Pre-Arrival & Orientation Information

SPRING 2015

DEAR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT:

Congratulations on your acceptance to The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). We will be delighted to have you with us in Texas beginning in Spring2015.

In order to begin your college life successfully, read this entire letter carefully. It contains information about required New International Student orientation, arrival, housing, monetary needs and more.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

Please bring these with you to the New International Student Orientation:

• Passport

• I-94 “Arrival/Departure” card (unless it is online)

• I-20 or DS-2019 (if you enter on a J-1 visa or other immigration document)

• If you are a sponsored student, please bring your DS-2019.

• If you do not have your I-20 yet, please bring your acceptance letter from UTA

REQUIRED NEW INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ORIENTATION

Plan to attend ONE of the following:

DATE TIME LOCATION

FEDERAL IMMIGRATION STATUS REQUIREMENTS

Even if you pay in-state tuition and are considered a domestic student for tuition purposes,

federal immigration status determines which requirements you must satisfy.

F-1, J-1 (Including transfer students)

A-1, A-2, E-1, E-2, H-1, H-4, L-1, J-2, L-2, O-3, NATO, R-1, R-2, TD, TN, I-485 Filers,I-130 Petitioners,I-140 Petitioner Dependent, Transient Students(Including those on F-1 visas from other universities)

K-1, K-3, TPS (Applicants for Asylum/Asylees/Refugees

Required International Student OrientationNOT the same as department or New Maverick Orientation

Health InsuranceRequirement

Tuberculosis TestRequirement Performed by Health Services

YES YES YES

YES YES

NO

BUT immigration documents must be brought to the Office of

International Education(Swift Center, 1022 UTA Blvd.)

NO NO YES

PLEASE NOTE:

FOR LATE ARRIVALS ONLY:

• All international students are required to attend orientation before registering for classes for the first semester at UTA.

• Do not make any appointments during the orientation. You must stay for the entire time.

• If you arrive later than 9:30 am, you will be required to attend the next scheduled orientation before you may register for classes.

• Orientation topics may include: cultural adjustment, immigration regulations, employment and taxes, campus resources, academic regulations, class registration, health services and health insurance.

• Undergraduates are required to take the TSI THEA prior to enrollment unless otherwise exempt. Please see www.uta/testing for more information.

• If you cannot arrive at UTA by the date indicated

on your immigration documents, you must request

a late arrival letter from the Office of International

Education (OIE) at least two (2) weeks before you

leave for the U.S. To request this, please email

international@uta.edu.

• Undergraduate late arrivals must report to the

OIE (Swift Center) no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday,

January 22, 2015. If you are unable to report to

the UT Arlington campus by that date, please

contact jrussell@uta.edu to defer your admission

to another semester.

• Graduate late arrivals must report to the OIE

(Swift Center) no later than 5:00 p.m.. on Tuesday,

February 3, 2015. If you are unable to report to

the UT Arlington campus on that date, contact

graduate admissions at http://grad/pci..uta.edu/

about/contact to defer your admission to another

semster.

• Students under 22 years old who are arriving late

are also responsible for completing the bacterial

mengitis vaccination requirement by the deadline

and will not be able to register for classes until

after they have reported to the OIE (Swift Center).

IMPORTANT:

NEW VACCINE REQUIREMENT

FOR ALL INCOMING

STUDENTS.

Please check

http;//www.uta.edu/news/info/

meningitis.php

January 9

January 13

January 16

January 20

8 a.m.-5 p.m.

8 a.m.-5 p.m.

8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Bluebonnet, UC

Bluebonnet, UC

Swift Center

Swift Center

Post-Arrival Information

SPRING 2015

TRANSPORTATION FROM DALLAS-FORT WORTH AIRPORT TO UTA

ACCOMODATIONS

• A shuttle or taxi is available from the DFW Airport to campus. Go Yellow Checker Shuttle charges $22; a taxi is more expensive.

• After claiming your luggage, use an airport courtesy phone marked “Ground Transportation” to request this service

• Free airport pickups: utabighowdy.com

VISA & IMMIGRATION INFORMATION

• If you have been admitted to more than one U.S. college/university, carefully select one school to attend

• You must use the I-20 from the school that you plan to attend when you apply for your F-1 Visa.

• Transfer students who travel outside the U.S. before coming to UTA, should re-enter on UTA’s I-20.

• European, Japanese and Korean students should not enter under that visa waiver pilot program.

• Do not enter the U.S. in B-2 (Tourist) Status.

• If you do not plan to attend UTA this semester, but plan to enroll at UTA in the future, you should contact:Undergraduates: UTA Admissions Office: jrussel@uta.eduGraduates: UTA Graduate Admissions: graduate.school@uta.edu

ON-CAMPUS HOUSING (RESIDENCE HALLS OR APARTMENTS)• Request information from the Housing Office:

uta.edu/housing• Residence halls are furnished with a bed, dresser, desk and chair.

TEMPORARY LODGING• Parkway Inn: 817-860-2323. Average price

$49/night (0.3 mi from campus)• Budget Host: 817-548-9977. $45.95+/night (1.8 mi from campus)• America’s Best Value Inn: 817-459-2171. $52/night (1.3 mi from campus)

Due to the large volume of incoming students, the Office of International Education does not assist with securing housing or arranging airport transportation.

OFF-CAMPUS HOUSING• Plan to arrive one to two weeks prior to orientation in order to have

adequate time to find an apartment and move in before class begins.• There is no public transportation within Arlington. This will affect

your choice of housing if you do not have a car. • UTA operates a shuttle service to area shops on Saturday only.• Apartments generally do not include furniture, however, they do

include a stove and a refrigerator.

Visit www.collegeapartmentguide.com/UTABasicSearch.php to find apartments near campus.

USEFUL WEBSITESTUITION, FEES, PAYMENT MONEY AND HEALTH INFO

•

•

•

• UTA requires tuberculosis testing for all new incoming international students. Only TB tests administered in the U.S. are accepted. UTA charges $15 for this service, which is added to your tuition and fees. More information is available at www.uta.edu/health_services/.

UTA ScheduleGo to: www.uta.edu, click “sign in MyMav”, click schedule of classes

DFW Airport Informationwww.dfwairport.com

Undergraduate Financial Aidwww.uta.edu/fao

Graduate Financial Aidgrad.uta.edu/prospective/ fin_aid_resources.asp

UTA Undergraduate Cataloguta.edu/catalog

UTA Graduate Cataloggrad.uta.edu/catalog

Nationality Organizations at UTA (contact your nationality organization for arrival assistance) http://mavorgs.collegiatelink.net/

TSI THEA (test for undergraduates)uta.edu/uac/testing/tsi-thea

Computer Help Deskuta.edu/oit/clientservices

CONTACTOffice of International EducationSwift Center - 1022 UTA Blvd.p: 817.272.2355 f:817.272.5005e: international@uta.eduwww.uta.edu/oie

The University of Texas Board Of Regents has passed Regents Rule 50402, which now requires all international students to have medical insurance compliant with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).The UT Student Health Insurance Place (UT SHIP) meets the new requirements. Enrollment in UT SHIP is automatic each semester and the insurance premium is automatically charged to your tuition fee account when you register for classes. Students who are new Spring 2015 can sign up for UT SHIP during their orientation.The UT System has established new criteria in which an international student can request a waiver to the student health insurance plan by providing alternate health insurance coverage. In order to be approved for a waiver, your alternate health coverage must meet or exceed the requirements as set in the System regulation and be PPACA compliant. All waivers must be submitted before the Spring 2015 census date: February 4, 2015.Students considering a waiver of the UT SHIP should review the guidelines below before submitting a waiver

Criteria to submit a waiver request:1. Sponsored Plan (US Government, Foreign Government, Embassy)2. UT Employee Group Health Plan (must be ACA compliant)3. US Employer Plan (must be ACA compliant)4. US Individual Plan purchased from the Exchange (must be ACA compliant)5. Enrolled exclusively in distance learning programs

If you meet one of the above criteria, then your alternate health insurance coverage must meet the following minimum requirements:1. Unlimited maximum on benefits2. No Pre-existing condition limitation3. $500 or less deductible per condition4. Mandatory coverage period: January 1, 2015 through August 14, 2015

After registration, full payment of tuition, fees and helath insurance can be paid by credit card, traveler’s check, bank draft (payable to UTA), cash, or personal bank check. An installmant plan is available to all students requires payment of 33% of tuition and fees (plus $10) by the payment deadline and two addtional payments of 33%. The exact cost of tuition cannot be known until you register for classes. Tution can be estimated at www.uta.edu/fees. Currently, tution and fees for an international student for one semester are approximately $8,195 for 12 semester hours of undergraduate course work and $7,756 for 9 semester hours of graduate coursework. This amound does not include the cost of UTA health insurance, which is $1151 per student for coverge for the Spring/Summer 2015 semester which provides coverage from January 1, 2015 until August 14, 2015.

To cover immediate expenses such as tuition and fees, apartment deposit and rend, food and incidentals, bring at least $6,000 with you, preferably in the form of traveler’s checks. This amount is a portion of the expenses listed on the I-20 or DS-2019 and is based on the installment plan described above. You may bring a check or money order from your home country bank to deposit in a bank in Arlington, but you will not be able to access the money until the check is processed, which may take up to one month. A bank in your home country may charge a check-processing fee for its own checks which are cashed abroad. This fee can be as high as $100, the cost of which will be charged back to you by UT Arlington or the U.S. bank where you decide to deposit the check. Bank drafts may be made payable to The University of Texas at Arlington. Money transfers from one U.S. bank to another can take 7 to 10 days to be processed.

Please do what you can to arrange your housing accommodations before you arrive on campus. This process can sometimes take extra time and areas lose to campus are limitied