 We know money can be tight, here are some tips to control the costs that we don't always think about:
1 | Banking: Avoid unnecessary ATM fees by seeing which banks are local. Banks that have a branch at home and at school are always a great choice. 2 | Books: Who says you have to buy new books? You can find used ones at bargain prices and some companies offer textbook rentals. Look online for these renters and resellers before hitting the campus bookstore. Some of our favorites include Amazon, Chegg.com, and BigWords.com. One of the best places to find book is on the Terry Facebook Group.
3 | Food: Carefully review meal plans and eat in dining halls, rather than in places that will cost extra money. Even the commuter plan can lead to some big savings. Also, invest in a coffee pot to avoid daily trips to the barista. Five bucks for coffee four times a week over eight months adds up to $640 worth of joe. 4 | Entertainment: Expanded basic cable television service is provided in each residence hall room at no additional cost. Subscription to premium services or digital cable radio may be requested for a monthly fee. However, services such as Netflix and Hulu are inexpensive, and other programming can be found online for free. And don't forget that your college ID means discounts at businesses of all kinds. 5 | Laptop: Students will probably need a laptop, but they won't need one with all the bells and whistles. Ask your advisor, upperclassmen in your major, and review cheaper models and avoid the fancy-pants ones, if it's not necessary. Remember there are ATLC Computing Labs in the hall too 6 | Supplies: New school supplies can be fun, but they may not be a necessity. Wait for your syllabus to indicate what's really required. 7 | Needs vs. wants: We love to sport clothes with the Double T logo, but these things can be pricey. Better for your student to ask for them as presents for birthdays and holidays, or to request gift cards to favorite stores. Welcome Week is one of the best times of year to get FREE Tech t-shirts. They even have a trade in event for transfers. If you bring them an old shirt from your former school, they will give you a new Tech shirt for FREE. Watch Techannounce for details.
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by Bruce Wilson
 by Callie Hawkins
After returning home from my Texas Tech Terry Foundation Scholarship interview, I tried my best to avoid all concerns and thoughts about the scholarship. I knew the decision was no longer in my hands, and that I shouldn't waste time worrying about it. I succeeded in this until Monday evening when one of my classmates, and two of my friends all informed me of the emails they had received stating that they did not receive the scholarship. I instantly turned into a nervous wreck! I spent the remainder of the day checking my email at an unnecessarily quick rate. I hardly slept, and made sure my phone would ring as loud as possible anytime I received an email. Unfortunately, this tactic only resulted in an emotional roller coaster every time I received an email notifying me of a new Tweet, or a Facebook friend's birthday. In my Tuesday morning slumber, I had all but forgotten about the email. I was bent over blow drying my hair, all the blood rushing to my head, when I suddenly jerked upright in response to the obnoxiously loud ringing of my phone! I couldn't even see the screen; I was seeing stars! I then saw the email, and was so filled with fear I could barely bring myself to open it. I finally did, and had no words. Really, I was speechless! I ran to my mom's bedroom and startled her by yelling incoherent noises as I threw my phone into her hands. At some point I finally managed to say, "I got it". Overwhelmed, my mom burst into tears. I quickly reassured her through my enormous grin that she shouldn't be crying, she would ruin all of the make up she had just finished applying! We then called my dad, who sent back an automatic text message response saying he was in a meeting and couldn't talk. I called again anyway, he quietly answered, and was greeted by joyous squeals saying that I had received the Terry Scholarship! My dad yelled how proud he was, and announced my accomplishment to everyone in his 8:00am meeting. We spent the rest of our day sharing news of the immense blessing that had just placed in our lives.  by Ryan Earp I was getting ready for athletics in the morning, and I checked my phone about 20 minutes before the workout started and I saw an email from the Terry Foundation. I felt my heart start pounding and I sat there for 5 minutes before I built up enough courage to click on the link. When I clicked on the attachment I saw the word Congratulations and I felt a wave of relief and excitement rush over me! i immediately went outside to call my mom and she was ecstatic. The rest of the day it felt like I was walking on air from excitement! It will be a day I will remember forever.
 by Megan Crawford
Eleven days. Eleven days between the interview in Dallas and the day I got my Terry e-mail. It came so much earlier than I had expected. I had Friday marked on my calendar, not that Tuesday. I had not mentally prepared myself to receive a yes or a no. I was far away from home the day I found out. I tossed and turned in the hotel bed, trying hard not to wake any of my fellow student council officers that were there with me for the conference. In just two hours we were going to get up to head back home to Wall, TX. As I laid restless, my phone vibrated on the table next to the bed. Immediately, I thought my mom was texting me "Good morning!" as she always does when I am away. It wasn't my mom though, it was an email, from the Terry Foundation. That's all I could see on the screen. At that moment I panicked. I was very unprepared to read about my future. I remember running to the restroom in the room and shutting the door, because either way I was going to cry. I placed my phone on the counter and clicked the e-mail. I'm pretty sure I forgot how to read, because I had to re-read the 'please see attached' statement about 5 times before I scrolled down to see the attached. There is was. The word "Congratulations!" said it all. I read it over and over again to make sure it wouldn't disappear. Then the tears came, and at that time I knew it was time to call my mom. She answered and immediately assumed something was wrong. I remember telling her to "Guess what?" , and I think at that point she figured it out. If you would have told 8-year-old me that there is a way to pay for my dream, of being a Red Raider, I might have thought you were crazy. I always had a dream to go to Texas Tech at a very young age, and that probably terrified my mother, because she knew I wasn't going to give up on it. Financially, I had no idea how we'd ever be able to afford it, but I always told my mom, "God and I have this." I started early and knew every AP class, every community service project, every extra curricular activity, and every job would bring me closer to another scholarship. The prayers to God also brought me a giant blessing. To say that the Terry Foundation is an answer to my prayers would be an understatement. It's beyond what I asked God for. The Terry Letter made my dreams a reality, and I'll never forget the day it changed my life. Freshmen, For some of you, moving in at the end of the month will only be a short drive from home, from family, from friends, from familiarity. For others, Murray Hall might be five, six, even eight or more hours from home. But for all of you, stepping foot into your new residence will be a step into a great unknown, and although you will each be presented with the same challenge to face, you will each surmount that challenge in twenty-eight beautiful, messy, gloriously unique ways. Although you are constantly directed by family, mentors, and professors to seek advice from older students, and you should, there are some lessons you can only learn from experience-- an idea which is both formidable and appealing. Whether it be learning how to do your own laundry, schedule a doctor's appointment, manage your time, or make thirty dollars last you thirty days (let's hope it doesn't come down to that), these lessons will be exhausting, hard to swallow, and sometimes seemingly impossible-- but they will help you grow as both a student and an individual. When these lessons present themselves as mountainous obstacles, take them in stride knowing that you are not the first to do so, nor will you be the last.
You must also know that the high expectations of family, former teachers, and your community that rest on your shoulders are the product of your many successes and as such should be regarded with pride. However, when these successes become your whole world, they become a very load to bear. Remember that despite carrying the whole world, even Atlas had to stand somewhere, and he had to have a horizon to look towards. Do not let your former failures or glories become the heaviness of self-doubt or contentment. You have a whole new world before you. Your challenges and obstacles may seem to tower before you, but they should not be allowed to block your from looking towards your goals. Rather, they should be a vantage point, a checkpoint; you must only dedicate yourself to conquering them. In doing so you may stumble, you may have to pause for breath, you might even hit the ground. But never let yourself fall backwards, and never, ever give up. There will be helping hands along the way (your fellow Terrys among them) to steady you when you falter in your journey, but the journey is yours alone. No matter how heavy your burden, how slow your pace, do not look away from your destination. With time, effort, and dedication, you will reach your end goal-- and have the memories of every laugh, tear, smile, defeat, and victory to look back on. by Tyler Seale  by Kaleigh Jackson I had become friends with a few people who had interviewed with me, so we often texted back and forth about how nervous we were to click the pdf file that would be attached to our emails shortly. One day as I was sitting in Pre-Calculus taking notes on trig (ouch, trig was NOT my favorite), I felt my phone vibrate and went to check it. "Did you get it??" was all the text read and immediately my heart began to race. I pulled out my computer and checked the email I had given the foundation--nothing. I checked my regularly used email address for college things--nothing. I even checked my high school email and the email I used for junk coupon mail and still turned up with nothing! Something had to be wrong. Did they forget me? I was quite sure that they had forgotten to send me my email, and I was on edge. About an hour later I was placed into a group text message with four other of the students I interviewed with and they ALL had gotten their emails--except none of them received the scholarship. All I could do was hope that there was some correlation to be had in the fact that I had not yet seen an email pop up in my inbox (but you can bet I checked every five minutes that night while I neglected my homework and routine sleeping schedule). The next morning, anxious and sleep-deprived, I went to pick up a younger student I drove to school everyday. On the way, I talked to her about how stressed out I was to get my email and that my life could potentially be changed forever via one line on a pdf document found in an email. "Your whole life is changed Kaleigh, this is such a blessing," he managed choke out between tears, "I am so proud if you!" Upon arrival to school, I grabbed my laptop and immediately connected to the wifi. I began to check my email as I walked to the band hall to grab my instrument for rehearsal. *ding!* There was an email sitting in my inbox from the Terry Foundation waiting patiently to be opened. My hands started to shake and my whole body went cold. EN, the girl I drove to school noticed my change in behavior and asked "Did you get it??" To which I replied that I hadn't even opened it yet; I was too nervous. When we got into the band hall, amidst the swarm of kids running around putting their instruments together and yelling to their friends that they had forgotten to finish their geometry homework, time slowed down for me as I clicked the pdf document in the email. The only word I needed to see was "Congratulations!" before I was on my face praying to God and thanking Him for such a blessing. I started crying and before I knew it the entire band knew that I was a Terry Scholar! My band director made his way over to me to let me know how proud of me he was, and that he knew I would get the scholarship. I called my mom and told her and she just began to cry. She's a teacher and so in that instant her entire class knew the good news that had been received that morning. I called my dad and he had no words--only tears of joy and thankfulness to God. "Your whole life is changed Kaleigh, this is such a blessing," he managed choke out between tears, "I am so proud if you!"
The morning that I received my Terry Letter will be a day I will never forget and will never stop being thankful for.  Sara before her freshman year at Red Raider Orientation. by Sara Sorge
Whether you are a freshman packing up to head to Lubbock right about now, or a parent with mixed emotions about sending your baby to Tech, going away to college is an emotional experience. Advice for Freshmen I want to urge those of you reading this to enjoy the last bit of time you have living at home, you may not believe me, but you will get adjusted to Lubbock quicker than some of you may think. You’ll make friends, you’ll find new passions, you’ll get adjusted to your independence and your own routine and all of a sudden “home” doesn’t quite feel like home anymore. When you come back home for weekends or breaks it will feel a little different, and seeing your old friends won’t be quite the same. So enjoy the closing of this chapter, but I promise the beginning of your college chapter will be even more amazing. Advice for Parents Cherish your time with your kids! Enjoy this time, it is probably the last time they’ll be permanently living under your roof. But also, be excited for them. Especially as Terry's, they will have so many incredible experiences and opportunities and there is so much fun to be had and new things to learn. Stay in Touch During my freshman year I kept in contact with my family a lot. I texted or snapchatted my family or would call when I had a chance. It’s important to stay in touch and stay connected. Freshman: don’t forget to talk to your family. You may get caught up having fun with all the new people you’re meeting and the organizations you’re joining, or you may be drowning in homework and studying, but just take a few minutes to talk to your family. They miss you, love you and want to know about all the exciting things you are doing. Parents: Understand that sometimes you may not hear from your kid as often as you’d like. At first it feels weird, you’re so used to seeing them daily and communicating with them and all of a sudden they’re gone and you haven’t heard from your child in a few days. But please know that just because they haven’t told you, they do still love you and they will miss you too. Family is always there for you, through the ups and downs of freshman year, so appreciate your family and love them, and get excited for all that freshman year has to bring. Sara Sorge |
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