• Welcome Longhorns!
• A Message from the Dean of Students
• A Note from the Vice President for Student Affairs
• A Welcome from the Dean of Undergraduate Studies
• Longhorn Confidential: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at College Life
• For Our Longhorn Families
• For New Longhorns
• Getting the Most Out of Academics
• From Combat to the Classroom
• Things to Bring
• Take Your Finances By The Horns
• FAQs
• Student Integrity
• Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL)
• Important Phone Numbers
• Sponsor this Publication!
• Current Sponsors

The Real Deal

UT Austin professors and staff members address parents and family members of new students

Many things at The University of Texas at Austin never change. The Tower has not moved. Examinations are still difficult. But as a new student at the university, your student will experience new things. As students face the challenges and changes college brings, the support of family is critical. Your love and encouragement will sustain your student as they encounter the achievements, disappointments, choices and growth that are integral to the college learning experience.

Home Away From Home

It’s hard to let someone go to college. The best thing you can do is keep the lines of communication open; offer your support but try not to enable them. Help them make decisions and handle conflicts in life on their own.
-Christa Sandelier

Take a deep breath! Every student admitted to UT Austin has the ability and resources needed to succeed. There are a number of departments and programs designed to assist students in achieving their goals. Trust in the knowledge you have provided to your student for the past seventeen to eighteen years. Students will benefit when they are given the opportunity to make their own choices.
-Ben Burnett

As a family member, the best way for you to assist your new Longhorn is to encourage them to seek the answers to their questions through the resources available on campus. Instead of answering the question for your student, guide them to schedule an academic advising appointment or visit professors during office hours. The most successful students on this campus are those who learn how to navigate the system, rather than those who are dependent upon others to navigate for them.
-Lovelys Powell

Trust your students and allow them room to make mistakes. College is a time when teenagers are making the transition to adulthood and your students may begin making more decisions independently. For many students and their families, this is a natural transition. For some it can be more difficult to adjust to the new roles they may be taking on in life and within their families. Just remember that the goal of college is to produce well-educated and, perhaps more importantly to you, self-supporting young adults.
-Megan Conner

Keeping in Touch

Be sure to stay in touch. Make arrangements to write and call. Be respectful of their study and activity hours. Sometimes staying in touch may mean just leaving a message that you are thinking about them. Keep the lines of communication open, avoiding as much as possible issues at home that they have no control over.
-Judy Mitchell

Encourage your Longhorns with enthusiasm, and ask about all as-pects of campus life. If you’re an alumnus or an alumna, share your experiences and compare to see how much campus life has changed.
-Dick Richardson

Send letters, notes, cards and care packages (especially in U.S.) mail. Let your students know that you support the choices they make, even the ones you don’t agree with. Remind your student that what they do in college does not define the path for the rest of their life, but rather, provides a firm ground to support that path.
-Cassandre Alvarado

Academic Exploration

Parents and guardians need to become familiar with what will be expected of their student. For example, the Course Schedule is published each semester and is available online at www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/schedules. These schedules contain a lot of information on everything a student needs to know to successfully register each semester. However, it is very important that a parent or guradian guide the student through these processes rather than do them for the student. The student needs to learn to be a responsible, independent adult, and to take care of their own business.
-Lois Stahlke

Be supportive of your students. Part of being supportive is allowing them the opportunity to explore which subjects best suit them, regardless of how outlandish or impractical those subjects may sound. If your student finds passion for a subject, our Career Services offices can help them find a path to employment. Also, recognize that your student’s role in the family may need to shift a bit to accommodate school--it’s a full-time job. (The Career Exploration Center Web site may be found at www.utexas.edu/student/cec.)
-Megan Conner

The Learning Process

You might be concerned that The University of Texas at Austin is a big place, and feel you need to protect your student. But it will be easy for students to find their own niche and soon the university will not be so big. This is the time that your student will learn to be independent. Don’t be afraid to let them make mistakes. Help them become responsible adults. Let your student take care of their own business with the university, including making payments. You may help them financially, but it is your student’s responsibility to make sure everything gets done by the deadlines.
-Lois Stahlke

As a family member, the best thing you can do for your student is to be supportive without imposing your will. There will be times when you might try to gently guide or to influence your student but the best thing to do is to trust them. Let your student know that you are there if they need assistance. Keep in mind that you were where they are now and made mistakes along the way. However, the lessons you learned as a result of these mistakes were, no doubt, crucial in shaping who you are today.
-Steve Alvarez

Parents of First-Generation College Students

Families of a first-generation college student should be fully aware of the challenges and obstacles their student faces in coming to a very unfamiliar environment. They can help by empowering their student for academic success and social connection with The University of Texas at Austin. This includes encouraging the student to set high expectations, to be prepared to devote more hours to study, and to take advantage of the many wonderful resources available to them on campus. Working hard and developing mentoring relationships with faculty and staff prove critical for a student’s success in higher education. Although focusing on academics is a priority, moderate involvement in extracurricular activities creates avenues to release stress from college commitments. In addition, allowing your student to concentrate on studying without burdening her or him with family obligations is important. Students can feel overwhelmed by family obligations due to problems within the family or financial issues. As a family member, your biggest role is to give support and to be there for your student if they need you.
-Ge Chen,
Special Assistant to the Vice President, Division of Diversity & Community Engagement