Christa

Thank you all for your answers. Google voice and the likes aren't an option because I'm not currently in the US. I'm going to Madison and the reason I wanted to order beforehand was because my laptop is nearly dying (doesn't stay on for longer than an hour before it shuts down suddenly) so I need something good for school and to talk my parents overseas. I couldn't use Amazon either because I'm having it custom made but I solved my problem by using my very kind future roommate's phone number. I'll be ordering in a couple of days before I take my flight to the US. Hopfull all goes well.

Hey all, I wasn't sure if I should put this here or on the International Students forum, but I decided to put it here so it'd get more views and hopefully responses. I'm an international student and I'll be arriving in the states next month. I want to order some furniture and a laptop online and have them delivered to my apartment the day I get to the US. However, I'm having a lot of trouble doing this. First, many websites don't offer the possibility of scheduling a delivery (at least that's how it seems to me) and those that offer it ask for a phone number to be called the day before the delivery arrives (and I have no phone number in the states). Is there any advice you can offer me on having a scheduled delivery? Also, if I go to a store on a Saturday and order furniture there, would they deliver it to my apartment on the same day or not? Sorry if any of the questions is silly but I'm not familiar with how these things work in the US. Thanks Christa

It shouldn't take more than a couple of days unless the school is particularly busy. Are you sure the documents have arrived at the school? international mail can take over 2 weeks to get to the states unless you sent them via DHL or the likes of it. If you're sure that the school has had your documents for 16 days then email and ask them about it.

You could post this on craigslist too which might get you more results.

Dornos, thanks for the response. So Eagle Heights and Harvey St. aren't at a walkable distance to the restaurants and bars? and how much should I expect to pay for a room with housemates in the Willy St. area or the Villas? and as I'm international I'm not very familiar with all the utilities that I should watch out for, so what are they? Also, what's a reasonable estimate for the internet+electricity bill and during the winter, the heating bill?

Thanks for your reply. I looked at the McPride Point website but it seems too expensive for me (+$1000 for a 1bd). Neighborhoods wise, what are the areas that are either 1) walking distance away from campus or 2) a short bus ride (5-10 mins) and in a vibrant area (good restaurants, good transportation to different parts of town and quiet)? Also, do you know how good the university apartments (Eagle Heights and Harvey St.) are? They seem to be the cheapest options and I was hoping that since they belong to the school, there won't be any major problems or inconveniences. Thanks again

Can you guys give us an idea of which property management companies are recommended in Madison?

Just email and ask. Regardless of funding situation, as an international student (I'm assuming you are) you need to fill out a financial certificate and send it back to the school (even if they fully fund you) so that they can issue an I-20 for visa purposes.

How much time do we get over Christmas? I was under the impression that for those of us who will be TAing, Christmas will be like 4-5 days of vacation between the two semesters. Is this not the case?

I know this has been said before but I feel the need to stress it. There really are no safety schools in grad applications. I applied to 8 school, 4 highly ranked and what I thought were out of my reach and the other 4 were my safeties (low rankings- some even below 200) and you know what? I was admitted to the top 4 and rejected from all 4 that I though were safety and it was all because of fit! So if I have to give one advice to anyone, it'd be find the places you fit in most and apply to those.

Best of luck! Let us know how it goes

You're welcome Best of luck.

Well the US embassy's website should be more than enough. In general though, you need to bring your translated transcripts, GRE, TOEFL, bank statement and any other documents that prove ties to your home country (like property of a house)

LightTreasure, you can't start the visa process until you get your I-20 because you need the number on it to pay the SEVIS fee and then to fill out the DS-160 so nothing you can do I think unless you want to start preparing the documents you need to take with you to the embassy. If they don't reply soon maybe you should shoot them another email and make sure you stress with them the fact that you're from India which means you might face delays while scheduling appointments at the embassy etc so you want to star the process asap. Good luck.

About work experience, if you haven't worked or accepted a job offer I don't think there's any reason for you to list it. Also, regarding internships, I had a couple of unpaid summer internships and wasn't sure if I needed to include them since I didn't think of them as employment (no pay and a couple of months each) so I asked the educational adviser (who is an American adviser working alongside the US embassy) and he said there's no need to mention them. As for what to put for the time period, I think you should put in the period stated on the I-20 because that's what the interviewer will be looking at during the interview. and one final note, when not sure about something, you can email the embassy and in my experience they usually respond fast to emails. Good luck