IGSA Orientation for new incoming students

Hello Guys & Gals,
IGSA will be organizing an Orientation for new students coming to UIC, on Friday the August 5th at 5.30 PM. Venue will be

Recovery Room (first room when you come down the stairs to the basement)
Chicago Illini Union (CIU) - West Campus
828 S Wolcott st

We'll touch upon some of the basic tips and strategies to help you get started, settle down and enjoy your student experience at UIC to the fullest extent.

Hoping to see you all there,

Regards,
Prem
IGSA Board

P.S - Entry is free

Padayappa - Movie Screening

Folks,

IGSA welcomes you for seeing Thalaiver Rajnikanth' Padayappa Movie(Tamil)

Venue CIU Recovery Room basement
Time 05.15 p.m (do not follow IST)
Date Friday, 29 July 2005.

A First chance to meet your seniors...!! please do come.. its free.

For reviews, http://in.rediff.com/movies/1999/apr/28pada.htm

P.S We will try to provide sub titles in english but we are not sure...

Regards,
IGSA/UIC

New students... Please read it.

Hi Folks,

Now that actually a few of you have come down to chicago and more of
you guys will be here soon, its time to go through the following
carefully,

1. First and foremost familiarize yourself with the campus
surroundings. Its the most important thing that will help you guys out
in the first few days. One of the best ways to get a feel is to grab a
map from OIS or probably take a print of it from the UIC website and get
aboard the UIC shuttle bus and go around the campus and get a feel of
the campus. Observe where each of the key buildings are. This will
help you a lot for the GA hunt.We recommend sometime in the evening
say after 4 or 5. There will be day light till 7 or 8 for sure most
days now in summer. Use it wisely. Dont spend time during the day. Use
it just for one thing the GA hunt. Get used to the abbreviations for
the various buildings like SSB for Student Service Building, ERF (engg
research facility). Dont get into CTA buses u have to pay for them,
unless u got a U-pass.

P. S: One thing here they call the ground floor as first floor, remember.

2. Do the following stuff the first day in the order mentioned,
Fill up required paper work in OIS(office of international services) in SSB
Create ur net id and enterprise id- cauz there is a lab right
next to OIS in SSB
Give your immunization form, fill it fully. Show it to some senior.
Bank. Its on the basement of UH.There is one on W polk street in
the basement of AOB (west campus) opposite LHS (Library of health
science). There is one more in CCC.Deposit all TCs and stuff. Apply for a secured credit card
by paying a deposit of $500 if you want. But for this u need a SSN number. so wait for that alone. It is highly recommended
though, as you don't have to carry much cash then.
Go to ur department and see if you have any paperwork.
Enquire if there are any forms for them to consider you for a
dept tuition waiver. If there is one, get it and apply for one asap.
Request an appointment with ur temporary advisor and get any
holds u got waived off
Then start giving out resumes.

3. Please get the telephone numbers of the seniors with whom you are
hosted, and still imp their email addresses. Here everybody
communicates with email and almost no one cares to use cell phone for
most things. Just that everybody checks email regularly, almost like a
few times a day.Some people like me check it more like once every 2 or
3 min. Its crazy but it sure works. Especially when you see someone send replies
for your resume the sooner you respond the better it is.

4. Dont keep UIC incoming in digest mode. In case one of us hears abt
any GA openings, we will post it and make sure u go there asap. Other
imp places to keep checking is UIC announce (go find this in UIC
website, if you have not yet found where it is already you are lacking
something seriously ;-)

5. You will have to apply for SSN. You cannot do this for the first 14
or 15 days. So go there in the third week. and get it done asap.

6. Never ever carry your passports or cash more than 10 or 15$ with
you. Worst case if someone pops up armed and asks your wallet, give it
to him and do as he says...but refuse to get into any vehicle or so.
If the person in unarmed just run like crazy. Its not something that
happens here often but is definitely possible, so be careful.

7. As soon as you get the SSN, that will take 10 days after you apply.
So around a month after you come go over to the Thompson center in
Lake/clarke stop of blueline CTA and get your state ID. Dont delay it.
If you are more confident, take the drivers exam. Of course i havent
seen anyone do it that early. But do it asap. The exam is a little
crappy and you can actually fail in the exam here. There is a small booklet that you
guys will get with during your OIS orientation called 'Rules of the
road'. Go through it before giving the written test.

8. Please start looking for roomates and apts asap. The best ones are
gone already but there r still some left so find one and sign the
leases asap. Do the GA hunt from 9-4pm and apt hunt after 4pm. Go
around the streets and look for the 'For Rent' sign. Note down the tel
no. and give them a call. Most of the call go to voicemail. So leave
them a message and they'll get back to you. Another comprehensive
source ( but relatively less known) is the Off campus link under
living section in the UIC web page. You'll need you net ID to log in.
But there u'll find plenty of ads from landlord as well as for
roommates. I know the first few days are hard, but this is just a transitional phase that
everyone of us here went thru. We are here to help you, If you guys
need any help get in touch with one of us.

9. Ok I had a few people of the list ask me if there is any ragging
here. Common guys there is nothing like that here. We are all as
friendly as we can get. And dont get fantasized seeing some crappy
movies and stuff.

10. We really recommend that you move in groups if you want to hang
out late and stuff anywhere. UIC is a pretty safe community, but
incidents do happen. Don't attract any attention to yourself. Just the
usual rules. In case someone approaches and asks you about anything
just politely go away. Most poor people will come and ask you for a
quarter, but just ignore ans continue walking. Be careful when you
have your passports with you. Just the first day and then keep it
locked.

11. Please dont call /refer to people by the race/color/ethinicity. You will be in big trouble.
Of course we all have our own slangs but be careful about what you talk or refer to them in
public.

12. Some tips on GA Hunt.
No place is a exception. If you feel something is remotely
connected to UIC give it a shot. Especially west campus is huge, take
care not to miss any place.
If they ask you, if you know some software say yes without
thinking, but make sure u learn it. No body is going to question you
or ask certificates.
Most cases,if you know just the usuals MS office, basic
networking, web design using dreamweaver/photoshop, some statistical
tools etc you'll be fine.
Spend more time in west campus than east. But dont neglect
the east altoghether.
Spend time to meet profs and talk about RA and TA things too.
I dont want to mention any particular places where u can
look for GAs, but meet seniors here, they will help you out.
When you give a resume, make sure you know where you give
it and get the contact name and address and follow it up. Thats very
imp. More imp than giving resumes.
Be polite. They might get pissed off but have a pleasant
smile and say "Hi", "Thank you", "Have a good one" ( This is a common
phrase here) and stuff.
Try having resumes with multiple skills, like one for RA,
one for TA and one for say web design GA, one for office assistant
kind of GA. and target them correctly, highlight relevant experience
in them.
Show seniors ur resumes and then give it
Most of you will not know what address to put, just put in
the house address where u r being hosted currently, and give their
tel#. No body will call you. It will all be through emails. But make sure you give
UIC ids. It shows u r a bonafide UIC guy to them.
If someone calls for an interview be there on time. This is
very important here. They can be late but not you. Make sure u are
well dressed. Just a shirt and trouser, no ties or suits please. Just
simple and neat and on time.
For GA hunt,you can wear something casual like a simple
shirt/T-shirt and a jeans/trouser. Girls I haven't seen anyone in salwar kameez
orvchuridar. Jeans is very much accepted form of wear. 2 reasons, u
don't have to bother washing it often and second it doesnt look bad.
Dont wear T-shirts with crazy stuff atleast during GA hunt.
Sounds silly, but have a nice breakfast every morning. It
helps, try to give as many resumes that should be the goal. Get used
to cereals/bread toast/glass of milk kinds.
A Bottle of water can save a lot of money. Why the bottle ?
This is because of water fountains to drink water here. Come and see
for urself.

13. There are these creme colored campus phones all over the campus.
You can use them to call any campus number. Most of us have phones in
our offices. When you want to do the follow up stuff, go to a phone thats not used very
frequented and call them one by one.

14. Email as I said is accessible in almost any building in the
campus. There are a lot of public labs operated by ACCC. You can login
using your net ID. They are located in BGRC,BSB, CCC, SSB, SEL,
ERF,.. for a list refer to ACCC site. Almost every one of us have a
laptop or a desktop and I haven't actually seen someone without
internet access at home. If not broadband atleast dial up. So you can
check them anywhere. ACCC gives u a printing allowance from Pharos
stations in all public labs. This is 15$/sem it costs 10 cents a page
but don't worry u wont be needing it. Once you get a job u will have
access to plenty of printers in most dept. Usually ur academic dept
will have a computer lab where u can print ur assignments. Don't abuse
the printers at work place but no one will mind the occassional 2 pages.

15. Use the campus shuttle wisely. Learn abt it. It always starts near
ERF parking and goes all over the campus. The last stop usually is
SEO. So get out there and get in back at ERF. There is red car
facility for use after 11 at night. But you won't use it for the first
few days. U need an I-card to get into them. For the shuttle alone
initial few days say u r a new student and they should let you get in.

16. Culture Shock. Well this is a big thing. This is summer you will
not see all people dressed so .... u guys know. So dont stare. Be
polite. When someone says Hi say Hi back. Anybody on the street will
say Hi to almost anyone. Be polite. Say Thank you and bye when you
leave a office. Appreciate the time they spent for u. Courtesy matters
and remember it. If someone offers you anything be polite.

17. Some ethics on pickup and hosting
Please pay for the cab when you come home.
Offer to help the people who host you. Dont be a burden to them.
If you get into some serious problems with your hosts
(common that wont happen we r all good guys here remember...!) let one
of us from the IGSA board know.
You will not be expected to cook, but offer to help like
washing vessels and stuff.
And please find a house and move asap, we need more houses
to host new people who come after you.

18. Some cheap places to eat on campus
Lao Sze Chuan - near TPA. on Taylor.
China night cafe near racine on taylor
Subway - one on taylor near aberdeen and another on jackson
near halsted
White hen pantry - if you want grab a sandwich or coffee.
On campus food is quite expensive but u get used to it.

19. First few days u folks get this one thing in mind 1$=43 rupees.
Yes I had that feeling too. But get out of it. Don't convert the cost
on everything. Food for one. A bottle of pepsi is about a $1.25 thats
a good 65 rupees if u want to convert. Coffee again $1.25 but yes this
is what it costs and get used to it asap. Want to save money, drink
water!

20. Every building has good AC, and most have a nice lobby. So if you
want to relax for a few min just take a few min off and water
fountains almost everywhere. You will also see vending machines
almost in every building.


Read ACCC website for any comp issues, and get onto listservs.

Guess this must involve a lot of reading and understanding... I guess
time is up plus its late I need to sleep now. So folks please try to
follow this and all the best for ur GA hunt.
Do realise your best friends become your dreaded enemies in the quest
for getting a job now :)

Welcome aborad and best of luck.

IGSA MOVIE: 'Bunty aur Babli' - 22nd July, 2005 @ CIU

Dear guys and gals,

IGSA will be screening the movie 'Bunty aur Babli' coming this Friday. The timing/venue is the same as last time.

The details are:
Venue: Recovery Room, Student Center West (Formerly
CIU)
Date: Friday, July 22nd, 2005
Time: 5:15 pm sharp
The website for the movie:
http://www1.yashrajfilms.com/

Looking forward to see you all there!!

Regards,
IGSA Board

FYI - pickp and hosting

Folks,
Guess most of you have filled up the forms. monel/ramya and nikhil are working hard on ur pickup and accomodation stuff. Just in case you have not do fill it up asap.

Now for those of you who havent understood how the hosting system works please read this.

1. we are doing this as a courtesy and please do not give us conditions like you need this and that. we are trying to help u guys but understand our situation.
2. Hosting will be given only for a few initial days. It will not be for ever. So please start looking for apartments asap and move out, so that other new students will have a place to stay, i mean those who come after you.
3. We will try our best to host you with people from the same state, like people from bombay with seniors who r from bombay kind but it is not for sure.
4. One thing i find a lot, is people requesting to go to veggie house. Free your mind. you cannot expect all that.
5. Try and help the persons with whom you stay by offering them to help with some stuff. and some sweets to those people who host you will be appreciated.
6. offer to pay for anything that the people who host you provide with like phone cards and stuff.

Pickup
1. If you have filled up the form atleast 5 days in advance you can be assured that someone will be there to pick you up.
2. You will NOT repeat NOT be informed as to who will be coming to pick u up or where you will be hosted. However if the seniors decide to let you guys know abt it, its upto them. but IGSA will not inform you abt this.
3. Please try and determine who else is flying along with u in the same flight by interacting with each other in uic_incoming.
4. A real big request, please do not give any of our telephone numbers to your parents in INDIA for them to call and learn your safe arrival. Tell them clearly that it will take approximately 4-5 hours for you to reach home and call them after you land in chicago. They can track your flights if the need be through websites like http://www.aeroseek.com/webtrax/
5. You will have to pay for taxi and do not expect the person who picks you to pay the taxi. It will take upto 30-50$ for a taxi depending on time of the day and size of your luggage. If two people share the cab you can split the money. Carry suitable change with you.
6. If possible have a smaller suitcase with you with enough dresses and stuff that you need for a few days so that you need not open your actual suitcases in the place where you are hosted.

Immigration stuff
1. you will be given a I-94 form on the flight before you land in US. fill that form before to save some time.
2. you will be finger printed and photographed and you might be asked a few questions.
3. have ur passport, i-20 and filled up i-94 form.
4. the whole process takes abt 2 or 3 min but the queues might be long.
5. your luggage will have to picked up outside of the immigration area.
6. usually no one will be asked to open your bagggage but just in case co-operate.


Hope you guys all have a gr8 flight and see you all the IGSA orientation.(date to be announced)


--
Cheers,
Madhu
http://igsa.pages.uic.edu
webteam@IGSA

IGSA MOVIE TIME!! 'D' - 8th July, 2005 @ CIU

Hey everybody,

IGSA will be screening the movie 'D' coming this Friday.

The details are as follows:
Venue: Recovery Room, Student Center West (Formerly CIU)
Date: Friday, July 8th, 2005
Time: 5:15 pm sharp
You can have a look at the reviews at
http://in.rediff.com/movies/2005/jun/03dreview.htm
http://indiafm.com/reviews/05/d/index.shtml

Looking forward to see you all there!!

Regards,
IGSA Board

Pickup and accomodation

Hi guys !

Just a reminder to fill up the pickup and accommodation form.

Note:
All those who have filled the form will receive pickup from the airport and will be temporarily hosted.
Taxi fare from the airport to UIC campus ranges from $ 30 to $ 60 plus tip, depending on the location etc,. So it would be better if u all could come in groups by the same flight.
Please carry change of 100$ - 1$, 5$, 10$ notes of sufficient amount. Sorry but we can’t give the names of people who are picking or hosting u’ll until u are in Chicago.

The hosting is temporary, only for a couple of weeks till u folks find your roommates and apartments and get settled down.
The hosts are doing a great job so please be thankful and adjusting.

These are the pple who have filled the form till now:

Ms.Geetanjali Kshirsagar
Mr. Mahender Hari
Mr. Arunan Rabindran
Mr. Prasanth Parmeswaran
Ms. Dhwani Palan
Mr. Rahil kothari
Mr. Saiprasad Santhanakrishnan
Mr. Sureshkumar govindaraj
Mrs. Kavitha Shankaranarayanan
Mr. NIRANJANKUMAR R.
Mr. Phani Shashank Vajha
Mr. Saurabh Thosar
Mr. Sushant Ranadive
Ms. Dipi kale
Mr. Kumaran babu Kaliamoorthy
Mr. Paresh Shenoy
Mr. Rakesh Kaimal
Mr. Sheshadri Srinivasa Raghavan
Mr. Shriram Krishnamoorthy
Ms. Rima Chaudhary
Mr. Lama Chaudhary
MS. Subhashree Ganesan
Ms. Poornima Krishnan

Here is the link for those who haven’t filled the form:
Do it here

monil.

Books for MBA

Here’s a list of books for the MBA Students

Accounting 500 – Antle
Microeconomics 520 - Robert Pindyck
Organizational Behavior - Kreitner
Marketing Management 500 - Philip Kotler
Finance 500 - Brealy and Myers
IDS 532 - Jay Heizer / Barry Render

As said earlier the profs keep changing and therefore the books also. Read previous mails to get the links for the courses available and then mail the professors.

Nikhil Lobo

Things to carry

Hi folks,
this is just the same text that is there on the IGSA homepage.. i wonder how many cared to look at it.. hence this post.
Hmm this has quite a few additions in fees and personal expenses... so i guess u should read it...

In this page we list out some of the common stuff that you want to include for sure.. but this is not a comprehensive list. There is always something that is personal and stuff that you might need. Use this list as a starting point.

Tuition Fees

If you do not have assistantship, prepare to get the first semester tuition fees listed on the I-20. This is usually around US $10500 and may vary depending on the department. Please check your I-20 or department brochure for further details. The tuition fee draft should be drawn favoring "University of Illinois". The fee needn't be paid immediately; you have about a month after the classes start to make your fee payment, installment facility is also available at UIC. So in case you want to wait you could come here and if the worst thing happens you can have them mail your cheque. In case you have any loans and stuff fix them all up and sign all the papers before you come. And you might want to make sure you return the money back to india in case you get aid...! Well on second thoughts we hear that the fee structure has been changed, so it would be better if you email the department and ask them the correct fees. my advice, come here and ask ur parents to send the DD if u dont get aid, else get all the money as a DD on ur name and give UIC a cheque from ur account later.

Personal Expenses

Please bring US$1500 - US$2000 (preferably by Traveler's Checks) for preliminary expenses for the first semester. We just would not recommend cash. Also make sure you have around US$50 to US$100 in cash in smaller denominations for emergency. If possible try to carry some change for US$2.00 as dimes and quarters in case you have to use the telephone. Please don't get cents as they serve no purpose here other than for returning the exact change. Regarding credit cards in case you have an international credit card have it with you as a safety measure, though you dont want to use it. Reason for every dollar you spend say about 3 to 4% is taken as commission and misc charges putting it to close to 55 rupees for a dollar. You may want to look at this small expenses table for some idea,

1. House deposit - 1 1/2 to 2 months rent - lets say 2000-3000$- divide it by 4 u need 500-800$ roughly for that.

2. 2 months rent till august/sep - 800$

3. initial house items - 200$ Max.(including beds and stuff)

4. food - 500$ for 3 months

5. misc - 500$

And if you want to get money for the differential (u need to pay that even if u get aid) - 1200-1600$

So think how much u need, if u get a 50% GA u will be paid around 1200$ initially by sep 15. We have our payrolls on 15th of each month.



Clothing

Less of formal wears and more of casuals (T-shirts and jeans), a dozen or more of inner wear. Warm clothing like sweaters sufficient for a while. You will necessarily have to buy winter jacket here (approx.$50 - $100) to combat the Chicago's cold. You could get a leather jacket from India, but it is not recommended as leather and water does not go very well. Try and get some traditional Indian dress for occasions like Diwali etc when IGSA has get together. Get some formal dresses (shirts, trousers, blazers/suits, ties for guys and similar formal wears for girls along with churidars etc) for interviews. Girls - you can definitely wear churidars here. So get if you like them. Add on to the list, about 7 pairs of socks (woolen ones), handkerchiefs, a good swimming trunk, few shorts, a tie, 1-2 belts (formal & casual), 2/3 Towels (not turkey towels for they take a long time to dry), bedspread (double bed size), 1 or 2 pillow covers (large) and night dresses. A pair of thermal underwear might also be useful (may be a pair - these may be quite expensive in India so just get one if you find them expensive, but seriously speaking most of us find it very uncomfortable, meaning once you go into a building it is heated and this gets stuffy). Also buy a pair of decent formal and sports shoes.

Keep in mind that everything here is a machine wash. Select your clothing accordingly. Dont buy some cheap clothes cauz they will shrink and it will look bad.. And people who are horizontally challenged (read fat people) might want to pick up dresses one bit bigger than the usual wear for you tend to put on weight very easily (cold weather, beer, non-veg....!)

Personal Items

Toiletry items like soap, brush (2/3), paste, comb etc sufficient for a couple of months. 1 pair leather chappals, 1 hawai chappals (+ extra straps).. If you wear glasses carry spare (1 or 2 for its really expensive here) pairs, nail cutter, umbrella, CDs/DVDs, socks, and shoelace. Buy a purse/wallet sufficient to hold 10 credit cards. If you are talented in some art like playing instruments, please bring them so that you can perform at IGSA gatherings.

Stationary Items

Please bring ball pens, eraser, pencils, stapler, blank notebooks, markers, tapes, clips for couple of months. These are quite expensive when you buy them in the University but you will get used to it. A good school bag is a must to go around. A good file to carry your resumes will definitely be helpful. But if you are considering a career in anything that involves a lot of sketching get quite a bit of stationary.

Having said the above, we dont want you to open a stationary shop here ;-) ... so buy just a few pens, depending upon your usage.

Books

Textbooks are a little costly here, so we recommend you get the latest editions before you come here. For most of the courses, the same textbooks are available in India, and you should get them from there. Visit the department's web page to get a listing of the courses. For some departments the textbooks are mentioned in Department Info link of IGSA. For others, write to us what you want to specialize in and we will let you know some general books that you might need. You may not use all those books but it's safe to carry them. They will cost just an additional Rs.2500 or so, but each book here is at least $50 and most engineering ones are close to 100$. Check out the Books List to see what all you can get from India itself. The other thing i personally felt a lot more comfortable with the same books that i used in india. So try to get some books the fundemental ones if you can. For example if you are a mechanical engineer specialising in fluid mechanics side consider getting a good math book, basic fluid mechanics book and one advanced one. The library here is very comprehensive and usually you can borrow a book for an entire semester.

Cooking Items

Cooking vessels, pressure cooker with spare, plates, tumblers, spoons, frying pans and all spices which you might need for cooking. Let the vessels (preferably non-stick ware) be big enough to cook for 3-4 people. If you have already got in touch with other Indians coming to UIC and will be your room-mates, plan what kind of vessels you can get and thus you can eliminate redundant utensils. We suggest that you think carefully about all the stuff, You will be cooking everyday here so you should plan accordingly. Regarding food, don't stuff your baggage with them, just get the stuff you would miss otherwise from home. You are coming to Chicago and there is devon here. You can get all kinds of Indian groceries at reasonable rates here. Just get stuffs enough for a couple of months. And btw, also try and learn some cooking before you come ;-) it helps.... some sweets for the people who host you would be very nice...

Medicine and Medical Prescriptions

If you have any particular medical conditions get the medicines, as well as a prescription from your doctor. Crocin, Actified, Avil, Benadryl tonic, Band-Aids, cotton, cotton bandage, Iodex, Vicks, Digene, Baralgan, Brufen. We strongly recommend you get a Dental and Eye Examination before you come here, as both of the problems can cause a lot of inconvenience and can prove very expensive as they are not covered by insurance. And don't forget to leave a copy of these prescriptions at home while you get the originals here.

Other stuff

Sets of original documents and sets of photocopies in your handbag (leave a photocopy of all documents at home in India too). Attested copies of transcript in a sealed envelope. Keep all these documents safely.

Electronic Gizmos

Stuff like cell phones and laptops everyone has one here... but we recommend you dont buy them in India. Its cheap here and warranty stuff are very much applicable here. And if you intend to buy any other electronic stuff remember it is 110V check with the stuff you carry. For Cell phones you need to have a credit history and that takes some time to build up... so dont bother bringing in one.

Things not to get

Do not buy expensive winter clothing in India. Do not carry pickle or pointed items in your hand baggage. Do not carry food grains (rice, dal, sugar etc.). Do not worry if you can't bring any of the stuff listed above - most of them are available in Chicago. In a month or two you will be in a position to get anything you want.

Things to be kept in hand baggage

Some medicines (including for airsickness), sweater, original important documents (I-20, visa, passport, tickets). Enough money (little cash, traveler checks), address book/phone book (Indian & US). Things to survive for a week in case luggage gets misplaced - two sets of clothes and misc.

Things to be kept in person

Shorter extract of contact addresses/phone numbers - especially of people coming to pick you up. Receipt got along with traveler checks - in case you lose the TCs; cotton in case you get ear pain; moisturizer.

Things to be left at home

List of addresses/phone numbers at which info about you can be obtained, one copy of all your important documents (passport, transcript). You can also leave your original mark sheets in India just in case you need to get them attested later. A copy of all relevant parts of Medical History files. A few blank signed papers - so that your parents can be authorized to look after anything on your behalf. Traveler Checks numbers should also be given to your parents.





Madhu
IGSA Board
http://igsa.pages.uic.edu