably enjoy it in college. Accounting is hard as balls here. It requires a lot of work, and if you have a tough schedule, you won't be able put in the time you need to get a good grade in the class.

 

Breh, I'll give you the only advise you'll need.

Spoiler

Live like Paulwftk!

Now go live your life.

Spoiler

My Survival Guide
(College Edition)

01.) Motivation

Why are you going to college? There are different answers to this question. You might be going to college to better yourself. Maybe, you are going to college because you are expected to by your parents. Furthermore, you might be going to college for something else --- girls, party, and booze. College is not for everyone. This is the major leagues in terms of education. Not everyone who enrolled in college graduates. So, take a moment and ask yourself --- why are you going to college?

If you are going to college to party then this guide is not for you. You might ask TDashDub for some advise regarding that field. However, if you are going to college because of your parents --- you might want to rethink your situation. Time is limited for us humans. So make sure you don't waste it. Do something you'll enjoy and not something people wants you to do. Finally, if you are going to college to better yourself, you are on the right track. You should be proud of yourself because you already have a motivation to survive college.

There will be time when you'll be depressed or a time you'll question yourself why are you in college? Just answer the question I asked --- why are you in college? Only you can help yourself. So make sure your motivation is strong.

02.) Organization

Now that you have a motivation to survive college. The main skill you'll need is organization. If you are a slob, hoarder, or downright unorganized --- time to work on your organization skills. I'm not saying you won't survive college without the organization skill. But, it will be harder for you to survive college. Learn to be organized and be on top of things. Let me give you a secret of mine --- use TECHNOLOGY to survive college. If you have a smart phone, download an app called myHomework. The only app you'll need for college.

03.) Time Management

The next skill you'll need is a time management skill. In college you'll have a lot of free time. So, it will be up to you to use it accordingly. You'll have time to do a part time job, work on your homework, or do something unproductive. Most of the times, it will be tempting to do nothing at all. This is where your organization skill sets in. If you use the app that I suggested, you should be fine. So make sure you are on top of everything before you procrastinate.

04.) Fun

You are going to college to better yourself in a field you are interested in. You have the motivation to survive college. At the same time, once you download the app I suggested --- you'll be equip with a tool to help you organize your work and manage your time. So, if you have some free time --- GO HAVE SOME FUN. You'll have a lot of free time in college. So go out and have fun! College should be a time to better yourself and experience new things. Go out there and LIVE your life!

05.) Others

Finally, if you are having problems with your class, don't forget to talk to your professor. If that is not enough, go to the tutoring or writing centers. You already paid for them, so use them!

With that said, I hope you'll enjoy college and have a blast! Goodluck bro!

 

You're welcome.

By the way, what's your major?

 

Bachelor of Swag.

 

Cool, that's Paul's degree as well.

Bachelor of S.W.A.G

Something
We
Asians
Got

I heard that's where he learned the loaf bread technique.

 

Don't worry I'll teach OP the ropes to get his Bachelor of Swag too.
I'll show him how to keg stand during his freshman orientation.

Oh yeah btw OP get the LASP so you can go to sporting events.

 

Make the right friends in your classes. Best thing you can do.

 

Seriously. If you're in a class you know will be tough, make friends. You may never see those people again after the semester, but you've somebody to compare notes and study with until the end of the course.

If I could do it all over again, I'd live on-campus my first year. It seems like most of my friends who did really enjoyed the experience more than if they'd lived off-campus as freshmen. It allows you to get comfortable and gives you easy access to everything UT has to offer.

 

Of course, the only problem with this is that getting as low of a GPA as possible without failing out will guarantee that your resume will never make it past the initial screening. But maybe this applies to certain majors more than others.

 

How "hard"? If you're not prepared you will be faced with hardship. If you're prepared, it will be easy.

WTF kind of advice is this? School isn't supposed to be "fun."

Go and LEARN. Then apply your learning.