New Student Orientation (NSO)
New Student Orientation (NSO)
If you're looking for additional resources before or after your New Student Orientation (NSO) advising appointment, we've provided some links below that may ease your transition to Texas State.
For additional questions, you can contact our office at 512.245.3050 or eduadvising@txstate.edu.
Prepare for Advising
Pending Credit
Whether you are finishing high school or attending classes at another university or community college, you'll need to submit official transcripts. Complete this task as soon as possible.
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Send a copy of your final high school transcript.
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If you took college credit classes, send transcripts from the colleges/universities you attended.
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If you completed AP coursework in high school, you can find more information about sending your scores on the CollegeBoard website.
Registration Holds
The NSO advising hold will be lifted during your appointment. You can find more information about remaining holds here. Common Holds: Meningitis Vaccine and Texas Success Initiative (TSI).
Technology
New Student Orientation (NSO) advising appointments are held in ZOOM online meeting software. You will need access to a device with microphone capability to participate. Please watch this video to prepare for your online appointment.
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Degree Planning
Review Degree Requirements
To prepare questions for your advising appointment, please read through the information available on our Majors/Programs page.Registration Resources
An advisor will provide helpful information during your appointment, but we recommend reviewing the resources available on our website in the meantime.Glossary of Terms
The Undergraduate Catalog contains a Glossary of Terms that you might find helpful. We have included important terms below.- Course Prefix: letters preceding the course number that indicate the subject of the course. For example, CI = Curriculum and Instruction; ESS = Exercise & Sports Science; CHEM = Chemistry.
- Course Number: courses follow a four-digit numbering system. The first digit indicates the level of the course: 1-freshman, 2-sophomore, 3-junior, 4-senior, 5/6-masters, 7-doctoral. The second digit indicates the number of semester credit hours the course is worth.
- Semester Credit-Hour: unit that gives weighting to the value of an academic course taken at a school. This number is typically based on the amount of time you spend in the classroom during the week. A typical course at Texas State is worth 3-credit hours, and a lecture and lab is worth 4-credit hours.
- Texas Core Curriculum: the common degree foundation for all majors. The core curriculum accounts for approximately 35% of the 120 semester credit hours required for a bachelors degree. You can find more information about the core curriculum here. CAUTION: students have flexibility to choose courses from the core curriculum but that flexibility is limited by a student's major. Students should consult with an academic advisor when selecting coursework for a degree.
- Prerequisite: a directive from a department that requires a certain action be taken before course enrollment is permitted. A prerequisite may require the successful completion of a course, GPA, permission from a faculty member, a specified classification, or additional requirements as determined by the faculty.
- Co-Requisite: a directive from a school or department that requires a certain action be taken while enrolled in a certain course.
Post-Advising Resources
You can review a summary of your appointment in the Planner tab of your Degree Audit (located in CatsWeb).