For Spring 2008 Students

Exclusively for Spring 2008 students, I have complied the following links for students in different stages of admission process. I will update this list regularly, for new contents, hot deals on Laptops, Visa Experience, Visa Document details, details on bank balance, how to answer tough visa interview questions, how to find cheap air ticket.

If you find these links helpful, please forward the links to your friends, book mark this link and visit regularly for details on Student Loan, Exchange Rates, How much students are paying for air ticket. If you need more details, write comments for this article, I will update

Waiting: Admission Status, I-20 arrival

Different ways to find the admission status ( Online, phone, email,…)
Got college admission from more than 1 schools and deciding on college
Living Expense Calculator
Happy Point Method to Select Universities

Visa Documents, FAQ’s.

F-1 Student Visa Tips, Not Tricks
Student Loan Details
How to use money from Student Loan and save on Interest Payment.

Got student F1 visa and packing up things

How to carry U.S. Dollars for Tuition fee and Living Expenses.
Guide to get Transfer to different University after 1st semester
International Driving Permit: Find out if you need one?
List of Things to Bring to U.S.
Travel and Students Health Insurance
Air Travel : How to avoid Jet Lag
List of documents to carry with you
List of Books to carry with you.

Arrival in U.S. and happily ever after..

Port of Entry procedures
How to open Bank Account in U.S.
Where will be Bank Located ( How far from Campus )
Open Bank account and earn Referral Bonus
Deposit your DD, TC in bank account
Students Laptop Buying Guide
Questions students will have after arrival in U.S.
How to get around college campus and town
Guide to find Part Time jobs

Note: More links will be added frequently. Check back often.

Airport Pickup

Most of Indian Students Association in the University will arrange airport pickup for new students and also temporary accommodation. They will usually ask to fill out a form with your flight details and date of arrival.

List of thing to have with you:

1) Name of person who is coming to receive you
2) Contact phone number of that person
3) Contact phone number for backup person
4) Home address where your temporary accommodation is arranged

When you clear the customs and walk out from the baggage area, wait for them. Some student might hold a board with university name, some might not. But, its always easier for the person coming to receive you to identify you.

What if no one come to receive you:
Suppose, the person couldn’t make it on time to pickup, DON’T PANIC. Wait for 1-2 hours. If no one turns up, call them.

How to call them?

1) Try to find a public pay phone and make a call, if you $1 or $0.25 coins
2) Ask for someone how has a cell phone, request them if you could make a quick call, by explaining your situation. Usually, you should be able to find some Indian’s in the airport, if not ask anyone who has a cell phone.

If that option doesn’t work out, walk out and get a cab and give the address to cab driver, he will take you .

Worst Case Scenario:

If you don’t have the address, phone number and if you arrive in day time, take the cab and you should have international office address in I-20, go to International office and ask for help.

If you arrive in night time take a cab to nearby hotel and spend the night at the hotel and take a cab to the university next day.

So, important thing to remember is DON’T PANIC, if someone doesn’t come to pick you from the airport. Its the best experience you will remember for the rest to of the life. the person who will come for pick up, first apartment where you will stay, your first drive in the American roads, cars, …..So, just ENJOY your first experience. I still talk about that experience. It was rainy afternoon on Dec, 30th in Dallas Airport …

I really appreciate some comment if you like the posts in my blog. That would give me an idea on what topics to write about. Just click on comment link below this post and pen down your thoughts.

What is form I-94?

I-94 is Arrival/Departure record, issued by U.S. Immigration ( USCIS). I -94 will be given when in flight before landing in U.S. Immigration officer will write down arrival date, when authorized period of stay expires in U.S. Also, immigration office might ask you few questions about your purpose of your visit.

Make sure its staple to your passport pages. Don’t lose it. You have to return it when departing the country, either by land, sea, or flight. If they don’t ask for it, make sure you give it to concerned person, before departure. Click here to find more information about I-94 form.

After arrival in U.S.

I was thinking about what different experiences/thoughts/questions a student could face in first few days after arriving U.S. and I came with the following list.

1) Searching for seniors who have come to pick you from airport ( when you walk out from airport)

2) You will notice difference in the people around.

3) You will be asked to Buckle up your seat belts in the car.

4) You might have booked your apartment online from India and move into an unfurnished empty apartment the first day with 2/3 suitcases.

5) Seniors might accommodate few new comers in your apartment for temporary stay

6) You could be put in with any of your seniors apartment till you find a place for you

7) After landing in U.S., you will ask for a way to call India to inform your parents about your safe arrival.

I have seen few cry when they talk to parents back home after arriving.

9) Some of you might come without arranging for pickup and cab driver would have dropped in front of the campus and you will have no contact and no where to go

10) You would tend to ask lot of questions about everything ( everything is different)

11) Seniors might take you for McDonald’s, Indian Restaurant or some other fast food chains

12) You might end up in your own apartment and making friends with your neighbours.

13) Seniors will ask not to sleep till night time if you arrived in U.S. in day time

14) You will be amazed ti see sunlight till 9 PM

15) Ask if you can access Internet to check your email

16) I have seen few who will feel relaxed and filled with joy, after coming to U.S. ( maybe they could have tried very hard to get study here)

17) You will ask about opening bank account and finding how bank works.

18) Compare the food you get from students cooking to delicious food mom cooks back home.

19) When I first entered into Walmart, I couldn’t believe my eyes, seeing its size. I never saw a super market of that size. That would make your eyes blink.. and say ..wow.. I’m in America

20) If you haven’t found an apartment after you arrived in U.S. searching for nice place to stay will be bit hectic.

21) You would go for a walk and come back home and say to seniors that a foreigner smiled at me and said Hello

22) First item you take from grocery store, see its price and do a mental calculation ( $5 * 40)

23) That calculation will continue for every item you put into your cart.

24) Your shopping experience will be different if you move-in with any senior who is been there for atleast 1 year.

25) I have taken so many new students to Walmart/Indian store within first few days of arrival. Usually, they don’t buy any stuffs, they will be hesitant. Not sure, if the price they will pay is wort its value. So, I will step-in and say take that blue comforter, that’s the cheapest you can get.

26) Amazed to see so many different types of car

27) No 2 cars you will find of same make, model and color.

28) No more than 1 people inside the car.

29) When you turn on the TV, ad’s will look different.

30) If you answer any marketing phone calls from 1-800 number, you wouldn’t understand a word they talk

31) I was asked by almost everyone whom I pickedup from airport, about part time jobs, aid.

32) What kind of part time job students does?

33) How will they pay?

34) Just after I say them while entering the campus, that university starts from othert side of the road, why is there no walls surrounding the campus?

35) Will it snow here?

36) Do you have a part time job/aid?

That’s not the end of it. If you happen to face any of the above situations, just pen down a comment with the thought number before it.

Like, I came across 26, 10, 13

If you wonder, what inspired me to write this list, its was because of comment from on the the reader, saying, I had faced 90% situations you were writing about.

How much was your flight ticket?

Also, if you can comment about the your air fare cost and your travel agent details. This will be helpful for students who are looking for air tickets.

Lufthansa : One way ( Chennai - Frankfurt - Dallas) Rs 35,000
……..

Airline baggage allowance?

I was wondering, if you can comment about the baggage allowance in the flight you are planning to fly and what is the additional cost you have to pay, if you carrying more than allowed limits. This will be helpful for students who are looking for air tickets.

Cathy Pacific - 32kgs x 2
Singapore Airlines - 32 kgs x 2
……..

International Driving Permit: Do I need one?

I wouldn’t not spend time to get an International Driving Permit (IDP) which will have 1 year validity. Infact its waste of money and time spent to get it. But, don’t forget to bring your original driving license.

Every state in U.S. has different rule with International Driving License ( or Permit). For example, in Texas, its valid only for 1 month even though its has validity of 1 year.

Some car rental companies like Enterprise, Thrifty will allow you to rent a car with Indian Driving License. You can use that to rent a car with insurance and have an driver with license within your car and get your license here.

Getting license here is easy process and if you have driven car in India, it should be very easy and if not, you could learn in few days. For now, don’t spent time, waste money in getting International Driving License ( or Permit). How to get driving license here is an whole new topics to talk about.

Lufthansa Business Class experience : Students

Wow! that’s what I would say. After long struggle to get F1 student visa, day came to fly out from Chennai. I arrived late in the airport. Flight time was 1.45 AM. I was in the airport around 11.30 PM. Took my bags to check-in and got the boarding pass and moved towards the security check.

It was my flight experience and I with other students planning to fly, were waiting in the hall and I was surprised to see 8 students to same university, yes that’s right, University of Texas at Arlington( few years back, now things are real good at UTA). So, we were checking everyone seating to see if anyone is next to each other.

All, I knew is that I paid Rs 40,000 for 1 way economy fare. One of guys said, did you have Business Class boarding pass. They were boarding for First and Business class. So, I wasn’t sure and I asked the gate Lufthansa agent and they said, its business class boarding pass and I can board. Wow-o-Wow.

I didn’t realize till I flew in economy class from Frankfurt to Dallas, how good it was to be a Business Class passenger in Lufthansa. It was very nice experience. Later, I learned, if Economy class is overbooked, they will give Business Class free upgrade in airlines.

I have to add topic about flight overbooking and how to take advantage of it. You might get upto 700 Euros flight voucher.

Don’t be late to the airport!!

ICICI Students medical insurance

To find out how ICICI students medical insurance works, I spoke to ICICI agent regarding their International students health insurance and their 3rd party administrator ( SOS International ).

If you have to visit a doctor for treatment, you can go to any doctor. Pay for their expenses and file a claim and get it reimbursed. Sounds simple and easy.

But, you have to pay the provider ( doctor ) first and then file a claim. What if you have to pay more than you can afford?

I have an X-ray in Emergency Room and have the bill for $729.81 ( my insurance covered it and I had to pay $1.71)

So, ICICI chat guy said, SOS will arrange for Cashless facilities, where we can get treatment for medical conditions and file the claim after we get the bill and pay the provider.

I called SOS International over the phone to find about cashless facilities. They said its depends on the provider ( doctor/hospital).

I’m not saying someone shouldn’t take insurance from India. But, talk to few people. I have given my opinion.

I browsed for cheap students insurance and came across ISO, International Student Organization. You can use that site as a reference for comparison. They don’t provide all the features insurance companies from India provide.

Just to let you know, I have expressed my views and used ICICI for reference. Please free to checkout other companies like Aetna, United Health, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, ..

How Studdent Health Insurance Works

This post is the continuation of the previous post regarding Travel Health Insurance.

To make how health insurance works, I google’d to find this good link from eHealthInsurance

It will explain the concepts of deductible, co-payment, co-insurance, out of pocket maximum. There are different types of health insurance based on the above explained terms. In India, health insurance is not a big concept, since medical expenses are cheap when compared to U.S. if you wonder how costly it can be, let me give my real life experience.

Student Health Insurance Coverage - Example

Like every other student, I signed up for the mandatory student health insurance coverage offered by that university will provide. Some universities its optional. They accept the health insurance provided by outside companies. Since, its new concept and never paid attention to the details when all is well. I have been to University hospital ( within campus ), they will ask for ID card and get the treatment for free and we have to pay for the medicines.

I had an health problem and its was serious one. So, I started looking at the details. Spoke to few seniors to understand the terms ( deductible, co-payment, co-insurance, out of pocket maximum) and few more terms like network, in-patient stay, …

I created a new account with the medical insurance website and searched to find the doctor who will treat my condition. Can we go to any doctor we want? Yes, you can, but if that doctor doesn’t come under the network with your health insurance company, you will have to pay more.

Health insurance companies will negotiate deal with doctors for providing treatments to their patients ( like you and me. Say $100 for general checkup which is negotiated rate) for lesser cost.

If we go doctor in different network ( he might charge $150 for general checkup) so my insurance company will pay only $100. We have to pay the rest ($50).

I found the doctor in my network and he treated my condition. In my plan deductible was $500 and out of pocket maximum was around $5,000. Total cost of surgery was around $24,000.

Insurance company will pay 80% of 24,000 and rest I have to pay. Which is around $4,500.

Now, you will have an idea of how much health insurance will help you. But, I still ended up paying the rest.

I don’t to do a lengthy post. But, if still haven’t answered the question, to take insurance offered by companies in India or not? I couldn’t get few details from their websites about the student travel and medical plan they offer. I have emailed them to clarify few things. Will let you know the advantages and dis-advantages.

I missed few other terms like policy, coverage, insurance premium. You should find all the details from Google.

Till then happy packing - you can use list of items to pack to US within 23 Kgs suitcase.

32 Kgs in Cathy Pacific, Singapore airlines

I happened to find from on of the groups that Cathy Pacific / Singapore airlines flights to U.S is still allowing 32 kgs per bag. Its good thing.

Most of the airlines wont allow more than 23 kgs per bag. I will find what other airlines are still allowing 32 kgs.

If you wonder why they reduced to 23 kgs? Its simple..less weight… less fuel consumption. With oil per barrel is around $77 if they want to maintain lower cost per ticket with increasing fuel cost, only way is to reduce the baggage weight allowance.

In Lufthansa, if you have to carry 32 kgs instead of 23kgs, you will have to pay Rs2,500. Make sure you check with Airline about baggage allowance. Here list of items to pack for U.S. travel

Air Travel - Jet Lag how to avoid it?

When you are traveling for more than 20 hours of flying time to U.S. you stand a good chance of begin caught by jet lag.

If you are arriving well before your school starts, then you have time to recover, but if you reach 1 week before the school start date then following tips would be of real help.

Drink lots of water. Stretch your legs, arms, go for a walk in-flight.
Avoid alcohol on the plane.
Avoid caffeinated beverages as much as possible.

Based on your flight arrival time in U.S. adjust your sleeping time in the flight.

Suppose you are arriving between 6 am to Noon, make sure you don’t sleep during your first flight out of India ( say India to Europe ). Since, you will be boarding your flight at mid-night ( mostly ), it will be difficult, but worth the try. Sleep well during your next flight from Europe to port of entry in U.S. After you reach your final destination, don’t go to bed. Try to stay awake till 8 P.M. then to bed. If you go to bed say around 3 PM or 4PM, for sure, you will have jet lag for 10 - 15 days. I have seen people sleep whole day and roaming around the school at nights.

Suppose you reach U.S. in the evening, make sure you sleep after you board the flight in India. Don’t sleep in you next connecting flight from Europe.

This will help you get to change your body clock in 1-2 days.

Until next post, sit back, relax and enjoy your last few days in India.

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