Introductory International Student Success Webinar Summary

Transcription

1 Introductory International Student Success Webinar Summary First Week in the US Housing Finalize housing as early as possible because it gets taken up by undergrads fairly early. A lot of resources are available here: Utilities Eastside of campus -Close to bars/restaurants -Close to campus -Expensive -Can get loud in some areas -Older houses Westside of Campus/ Coralville area -Far from restaurants -Cheaper, newer housing -Peaceful -Closer to Coralville strip and Kinnick Stadium Check with your landlord on what you need to set up yourself and who the available providers are. Find out what internet service is available in your apartment as you may have to call them and have them deliver the modem etc. Utilities run up to approximately $50/month/person. Set these up before your arrival so you don t have to go without them during your first few days. If you don t have internet set up before you get here, you can always go to a coffee shop nearby. The Tippie MBA Program on the 4 th floor of the Pomerantz Center is available for your use during the day Monday-Friday 8am-5pm. Feel free to stop by and meet the staff or use the internet with your HawkID! Other university facilities like the library are open beyond those hours.

2 Airport Arrival o o If you come in during the day and have to wait a few hours until you get your apartment, you are more than welcome to leave your suitcase at the Pomerantz Center for a little bit. Have a printout with the directions to the Pomerantz Center handy for when you get to Iowa City, in case you don t have a working phone/internet. Cedar Rapids o Cabs are available and will take you directly where you want to go. o The Cedar Rapids Shuttle service will wait for your flight to arrive, even if your flight is delayed, if you have made a reservation online. You may have to stop to let other passengers out on the way to yours. Click to make a reservation o Iowa RideShare: Available but not recommended for the first day. The first week is a hassle as it is, try and not be too creative with trying to save money on things like this, at least on your first day. FROM CHICAGO TO IOWA CITY VIA BUS Buses from Chicago to Iowa City 1. Greyhound ( 2. Megabus ( 3. Burlington Trailways ( Bus station locations in Chicago: Greyhound and Burlington Trailways 630, West Harrison Street Chicago, IL Megabus 300 S Canal St, Chicago, IL TICKETS: Book bus tickets at least 1 month in advance before your arrival date Greyhound and Burlington Trailways have $1 tickets, if you book exactly one month before your travel date, i.e. (if you arrive on Aug 7 and book your tickets on July 7, you have options of purchasing $1 tickets from Chicago to Iowa City). Megabus usually has $5 tickets if you book well in advance. Since you will have to go through the immigration, pick up luggage, and then take a train from O Hare airport to the bus terminal, you will need at least 3-4 hours to get to the bus station from the time of your arrival at the airport. (Train travel time from O hare to Bus Station is 50 minutes approx). NOTE: Do check for additional prices on extra baggage

3 HOW TO GET TO BUS STATION FROM O HARE AIRPORT: Take a Blue line train from O hare airport and get down at Clinton-Blue line stop Walk from Clinton Blue line stop to the Greyhound/Burlington Trailways terminal or the Megabus terminal Get your maps printed since you might not have GPS and cellphones. CLINTON BLUE LINE TO GREYHOUND/BURLINGTON TRAILWAYS CLINTON BLUE LINE TO MEGABUS

4 Furniture Get your mattress early! o Recommended websites: Amazon.com, Walmart.com o Depending on where you get it, it can take a few days for the mattress to get to you. Cheap options: Church Giveaway: During your first couple weeks here, there will be a church give away for international students where you can pick out any furniture you may need. Try and get your things from this event before you purchase anything else, as it may save you a lot of money. Garage sales: keep a look out for these as you can get some great, cheap things here. Craigslist.com: People post available goods and services here. While you can get some really great items here for really great prices, be very careful to avoid scammers etc. Try and meet sellers in daylight, in public areas and don t invite them inside your house. Bank Account Recommended Bank: Hills Banks. It provides free Wire Transfers. You can connect your bank account to your UIowa Card. Don t carry too much cash with you are when travelling. You can easily have it wired once you have set up your bank account. Carry enough to get you through the first month. Cellphone Your cellphone may or may not work on roaming when you get here. Sim Cards are available in kiosks at the Chicago airport, but they can be very expensive. AT&T -Cheap and, with the pay-as-you-go service, you can use your old phone. -Pay-As-You-Go does not require a credit check. -Reception can be choppy in Iowa City. Sprint, Verizon, US Cellular, etc. -You will, most likely, have a credit check to use their phones. -Reception is fairly good in Iowa City, including in the Pomerantz Center. Transportation Great bus service in most areas within the city and the Coralville area during the day on weekdays. Some routes will take you to grocery stores. Most international students (but not all) can use their licenses from their home countries to rent cars.

5 To apply for the US driver s license you have to be a resident in the state for at least 30 days before giving the test. Roommates You can use the Facebook group to find MBA roommates. However, this can be hard as you will be spending time during classes and after classes. You can also use your landlord to help you find them. Just be careful as, again, you will be spending a lot of time with them! Successful Internship Search Start early! An Internship search here is very different here and a lot more difficult. Work on your Resume & Cover letter before your arrival. Prepare for career fairs- Career Services will be sending out an with details soon, but do background research before deciding where you want to go. Networking/ Connections- Cannot emphasize how important this is. Most students find their internships and full-time positions in this way. Utilize Career Services- they are a resource! Elevator Pitch- Try and work on this a little bit before you get here as there won t be much time once you re here. Research industries and companies of interest before coming to campus. This can be very helpful, especially since the career fairs are so close to your arrival dates. Preparing for a Successful Academic Year Teamwork This will be a big part of your schooling at Tippie. Try to be a team player and learn from others. It is very close to the way you will be working in corporate America. Ensure that you are putting the right amount of work, if not more. Your reputation will precede you as the year goes on. The class size is very small and word gets around to not just other students but also faculty and staff. Excel and PowerPoint

6 Most of your assignments will involve presenting data in PowerPoints. Work on ways to make sure you can present data and facts in powerful, simple slides. A lot of work is done in excel and you will be given instructions in classes but it is good to have some basic knowledge to hit the ground running right away. Participation Most, if not all, classes have class participation worked into your final grade. This will include asking professors, and even students, questions in class. Get to know your classmates. Participate outside of class to get the most out of your MBA experience. There are several leadership opportunities at the school. Try to take advantage of these as they really give you more substance to talk about in interviews, improving your future career prospects. Organization Try and RSVP to events on the MBA calendar two weeks beforehand. Utilize your Office365 calendar for class schedules, meetings and events. Only attend events you RSVP to and if you do RSVP, ensure you are there at the event. Finally, remember, It s about the experience and what you put into it!