After you've savored every moment of you red-carpet welcome (not really, but we do get you home safe & sound !), and after you've got over your initial homesickness, you need to think about starting you school life here. Some tip that'll help you through you first few months at UTD .......
APARTMENT
You will (like the rest of us) be staying at Waterview apts. They are really great. These apts are in great demand and hence you need to book one as soon as possible. With the large number of students coming for fall it might be difficult for all of you to get an apartment oncampus. However in case you applied for one really early you should be able to get one. In case you don't then you probably would have to move to an apartment offcampus. There are some good apartments close by where you could stay. you would however have to find a means of transportation to get to the university. You do have a bus service and in case you stay in a apartment close by you could probably get yourself a bike to commute to and from the university.If you can find 3 other roommates, you'll can get together and book a new apt altogether. We can always help in finding roommates for you or to find apts which are partially occupied. You can always stay with one of us till you are allotted an apt of your own. Moreover, at the time you guys come a few of us would have gone to India, which means our apts will be temporarily unoccupied. So there's no probs whatsoever.
GROCERIES + DESI JOINTS
An integral part of our lives out here is doing grocery shopping! There is a local grocery store (its actually much more than that) Albertsons, Tom Thumb which is real close by. Catch hold of a senior to give you a ride. This is real easy, since everyone needs to go there anyway, you just have to tag along with them. There are some great Indian grocery stores as well. But these are a little far and your visits to these places will be less frequent. You can find each and every kind of Indian readymade masala (like Parampara or Badshah masala) here in the Indian store. You can get some Indian homemade spices if you wish and other spices (like cloves, chilli powder, etc). Even these are readily available in the Indian store. Still you might want to get something if you wish, so that you don^Òt have to go to the Indian store as soon as your apartment is set up.
The bottom-line??? Doing groceries is absolutely no probs, and you can get everything out here real easy. You'll be amazed on seeing the quality of vegetables etc. and more so by seeing their size!!! For the true lovers of India food, there are many Indian restaurants close to the campus, a few of which are within walking distance. There are numerous fast food joints, sandwich places, pizza hangouts close to school.
Also, you do not need to get stock of dal/rice from India which would last you for a week. The seniors with whom you will be staying with will have these.
REGISTRATION ETC.
you will need to do the following :
# Orientation: Attend the orientation. It really does help. Not only do you get a lot of info but you meet others who are in the same boat which makes life easy, since it is always better to do things together; that way you are sure that you have not missed anything. You will also get some stuff such as the school map, which will be your savior for the first few weeks when you start hunting around for your classes, and some other info that you'll need to know as an international student.
# Social Security Number & Texas ID: At the orientation, they will tell you about trips to the public safety office to get your social security card as well as the Texas ID. Just tag along with these groups and your work will be done easily.
# Registration: You need to register for 3 courses ( some brave ones register for 4), but 3 is a must for graduate programs. Check your admission letter to see if you have a conditional admit and whether you have to take any pre-requisite courses. If you have done these courses during undergrad. you can waive off these pre-requisites with the approval of a graduate advisor. During registration, you will be allotted a graduate advisor, who will be able to help you or at least guide you to the right person. Seniors are a big help when it comes to choosing courses. They'll tell you which courses are programming intensive and so on. This will help you decide the course combination that you will be able to handle during the semester. Just ask questions; you'll find most people to be genuinely happy to help you in any way they can.
# If you have an RA/TA: If you have an RA, go meet your prof!! He/she will help you get the formalities done quickly. Attend the TA/RA orientation program. During this orientation you will be made to fill out various forms, such as your TA/RA agreement, health insurance coverage etc.
# If you do not have an RA/TA: * It is a good idea to start approaching profs asking them to help you choose courses for the semester. You can also ask them whether they could consider your application for assistantship. They will not commit immediately but they may suggest that you take specific courses. Your good performance in these courses in the first semester might land you an assistantship in the second semester. * You should also try for on-campus employment. For this you will have to fill out an employment form at the human resources office. Also visit the cafeteria, book-store and other places where there is a good possibility of getting a part-time job (your seniors will be able to guide you in this regard, once you are here).
# Holds: Before registering you will have to clear a number of holds You will not be allowed to register until all holds are cleared. Clearing these holds as soon as possible is imperative since, otherwise, you might miss out on a popular course. Some common holds are :
* - official transcripts not submitted
*
- health insurance hold
Well.
you'll have to do a little bit of running around, but it'll get done. Find out what your holds are and get them cleared as soon as possible. This will save you a lot of trouble during registration. The best place to inquire about your holds is the Records office , in the basement of the library building. Once your holds are cleared and you have registered for your courses, you are all set for the grind during the semester. We are all looking forward to meeting you.. Come join our student family.