U Decide: YouTube Videos Can Help with Major and Career Exploration

Everybody knows that watching YouTube videos can be lots of fun, but did you ever think that it might also help you decide on your college major and future career? Advisors in the Major Exploration Center at the University of Utah think that it can.  They feel that YouTube has some valuable things to offer students as they work through these important life decisions.

Major Exploration Center advisors have put together an amazing playlist of videos on topics relevant to these decision-making processes. Check out the playlist at:

http://advising.utah.edu/majors/

Transfer Student Spotlight

Lily Wu

Lily is a transfer student from Salt Lake Community College double majoring at the U of U in Asian and International Studies with a minor in Japanese.

While at SLCC Lily was heavily involved in the Peer Action Leadership group.  As part of this group she helped with many SLCC events, doing over 200 hours of community service! Some of the notable events that she helped with were the Sweethearts Dance at the Taylorsville Senior Center and the 1000 Cranes for Japan activity in memory of the Tohoku disaster in Japan.  Lily was the primary leader for this event.

While at the U of U, Lily has participated in a Learning Abroad program at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.  She has also been involved in activities with the Center for Ethnic Student Affairs and she currently works in Career Services.

Lily’s long term goals are to work in the Foreign Service or some other sort of government work.  She recently accepted an offer through the Japanese Embassy in Denver to work with the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) where she will have the opportunity to teach English in Japan.  She eventually hopes to end up living in Ireland or the United Kingdom.

Lily chose to transfer to the U because of the great resources it offered such as the Learning Abroad Center, Career Services, and the Asia Center. She also liked the fact that the campus was easily accessible by public transit and that as a student she could ride for free.

She felt a bit lost at the U at first.  The campus seemed large compared to SLCC, and it took her a while to get used to all the new terminology and policies she encountered here. She eventually got used to all the changes and enjoyed the new challenges and opportunities the U offered her.

We are glad Lily chose to transfer to the U of U!  It will be great to have her representing our school as she travels the world!

Don’t Forget the Enrollment Deposit!

Did you get admitted to the U?  Congratulations! Don’t forget to pay your enrollment deposit!  Every student admitted to the U. is required to pay a $150.00 enrollment deposit to confirm their intent to attend. This deposit goes toward their first semester’s tuition.

Until you pay this deposit you will not be able to sign up for an orientation; register for classes; or have your transfer work posted on your U of U record, so get this taken care of as soon as possible!

Before paying the deposit you must set up your U of U online account (called your CIS account) using the UNID sent to you in your acceptance letter. Go to the U’s home page www.utah.edu and click on the “CIS” link to get started. Once this is done, you can pay the deposit online.

Students with extenuating financial circumstances may qualify for an exemption from the enrollment deposit (called an “extension”). Find out more about situations in which a student can request an extension at: 

http://admissions.utah.edu/deposit/

Delays in paying your enrollment deposit will slow down your ability to get started at the U of U, so take care of this important first step immediately after your acceptance.

Plan for Prerequisites

The University of Utah, like most colleges and universities, is serious about prerequisites! This is because taking classes in the right order; in the right window of time; and with a grade that guarantees mastery of the material is central to success as students move into higher level classes. You can’t build a solid academic career if you haven’t completed the foundation courses successfully and recently enough to remember what you learned. 

Demonstrating that you’ve met prerequisite course requirements can be tricky for students who took their prerequisites at a school other than the U.  If you are a transfer student who has taken or who is planning to take classes to transfer to the U to meet prerequisites consider the following:

·         Departments at the U of U have different policies and procedures for prerequisite checking. It is a good idea to contact the advisor in the department offering the class(es) you plan on taking at the U. to see what the process will be to show that you have met their prerequisites.

·         The content of the course, the grade, and how recently the course was taken could all be considered in determining if a class can act as a prerequisite.

·         In almost all cases it will be easier for you to show that you’ve completed a prerequisite if the class that you hope to use is posted on your U of U record. Many departments will not work with transcripts from other institutions; their checking systems can work only with posted credits. This means that applying to the U early – long before the application deadline - is imperative.  The following deadlines are optimal for applying to the U. They allow plenty of time for your transfer work to be posted before registration begins:

Fall Semester – Apply in February

Spring Semester – Apply in August

Summer Semester – Apply in January

·         If you are a student attending a Utah State System of Higher Education School (USHE) you will often find that your credits have been pre-approved to meet prerequisite requirements.  Once these credits are posted on your U record, they will automatically allow you to move on to the next class.

·         Students with out-of-state credits (and occasionally from USHE schools) will often be required to provide course descriptions and a syllabus from a class they would like to act as a prerequisite.  Saving the syllabi from your classes and knowing how to find course descriptions from your previous school can save you a lot of time after you have transferred to the U.

·         If the course you hope to use as a prerequisite is in progress at the time you are admitted to the U. contact the department offering the class your hope to take to see what the process will be to register for the next class.

·         The Registrar’s Office has a webpage with some basic information on prerequisite checking at the U and contains a list of departments currently enforcing prerequisites: http://registrar.utah.edu/handbook/prereqstudent.php.

Transfer Student Spotlight

Clayton Booth

Clayton is a transfer student who came to the U from Weber State University.  He is majoring in International Studies with an emphasis in global health. His long-term goal is to go to dental school. 

Clayton is actively involved on campus working for the University of Utah Ambassadors Program in The Welcome Center.  For many prospective students, Clayton and the other U. Ambassadors are their first contact with the University of Utah. Clayton does a fantastic job welcoming these students and their families providing them with the information they need to find their place at U. Clayton is also involved at the LDS Institute on campus, and he volunteers in the Emergency Department at the U Hospital once week.

Getting to know people and offering them helpful services are the reasons that Clayton has chosen to be a dentist. Another thing drawing him to dentistry is his love for learning about the human body; Anatomy and Physiology are two of his favorite classes. He also loves to learn about different cultures and communities thus his major in International Studies.

After graduating from dental school he hopes to set up practice in his home town, Ogden, Utah.  He also hopes to travel the world helping people with his dentistry skills.

Clayton chose to transfer to the U because he knew it was a great research institution which offered an ideal place to prepare for dental school.  He likes the U’s dynamic environment. He enjoys seeing all the new construction and brand new buildings on campus. He also appreciates the emphasis on entrepreneurial activities at the U. It’s exciting for him to see faculty and students pushing boundaries with their innovations.

The biggest challenges that Clayton faced as a transfer student were in the early stages of transferring. He found it difficult to negotiate the complex transfer process and make a smooth transition. Transferring credits, finding a new job, getting to know campus, and accessing resources for Pre-Dental students were all early challenges for Clayton. The U offers lots of resources for transfer students, but it can be hard to discover opportunities and find out how to participate in them.

Clayton has certainly overcome these challenges and has gone on to become extremely knowledgeable about programs, resources, and policies. He uses this hard won knowledge and his own experiences as a transfer student to help others as they make their own transition to the U of U.

U Decide: U Explore Open Houses

U DECIDE

If you are a transfer student unsure of your major or minor, the U Explore Open Houses put on by the Major Exploration Center are a great resource to begin exploring some of your options.  These events bring together faculty, advisors, current students, and alumni from a variety of U of U majors and minors. In addition, extra-curricular resources related to highlighted majors are also present at these events, so you can not only find out about academic options but also ways to build a resume of real experiences.  Upcoming open houses include:

Going Global – March 2

·         International Studies

·         Latin American Studies

·         Comparative Lit and Cultural Studies

·         TESOL Certificate

·         Middle Eastern Studies

·         Asian Studies

        Public Policy and Advocacy – March 9

·         Ethnic Studies

·         Campaign Management Certificate

·         Political Science

·         Sociology

All Open Houses are held in the Collegiate Room in the Olpin Union Building from 12-1:30 PM.  At these events transfer students can enjoy free food, free parking, and a chance to explore some exciting options at the University of Utah.

Find out more at: http://advising.utah.edu/uexplore/uexplore-open-houses.php.

Check Out the U of U College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

The University of Utah’s College of Social and Behavioral Science has a lot to offer transfer students including: 12 majors, 17 minors, excellent professors, and tons of extracurricular opportunities!  Find out more by checking out their website for prospective students:

Http://csbs.utah.edu/prospective-students.php

Be sure to look at the alumni spotlights which show some of the amazing things that can be done with a degree in the social sciences!