Aggie Quick Connection June 2010 Welcome Family Members, Message from the Office of New Student and Family Programs
Hope all of you and your student(s) had a great academic year. This newsletter is filled with information especially for students taking summer classes. Summer brings fresh activity to campus with sports camps, seminars and New Student Conferences. If you are visiting Texas A&M this summer for one of these functions or to help your student with a move, we trust it will be a memorable experience. We encourage you to visit the Aggie Family web site for additional updates and helpful resources. You can visit us at http://parents.tamu.edu/. Please feel free to contact the Office of New Student and Family Programs at (979) 8455826, or email us at nsp@tamu.edu if you have any questions. Thanks and Gig `Em!
Family Edition
Save the Date! New Family Welcome October 15-16, 2010 Texas A&M University v. University of Missouri Football Weekend • • • • • •
Exploring Aggieland! Visiting with Faculty & Administrators! Yell Practice! Aggie Family Tailgate! Aggie Football for Special Ticket Pricing! Quality Time with your Aggie!
Purchase Your Tickets Now! A family pack of tickets for the weekend is $40 and includes materials for the weekend, the Friday night dessert reception, and the Saturday tailgate BBQ for a student’s immediate family. Purchase tickets from the MSC Box Office by visiting http://boxoffice.tamu.edu/ or http://studentlife.tamu.edu/NFW, or call (979) 845-5826 for more information. Sports Pass Option Holders: Family members, as a part of the New Family Welcome, your student can purchase up to 4 half-price tickets for the A&M vs Missouri football game using his or her sports pass here: http://MySportsPass.tamu.edu. Make your hotel reservations & reserve game tickets now!
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New Student Programs Upcoming Events General Resources
...On the Calendar
Jun. 1 First day of first term and 10-week semester classes. Jun. 4 - Last day for adding/dropping courses for the first term and the 10-week semester. - Last day to apply for degrees to be awarded in August for students completing degree requirements in the first term. Jun. 21 - Last day for all students to drop courses with no penalty for the first term (Q-drop). - Last day to change Kinesiology 198/199 grade type for first term. - Last day to officially withdraw from the University for first term. 1
Aggie Quick Connection Upcoming Events & Programs NEW STUDENT CONFERENCES All new undergraduate students are required to attend a New Student Conference in order to register for classes. In addition, these mandatory conferences seek to connect new students with all aspects of their new Texas A&M community. While parents and families are not required to attend, we highly encourage them to do so. Various resources have been designed specifically to help parents and family members as their student starts college. For more information on New Student Conferences, please visit http://newaggie.tamu.edu/.
HOTEL RESERVATIONS Hotels in Bryan/College Station tend to fill up during busy times like Parents’ Weekend and Graduation. If you are planning to attend either of these events next year (Parents’ Weekend: April 15-17, 2011), we encourage you to make arrangements as early as possible. The Convention and Visitors Bureau website provides links to most area hotels: http://visitaggieland.com/.
PARKING PERMIT REGISTRATION Students can register for Fall 2010/Spring 2011 parking permits now through July 13, 2010. For information on permit pricing and policies, please visit http://transport.tamu.edu/.
WHAT TO EXPECT FOR FAMILY MEMBERS OF FIRST YEAR STUDENTS Your student has made it through his/her first year of college! Certainly he/she is very excited about making it through. However, the summer months bring lots of time for reflection. Your student may be unhappy with his/her performance the first year of college and worried about your response. Remember to be supportive and allow your student time to reflect. Students who return home for the summer may be worried about what this transition means for his/her new found independence. Balancing out familial relationships with relationships made at school may be difficult. Your student may have left many friends and/or a significant other in College Station. The distance that comes with summer may put a strain on his/her relationships.
June 2010
Family Edition
Stay Connected with the latest Campus News The Battalion“The independent student voice of Texas A&M since 1893.” www.thebatt.com Texas A&M News and InformationAggie Hotline The Division of Marketing & Communications produces Aggie Hotline, an email news brief service that is distributed to subscribers each weekday. News briefs may also be found online at: tamunews. tamu.edu. Subscribe to Aggie Hotline: Send an email message to listserv@tamu. edu. Leave the subject line blank and type the message: SUB Aggie-Hotline your-real-name.
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Aggie Quick Connection General TAMU Resources AGGIE SEARCH The search for off campus housing and roommates can be a daunting process. To help, Adult, Graduate, and Off Campus Student Services (AGOSS) has created Aggie Search-- a free online housing information and roommate search tool. Through Aggie Search, members of the Aggie Family can read information and leave feedback about housing communities, see housing listed for rent, and search for roommates. Students can also create a profile and be notified about new postings that match their search criteria. To view Aggie Search, please visit http://aggiesearch.tamu.edu/. AGOSS also has an Off Campus Living Resources web page. This page provides links to sites that give specific information for off campus living concerns as well as useful information about the Bryan/College Station Community. This page can be found at http://studentlife.tamu.edu/agoss/offcampus.
FINANCIAL AID The Student Financial Aid website has a wealth of information about how to pay for college, including tips on how to apply for financial aid and how to avoid scholarship scams. For more information, please visit their website at http://financialaid.tamu.edu/.
STUDENT COUNSELING SERVICE Is your student struggling with homesickness? Worried about finals? Stressed over relationships or finances? Student Counseling Service (SCS) provides many free resources to enhance your student’s college experience and to help in times of stress. They are prepared to assist in times of crisis or emergency with outreach and counseling. SCS also has various academic and career services. For more information, please visit http://www.scs.tamu.edu/selfhelp/elibrary/parentips.asp.
CAREER CENTER There are many career resources and tools available to Aggies through the Career Center. From career advising to job searching, the Career Center is committed to your student’s success in landing the right job. For more information on available resources and how to make appointments, please visit http://careercenter.tamu.edu/. One tool available to Aggies through the Career Center is the AggiE-folio: An on-line personal skill-based professional portfolio. With the AggiE-folio, students can showcase examples of knowledge, skills, and strengths to employers. Find out more about this great resource at: http://careercenter.tamu.edu/services/s24.html.
AGGIE MOMS’ CLUBS Joining a Mothers’ Club is an excellent way to become familiar with Texas A&M University, to support the student body, and to form friendships. With 126 Aggie Mothers’ Clubs, we hope there is one in your area. For more information, please visit their website at http://www.aggiemoms.org/.
June 2010
Family Edition
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