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Parent & Family Magazine
Volume 1/ Issue 5
July/August 2014
Contents:
Kay’s Column
A Message from the Director of Parent & Family Programs
For New Students
Inquiring Minds Want to Know
A Collection of Information We Know You Will Need
The Best Year of Their Lives
A Message from the Associate Vice Chancellor for
Student Affairs and Dean of Campus Life
Your First-Year Horned Frog
Helpful Information for Supporting Your
First-Year Student
Connections
Leadership Development Program for
Incoming Students
Supporting Your TCU Transfer Student
How Parent & Family Members Can Help Their Transfer
Student be Successful at TCU
Sophomore Week At TCU
The TCU Parent & Family Magazine
is a publication from
Student Development Services
in the Division of Student Affairs at
Texas Christian University.
2901 Stadium Drive
Brown-Lupton University Union
Suite 2003
Fort Worth, TX 76129
www.parents.tcu.edu
parents@tcu.edu
817-257-7855
TCU Mission:
To educate individuals to think
and act as ethical leaders and
responsible citizens in the global
community.
TCU Vision:
To be a world-class, values-centered
university.
Connect with TCU news, social
media, photos, and more at
www.newsevents.tcu.edu
Parent & Family Magazine
Greetings!
Welcome to our first
summer magazine!
If you are a new
family, the majority
of this magazine is
for you. If you are a
returning family, you
remember how much
you wanted to know
at this point when
your son or daughter
was preparing to go
to college. Most of what you will need to
know is in this column. We will be back on
schedule with “something for everyone” in
our September magazine.
All Parents
“WE NEED YOU” Inventory
There is a brief inventory titled, “WE NEED
YOU!” Often parents outside of the Fort
Worth/Dallas metroplex think that there is
no way that you can be helpful to TCU so
you don’t read more than the first line of
the invitation. We need all parents. This
inventory will offer you the opportunity
to show interest in a number of program
areas, with specific kinds of activities
included. Check all that apply. We can use
your assistance in programming efforts
with Admission, Student Affairs and
especially, the Office of Career & Professional
Development. https://orgsync.com/36800/
forms/107265
Internships are the number one most
important way that students find
employment upon graduation. We need to be
able to connect our students with internships
in every state in this country and every
country around the globe. In order to be able
to help our students, please help us.
If you or someone you know works for an
employer who provides internships, send
me the contact information. If you own a
dry cleaner or a cab company, instead of
thinking, “I don’t have internships here,”
think about whose clothes you clean or who
you take to the airport. Ask if they have
or have considered offering internships
to college students, and give the contact
information to us. Our career development
staff will be excited to follow-up.
Family Weekend
September 12 – 14, 2014
As most of you know by now, Family
Weekend is September 12 – 14, 2014.
If you are not local and you only might
come to Family Weekend, make your hotel
reservations now! You can always cancel if
you are unable to attend. You may not be
able to get convenient reservations if you
wait. The link for Family Weekend with all
the necessary information is
www.familyweekend.tcu.edu.
Two important events scheduled during
Family Weekend
Remember, anytime you are purchasing
tickets for your family, your TCU student
is able to enter all on-campus TCU sporting
events, as well as Fine Arts and speaker
events with his/her TCU ID card. ONLY if you
want your student to sit with you, would you
purchase him/her a ticket.
Parents of Sophomores
Please note that there is a special article for
you about a new initiative, Sophomore Week
at TCU. You have already read about the
Seond-Year Pinning Ceremony which will be
culmination of the week’s activities.
All Parents
Second-Year Pinning Ceremony
Now in its third year, the Second-Year
Pinning is a ceremonial step to the next
year of development and challenge. All
students with sophomore hours are invited
to participate. The ceremony is scheduled
on Friday, September 12, on the first day of
Family Weekend, to allow parents and family
members to attend.
Senior Ring Ceremony
When the Official TCU Class Ring was
designed, the Senior Ring Ceremony was
born. The Senior Ring Ceremony is an
exciting time of honor and recognition that
one’s son/daughter will be completing the
academic requirements necessary to graduate
this year. The event is scheduled at 2 p.m.
on Sunday, September 14, the last day of
Family Weekend. If your student is a senior
and needs to purchase a ring, he/she may
contact the Alumni Office at 817.257.7803
or Jostens at www.jostens.com or by calling
800.854.7464.
Football Ticket information for Family
Weekend or other games
Single tickets for all games will go on sale
August 9 at www.GoFrogs.com and the TCU
ticket office currently located near Gate 6
in the Amon Carter Stadium, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
(CST), Mon – Fri. Season tickets are currently
on sale, as is a mini-package ($150) for
three games: Minnesota (Family Weekend),
Oklahoma State (Homecoming), and Kansas
State.
Main Office - (817) 257-FROG (3764/7967)
E-Mail - tickets@tcu.edu
www.gofrogs.com
The next communication to all parents and
families will be the September e-magazine.
Look for it. Until then, if I can be helpful,
please feel free to contact me.
Finally, for the fourth consecutive year,
TCU has been selected as one of the top
universities honored as a “Great College to
Work For.” When people are happy at work,
they are friendlier, nicer, and more helpful.
The beneficiaries of TCU’s positive work
environment are your students and you! It’s
a win-win for everyone! Read here to learn
more: www.newsevents.tcu.edu/stories/
university-honored-again-as-one-of-top-greatcolleges-to-work-for-and-on-honor-roll
Go Frogs!
Kay Higgins, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of
Student Development
Director of Parent & Family Programs
Inquiring Minds Want to Know
Kay Higgins, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Student Development, Director of Parent & Family Programs
I am confident that this summer continues to
be “exciting times” in your household! Preparing
for college raises everything to a whole new
level of energy and anticipation!
The June edition of The Parent Experience
newsletter for the parents of the Class of 2018
and new transfer student families was the PreOrientation newsletter. If you did not receive
it, you may view it online www.sds.tcu.edu/
parents/emails/jun2014.html. (You may also
access it at www.parents.tcu.edu). This issue
includes practical information as well as program
details that will interest you.
Some of the information below was covered
in the June Orientation session, but some
attendees may have missed it. If your family is
attending in August, you will want to know all
this information now.
Shipping Boxes
Students who want to ship boxes to campus
may do so. The TCU Post Office began
receiving shipments on July 1, 2014. Click here
for shipping tips from the TCU Post Office:
www.tcupostoffice.com/MTG_mailtips_01.
asp. Because there is limited storage in the
residence halls, the housing staff asks that the
student schedule packages to arrive at his/her
residence hall after he/she has moved into the
building.
Students may reserve a post office box at
Orientation or by calling 817.257.7840. The
post office is the ONLY way that a student can
receive mail through the US Postal Service.
Finally, if shipping boxes is not your thing, you
may want to go the website for Bed, Bath,
and Beyond, Target, and/or The Container
Store. All three will allow you to purchase
on-line and then pick up at the local store
located less than five miles from TCU. Also,
for your convenience in planning, Fort Worth
has a Costco, Sam’s, Home Depot, and Lowe’s
in the same direction as the three previously
mentioned retailers.
Bringing a Computer to Campus?
Desktop or laptop? PC or MAC? TCU will
support either. Bring what you have to campus!
(One exception, the Neely School of Business
will only allow its students to use a PC. No
other college has a policy.) Some students
have printers, but they are not necessary since
the TCU Library provides 200 free prints
per semester. The Help Desk is always ready
to assist students with technical difficulties.
The link below has more information about
computing on campus than you would ever want
to know – including what virus protector to use.
Click the link and start reading! www.tr.tcu.edu/
StudentComputing.htm.
Housing Assignments
Room/roommate assignments have been sent
to students in a rolling process, beginning the
first of July. Once a student has been assigned,
he/she will be notified. Regardless of how long
your student may need to wait to hear, if your
student is beginning his/her first year, he/she
will receive a housing assignment. If a student
needs to communicate with the housing office
about the assignment or to ask questions, the
best option is to email housing@tcu.edu.
Banking Information
While it is possible to bank anywhere in the
world, regardless of your physical location,
Bank of America and Citibank have locations
in walking distance to TCU. Frost, Chase,
Compass, and Wells Fargo are less than 2
miles from campus. There are three ATMs on
campus. Two, Bank of America and Citibank,
are located in the Brown Lupton University
Union (BLUU). The third, Wells Fargo, is in
the University Recreation Center. All three
require a $2.00 service charge if you are not
a customer. The Financial Services Office will
cash a check for a student up to $100.00.
Transportation
Should my student bring a car to campus?
Whether or not your student brings a car to
campus is a personal family decision. If the
car the student has been driving to and from
high school will not make it across the country
to Fort Worth, TX, it can stay home and a
replacement is not necessary. While most of
our students do bring a car, there is a rapidlygrowing number of students
who do not have a car.
If you are concerned
about your student’s selfdiscipline first semester,
you may want to contract
with your son/daughter that
with certain behaviors and
accomplishments the car can
be earned for spring semester
or even next fall.
Students who bring cars
find the parking to be
inconvenient and report to
seldom use their cars. (The
parking fee is $75/year.) If
your home is within 2 - 3 hours of campus, you
may choose for your student to have a car for
your own convenience.
Should my student bring a bicycle?
If you son/daughter is an avid biker, by all
means, he/she will want to have a bike. A bike
is not necessary to get around campus or to
and from class. (We have a shuttle for those
who do not want to walk.) If you student is not
sure about how much he/she would use a bike,
Fort Worth has “bike rental” program, with
stations all over the city, including on-campus
at University and Cantey Dr. To rent for a
semester to see how often the bike was used
might be a good way to decide if your student
wants to bring a bike to college.
How does my student get around the
metroplex?
For students to go to local retailers, restaurants,
and movie houses, usually they ride with friends
who are going also. There is a bus system in
Fort Worth, but most destinations require that
passengers change buses, and that option is not
usually preferred.
TCU also has two Zip cars on campus. You may
learn more about that service at
www.zipcar.com.
Getting around the metroplex is a treat and it is
FREE! The TRE (train) station is about 4 miles
from campus, in downtown Fort Worth. The
TRE goes to D/FW airport and to the American
Airlines Center in downtown Dallas. One can
board DART (Dallas mass transit) to any part of
Dallas, including Love Field from that location.
The exciting part is that with a TCU ID and a
TRE transportation card, which the student can
acquire at the beginning of the semester, all
that transporting is FREE!
How does my student get to the airport?
•
•
•
•
Health Center: www.healthcenter.tcu.edu
Information Technology: www.tr.tcu.edu
Disability Services: www.acs.tcu.edu
Financial Aid: www.fam.tcu.edu
If you and your student are attending
Orientation in August
If you and your student are attending
Orientation in August, there are several things
that may be helpful to you now.
As previously addressed, the TRE is one option
to the D/FW airport. If your student needs to
go to Love Field, he/she would need to take the
TRE to Dallas and then DART to the airport.
Super Shuttle is a frequently used form of
transportation. UBER is another alternative in
the area. If you are interested in using a private
car service, A number of families call Han’s at
817.992.3041. However, probably the number
one way students get to the airport is “with a
friend.”
How will I know all the cool things going on at
TCU?
There are numerous ways to know what is
going on at TCU! One is to read your monthly
communication that is emailed to you from the
Parent and Family Programs Office. You will
receive a magazine like the one you are reading
in September, November, February, April, and
July/August. In alternate months, I will write
a column to update you on recent events and
things you should know. If you have not already,
if you have a smart phone you and your student
will want to go to your “app store” and download
the TCU app. In addition to live-streaming
KTCU, checking the location of the shuttles on
campus, and finding the available computers on
campus, you and your student can start the day
by reading TCU 360 – the breaking news on
campus – as it happens!
More pre-start-of-classes information:
Frogs First begins with the Chancellor’s
Assembly on Thursday evening, August 21 at
8:00 pm. There will be programs and events
throughout the next three days which will
include the following:
Common Reading – August 22, 2014
The book selected for this year’s Common
Reading is Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood.
You will probably want to read it yourself.
It would make for some poignant dinner
conversations at your home this summer!
Your student has or will soon be receiving
the book in the mail if he/she did not attend
Orientation in June. Every member of the
Class of 2018 will read and discuss the book as
part of their induction into the TCU learning
community. Faculty will lead the small groups
as they discuss how the reading relates to the
TCU Mission Statement and our place in the
global community. You and your student
can find much more about the book at www.
commonreading.tcu.edu.
Need 2 Know – August 23, 2014
Need 2 Know is an important educational
hour for your student. All women and men
new to TCU are required to attend one of the
four sessions. Your student will receive more
information about this program closer to the
date of the event.
Activities & Organizations Fair – August 24,
2014
Students will have an opportunity to attend the
Activities & Organizations Fair to begin learning
all the many involvement opportunities that are
available on campus. They can sign up to receive
information from numerous organizations, but
we encourage students to commit to no more
than three opportunities (work, clubs, sports,
community service, etc.) besides their academic
classes during the first semester.
Additional Resource Information
I would like to direct you to several websites
that will answer many of the questions that may
be on your mind right now:
• Residence Life & Housing: www.rlh.tcu.edu
• If your student is in one of the August
Orientation sessions, I want to calm your nerves
right now. There will be classes for your son
or daughter! Not only are seats and sections
saved for each Orientation session, but the
add/drop process is very different than when
our generation went to college. Unlike the
old “tablets of stone” that we received as a
semester schedule of classes, enrollment is now
a very fluid process. Students begin adding and
dropping classes within an hour of departing
Orientation and continue to do so until the
Friday of the first week of class (That date is
August 29, 2014.)! A class that was closed last
Wednesday may have three seats open today.
Trust me on this one! I have been directly
involved with Orientation since 1987! I know
what history tells me!
• Your student may want to become familiar
with the University catalog, which has all the
academic information for the Core curriculum
and specific majors. If he/she would like a
printed copy, a downloadable “print version” is
also available here: www.catalog.tcu.edu.
• Remember that students will move into
their permanent housing when they check-in
at the designated time assigned to your student
by Housing and Residential Life (Frog Camp,
Orientation, band, recruitment, etc. www.rlh.
tcu.edu/movie-in-out.asp).
For that reason, parents and families MUST stay
in off-campus housing during Orientation.
Students should remember to complete the
Informd computer program prior to arriving for
Orientation.
If you cannot find the information you seek,
please feel free to ask me directly by emailing
parents@tcu.edu
I had a great time in June, meeting so many
wonderful families, sons, and daughters! If
you will be attending Orientation in August, I
am equally excited to meet you and your new
student!
Classes start one month from this week.
Oh my!
The Best Year of their Lives
David S Cozzens Ph.D., Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs/Dean of Campus Life
So your son or daughter is going to college. You have worked the past
17 years getting him/her this far. What can you do now? Here are
some friendly suggestions based on what we know new students will
experience in college, and how parents can be most helpful.
What is the college experience?
While the college years are exciting, stimulating, and illuminating, they
are also a time of considerable stress interspersed with confusion,
uncertainty, and loneliness. It is very important that your adult-child
learn to navigate successfully through these years and their feelings so
that they attain the sense of competence that is the foundation of selfefficacy and confidence.
The change from the first 17 or 18 years at home with parents to living
in a new environment with new rules and lots of different options,
deadlines, and expectations is the definition of “sea change” and is
therefore very stressful.
Even though they may act like they know who they are and where they
are going, we know that most students are looking for identity (who I
am), independence (how to “do” life), and intimacy (how to connect and
work with others). These are the crucial developmental processes that
are at the core of your child’s growth during the college years. Another
significant growth edge is learning to live interdependently with others and to constantly consider how one’s decisions
impacts others.
If students seem confused, it is because they are confused about life and all its options. If they seem moody, it is
because this is a time of highs and lows. If they seem lonely, it is because they will often feel alone in their journey. If
they seem angry or sullen, it is because they are scared—and it is sometimes harder to allow fear to show than anger.
There are at least three activities that students will try to balance during their college years: study, sleep, and
socializing. It is their ability to strike a healthy balance among these three that will help them succeed.
Students need to take some risks as they continue to learn about themselves. Without some failure, some mistakes,
they do not learn about their limits or test their values. It is sometimes difficult for you to allow your child to
experience the “pain” of his or her errors, but it is the very practice of these feelings that strengthens their ability to
manage life’s current and future complexities.
We know that learning to be 'resilient' is a crucial component of successful navigation of life; we need to continue
to practice handling challenging and difficult situations while your students make choices of when and whom
to ask for help. Too much help creates dependence. Too little help can result in isolation and a lack of crucial
feedback .
How can parents be helpful?
The most helpful parents are those who listen, directly and indirectly express support, acknowledge their student’s
feelings, and allow them to generate options. You will need to allow students their space.
• If you have not already, start treating your son or daughter as an adult. It is important to respect your student
as a separate, functioning, adult person (even though he or she sometimes may not act like one).
• Communicate from your end during the semester, but do not expect students to do the same from their end,
in fact if you or he/she are communicating daily it may be an indication of too much interaction and the
student not making new connections.
• Try to understand and empathize with what your student is going through—big changes, searching for identity,
independence, interdependence, etc.
• Let students know that you are there for them, but let them “struggle” so that they learn that you are confident
in them while they learn to be confident in themselves.
• Remind them of the resources at TCU that will be helpful to them. We know that help-seeking behavior is a
crucial skill that successful students (people) use that comes in handy throughout life.
• Keep your sense of humor!
“Letting go” does not mean giving up the crucial relationship you have with your son/daughter, but transforming it into
one that is more mutual with respect to his/her emerging adulthood. I wish you well in your continued adjustment as
you support and challenge your student to grow toward adulthood. This is TCU's common cause as well.
Your First-Year Horned Frog
John Mark Day, M.A., M.S., Director of the First Year Experience, Student Development Services
Your student will be facing a lot of firsts in the next few months: first night in a residence hall, first
college class, first TCU football game in the student section. The staff of the First Year Experience
helps your student navigate those firsts in order to not just be successful on campus but to begin
to make a difference at TCU and beyond.
The staff of the First Year Experience at TCU operates under a straightforward premise: Every
student comes to TCU with high potential. Who they meet, what they do, and how they think
determines what we become. Your student, and your family, are now part of the TCU community
and so join thousands of other Horned Frogs in TCU’s vision to learn to change the world.
Each month the staff will be providing your student with programs, tools, and information useful to
thrive in their first year at TCU. The themes for each month will be:
August/
September:
Establish & maintain
interpersonal relationships
January:
Develop towards a career
October:
Develop intellectual &
academic competence
February:
Develop multicultural
awareness
November:
Maintain health & wellness
March:
Develop civic responsibility
December:
Consider faith & the
spiritual dimensions of life
April:
Explore identity development
Be on the lookout for programs and events throughout the year to help connect your students to
each other and to campus, and feel free to reach out to fye@tcu.edu for more information. You
may also follow Student Development Services on Twitter (@TCU_SDS) or Facebook (www.facebook.
com/TCUSDS ) or like the TCU Parent & Family Programs on Facebook (www.facebook.com/
TCUParentFamilyPrograms).
con·nec·tions
Dede Williams, MBA, Director of the TCU Leadership Center, Student Development Services
The transition to college can be tough. Connections, a program through the TCU Leadership Center, helps incoming
students with that transition once their first semester starts, spring boarding off of their experiences during the
summer with Orientation and Frog Camp.
Connections is a small-group centered
leadership program open to 500 first-year
students. It is an opportunity for incoming
students to gain valuable insights into what
it means to begin “thinking and acting like an
ethical leader and responsible citizen in the
global community.” Connections challenges
students to wrestle with personal identity and
self-awareness, investing in and helping shape
a thriving campus community, and learning
about the ways in which our personal and
communal lives are connected to the larger
piece of the community. In addition, students
will make lasting friendships and will find
their own place in the TCU community.
Each first-year student who registers is placed
in a Connections group with 18-20 peers.
Each group is facilitated by two upper class
students who serve as mentors, as well as a
faculty/staff mentor. Over the course of six
weeks, we’ll focus on the following topics:
• Discovering and uncovering participants’ personal strengths
• Discovering what it means to bring those strengths and leadership styles to the campus
community and in a team setting
• Exploring the meaning, importance and responsibility of living in a community with others
• Discussing principles of community-building
• Making connections between the individual, the community, and the global society
The Connections program will meet every Wednesday from 3:30-5:00 pm from September 3-October 8.
Brien Twomey, a junior business major from Austin, who serves as the Director of Operations for Connections, says,
“Connections helps incoming students with the crucial transition to college life at TCU and allows them to participate
in a program in which they are the focus, and as a result, they are provided a valuable opportunity to begin meaningful
relationships on campus.”
Students shouldn’t miss this FREE opportunity to gain significant leadership development, participate in important
conversations, and connect with other students, campus leaders, and faculty/staff at TCU. Additionally, Connections
represents, for many, the first step toward earning a leadership medallion upon graduation from TCU through the
Leadership Scholars Program. The Leadership Scholars Program is an offering through the TCU Leadership Center
and provides students the opportunity to learn about leadership in a unique manner through interactive and engaging
seminars facilitated by TCU faculty and staff.
Parents, talk to your new Horned Frog about leadership and encourage him/her to register for Connections at
Orientation during the Essentials Fair by going to the TCU Leadership Center booth. Only 50 spots are available during
each Orientation session!
For more information, visit www.connections.tcu.edu or contact Dede Williams, Director of the TCU Leadership Center
at dede.williams@tcu.edu.
Supporting Your TCU Transfer S
Keri Cyr, M.Ed., Assistant Director of Transitions, Student Development Services
TCU welcomes over 400 transfer students every fall and over 100 each January. Most of our transfer students come
from local community colleges and four-year institutions and about 23% from out-of-state schools. Though we use the
term transfer student because they have some previous college experience- that’s usually all they have in common. The
TCU transfer student population can include everyone from a 19 year-old student who spent his/her first semester at
another university, to a veteran of the armed services stepping on a college campus for the first time, and to a 53 yearold working parent of three returning to school to complete a bachelor’s degree started two decades earlier. The range
of experiences and diverse perspectives adds such a wonderful richness to the TCU campus.
Supporting your TCU transfer student means different things to different families. For some it will be taking on more
family responsibilities so that your student can take some extra study time. For some it might be encouraging your
student to be on campus more in order to make connections with other students. In this article we will get you up-tospeed on the process of transitioning to TCU and ways to help your transfer be successful.
Communication with TCU is crucial for your student. TCU uses email as the primary form of communication. TCU
students MUST check and read their TCU email daily. Yes, there will be things they are not interested in and yes,
there will be days with lots of emails but in those emails will be from professors, calendars of activities, instructions
and tips on how to be successful at TCU and more. They should not let emails pile up as unread. Transfers are also
encouraged to “like” the Transfer Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/TCUTransfers, where they can meet
the Transfer Mentors, a group of student leaders whose mission is to help transfers have a smooth and successful
transition to TCU.
You will also be interested to know that having a student at TCU means that you will receive communication, too. The
Office of Parent and Family Programs sends monthly communications to parents and families of our students. In
addition to the e-magazine that is sent in July-August, September, November, February, and April, a column written by
the director is sent at the beginning of October, December, January, March, and May. If you are not sure that you have
received the communication, you may always go to www.parents.tcu.edu and click on Publications to see the current
and archived communications.
Advising and Enrollment. After being admitted and making the deposit to reserve a space at TCU, transfer students
need to request that their transcripts from their previous institutions be sent to the Office of Admission at TCU.
Their transcripts will be processed and equivalent courses will be recorded. Equivalency information for students who
attended Texas community colleges and many state universities can be found here: www.admissions.tcu.edu/Transfer/
Credit-OR-Course-Equivalency. After final transcripts have been requested, students can look forward to receiving
academic advising and enrolling in courses. This process can be done when the student contacts his/her academic
advisor or attends academic orientation. For students starting classes in August, June 1 is the first date they may
contact an academic advisor. For students starting classes in January, that contact date is November 15. Students may
contact their individual school or college to connect with their academic advisor. Some advisors will meet over the
phone, others require a face-to-face meeting. Students who are entering TCU as pre-majors should contact the Center
for Academic Services: www.acs.tcu.edu.
Orientation is another way to receive academic advising and register for classes, along with many other helpful
sessions for students and family members. Transfer Orientation is one day and is designed specifically for transfer
students. Transfers may also attend a two day session, though it is designed for students attending college for the first
time and requires an overnight stay in a residence hall. There is no cost to students for Orientation. At Orientation,
students learn how to be successful in the classroom at TCU. They get to know the campus, meet faculty and staff,
and are led by student leaders who know exactly what new students at TCU need. Transfer Orientation includes lunch
and a special panel discussion with the Transfer Mentors. Check out www.orientation.tcu.edu. Orientation is the best
way to begin one’s college career at TCU. In addition to being advised and enrolled for class, there are networking
opportunities with new and continuing students, as well as faculty and staff, all of whom will be great resources for
your student.
Frog Camp at TCU is a nationally recognized program and over 75% of entering TCU students choose to attend. Frog
Camp is the best way for students to connect with entering students, student leaders, faculty and staff in a casual
environment and learn about life at TCU outside the classroom. There are a variety of camps and scholarships are
available. www.frogcamp.tcu.edu.
Student
Frogs First is a weekend of programs to welcome students to campus. Transfer students can choose to participate in
either a transfer-only schedule or the full experience. Students should watch their emails this summer for the link to
sign up. Learn more at www.frogsfirst.tcu.edu. Updates will be posted all summer.
Transfer 101 is a crash course for TCU transfer students over a dinner during the first week of school. It’s not a
replacement for Orientation or Frog Camp, but a program designed to help your student navigate the campus and
connect him/her with campus resources quickly. Your student may also take this opportunity to connect with a
Transfer Mentor and to receive one-on-one attention and answers to questions. Students should watch their TCU email
for more information and registration information about this program. This year Transfer 101 is scheduled on August
27 at 5:30 p.m.. Encourage your student to regsiter by visiting www.sds.tcu.edu/transfers.asp.
Being on campus to go to class is important, but being on campus to be part of the TCU community is also vital
to your student’s education. All students should get involved in groups, organizations, causes on campus that
complement their studies and push them to grow and achieve more than just a letter grade in a class. Students
should meet with faculty, apply for leadership positions, participate in undergraduate research, hang out for outdoor
concerts, find study groups, and attend athletic events. These things are all part of what people expect as part of the
TCU experience.
Encourage your student to look for more information at www.sds.tcu.edu and email transfers@tcu.edu with any
questions he/she may have. Welcome to the Horned Frog Family!
Transfer Mentors Adam Doerr and Paige Rodriguez (not pictured, Amanda Dorsey) and Assistant Director for Transitions in
Student Development Services, Keri Cyr welcoming transfers during Transfer Orientation on June 24, 2014.
Sophomore Week 2014
Sophomore Week 2014 will be September 6-12. This week of programs will provide sophomores with academic
resources, financial literacy skills, study abroad preparation, and an emphasis on well-being, in addition to some fun,
social activities. The week will culminate with the Second Year Pinning, an annual event which recognizes sophomores’
transition into upper-division leaders on campus - an important step in the development of college students. A
tentative schedule is below. Please encourage your sophomore to participate in these events.
Our Mission:
To educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and
responsible citizens in the global community.
Texas Christian University
2800 South University Drive Fort Worth, TX 76129
www.tcu.edu