Success The Turning Point

Author(s): Rajendra Rakhecha
Publisher: Rajendra Rakhecha

Page 35

For on campus housing, the university decides who your roommate will be. However you can always give preference of your roommate but it is not guaranteed that the same person will be your roommate. For off campus housing, again, Facebook / Yahoo University groups helps. You can post your preferences for roommate or create a spreadsheet with details about your name, major, place you are from, preferred roommate: Gender, preferred eating style: veg/non veg etc. Once you have tentatively finalised roommate, preferred from the same or nearby city in India, you may want to meet, discuss in detail and understand the personality. Booking ticket Early booking of tickets may help save few bucks. You may want to visit all the travel sites to get an idea about the range of ticket cost. It is advised to fly minimum 2 weeks before the orientation to settle down, shop, and know the place, people and the university. Bulk booking and booking through agents may save your time and its hassle free. You are suggested to check how much free baggage is allowed by the airline. It is good to weight the baggage at home before starting. Remember always: BE CAREFUL with ALL your documents all through your travel. The following documents are quite important for a peaceful stay in the U.S.A:
Original Form I-20. Original Passport with valid F-1 Visa. Original Form 1-94 (Do not ever remove, it is stapled to your passport! This document is more important than the passport itself!). Demand drafts, Travelers' Checks, and currency. Any sealed documents that the US Consulate gave you. Other important documents, such as previous academic records.
Vaccination Certificate. • Letter of admission/financial aid. About facilities of communication Once you are in the US, the first thing you need to do is get a phone. Seniors will help you get to the nearest phone store and depending on the rates and plan you may choose a service of your liking. AT&T is popular in the east. But there are other service providers like the Sprint, Verizon and T mobile etc. Few offers like free instrument with specific period of service might be attractive. For India calling, there are a bunch of options like Dial91, IndiaLD, Raza, Reliance, etc. These can be availed through online payment and may be changed within a month if not satisfied. Next step would be to get a laptop. Desktop would be available at library of university. You may want to wait for better sales deal like labor day to buy your own. Also you can subscribe internet jointly with your roommate. About facilities of communication - It is observed that skype, yahoo, msn, gtalk like applications are the most economical voice communication mean if internet facility is available at either sides. Users can call any mobile in USA free of cost using Google talk. About insurance Most students are covered by the university insurance. However, if it is too expensive, you may want to opt for a cheaper one from US. www.isoa.org offers reasonable price for students with good coverage. It is discourage to come to US with an Indian Insurance, many Hospitals and doctors do not accept it!! Cooking & other skills