Flashback to late 2009 . . . somewhere in October/November
I had been tirelessly filling out college applications and simultaneously trying to survive the International Baccalaureate (perhaps tackling calculus and chemistry questions being fired at me, putting the finishing touches to my Extended Essay while thinking about the next few lines I would add to my college essays)
Flashback to early 2010 . . . around late February or early March?
I had been constantly refreshing my email account to check for any emails from the universities I had applied to! And then that eagerly awaited email arrived from my reach school – The University of Rochester! I was accepted and they were sending out my letters soon!Flashback to the summer of 2010 . . .
I was sitting at my dining table, frantically tearing open the packet that FedEx had shipped that morning. With shaking hands, I read the letter signed by Dean Burdick telling me that I had been accepted to the U of R and commended my high school work and activities!
It was then I knew that I was definitely going to the University of Rochester as one of their international students in the Class of 2014. I mailed the Reply Form telling them that I would be attending starting Fall 2010 and waited.
But I also remember being a bit baffled and perhaps many other international students might be too. What exactly happens once you've submitted the Reply Form accepting your place at the U of R? How do International Students finally enroll and arrive at the U of R – for me at least there were several oceans to fly over before I could start dreaming about starting college in the fall at Rochester! I had heard of the innumerable documents one requires for a visa to travel to other countries so now I was thoroughly confused. What kind of visa would I need to study in the USA? How do I apply for the visa? What documents do I need? And the list went on and on and there was a risk I would get lost in the confusion . . . it is indeed difficult for incoming international students because we are teeming with questions for this new environment in an entirely new country, and add the unbearable excitement of going to college to that!
Two years of college and working with Admissions taught me that year round and throughout the summer too, the staff at various departments of the University of Rochester (Admissions, Enrollment, Orientation, Academic Services, Financial Aid and many more. . . .) work tirelessly to help students fulfill their college dreams! And one of them, the International Services Office (ISO), the department that caters to the needs of international students enrolling and studying at the U of R, answered all my aforementioned innumerable questions! They have an ISO website with wonderful resources that guided me through everything – right from submitting forms and applying for my visa and coming to Rochester!
Undergraduate international students usually are given an F-1 student visa when studying in the US. They submit a Student Request for an I-20 along with financial documents to the University Admissions and once approved, the ISO works with the US government to process an I-20 that is then sent to us. Using this document, we can apply to the US Consulate in your county for a visa, the instructions for which are on the consulate websites! Once the I-20 is completed and sent to you, students pay the SEVIS fee (a fee that international students pay to the government to process their immigration status). But remember to pay the SEVIS fee well in advance because I remember the payment confirmation receipt came from the US government and that takes a while to reach international countries! Once these two documents are in hand, you can fill out your US Visa DS-160 application and schedule an appointment with the consulate! The interview requires several documents (off the top of my head: your Decision Letter from the U of R, financial documents, I-20, SEVIS fee receipt etc.) so plan ahead to get them all in order!
Time is of the essence the summer you apply for your visa because it takes a few weeks for the I-20 to be processed and then arrive via international mail. A few more weeks are taken for the SEVIS fee receipt to arrive. Visa interviews fill up quickly this time of the year when college students apply so plan ahead! And then it takes a week or so for the visa to be processed. Plan, plan, and plan it all out! Before you know it, you'll be all set and ready to begin college in the fall! My summer of 2010 was over so quick, I found myself flying from Singapore to India and onwards to the US while visiting relatives, packing and saying goodbyes!
Once you come in to the university in August, ISO asks that incoming international students check in with them to ensure that both you and the ISO has all the necessary documents. There is even a required International Student Orientation Program run by the ISO where international students are briefed on regulations, travel, taxes, student employment etc. It is run during the week of Freshmen Orientation. ISO also partners up with the Rochester International Council to assign a host family to international students if they wish and you take it from there where you can go grab dinner with them once in a while and ease settling in to American life! For internationals that work on campus, the ISO organizes tax workshops to guide us through the steps. ISO caters not only to undergraduates, but also to graduate students and organize several events year around where you can interact with other international students on campus and meet the ISO staff too. A few of them are the seasonal ski trips or city trips that are a great way to meet other students! And watch out for the yummy study break sponsored by them during finals week and their newsletters in your email inboxes!
As an international student studying in a different country, there are many things that students have to keep in consideration. It can be a daunting task to take in so much new information but the ISO has been a great resource to me and have always been available to help me. I am extremely thankful that they are there to guide international students, whatever the problem may be! Upon asking Sylvia Kless, Associate Director of ISO, what her most rewarding experience at work is, she replies, "I have been working with international students for over 25 years and still enjoy meeting new students when they first arrive and welcoming them to Rochester and the University. They are usually so excited to finally be here and get started. We have an international student orientation program to tell new students about the campus and all that is available to them as well as both the rules and privileges of being an international student in the US."
And Sylvia further gives some great advice to you prospective international students out there! – "Smile and introduce yourself, be friendly, Americans want to meet you and get acquainted. Study hard but find some spare time to go to the gym or join a club, sign up for an American host family to be invited home for dinner and go on an ISO trip (Niagara Falls during fall break). Feel free to come to the International Services Office (ISO) when you have questions or need help. Have a sense of humor – learning to live in a different culture can be confusing and sometimes frustrating but also fun, challenging and interesting and it is a great asset to be flexible enough to live in another culture that will serve you well through life."
Very true, it is indeed the start of a new chapter in life, so embrace it!