Greetings from the EAP Campus Office at UCSB! You are probably
excited about your pending departure for the United States
and the upcoming academic year. In order to alleviate any
worries that you might have, we have compiled some information
that we hope is useful to you.
Also, as a reminder, when you arrive please stop by our
office in 2431 South Hall to let us know you are here.
As soon as you have a place to live, please give us your
Santa Barbara address so that we may keep you informed
about EAP events and put you in touch with students who
are interested in studying in your home country. We will
be happy to answer any other questions you may have regarding
your upcoming stay in California. We look forward to meeting
you!
* November 9: Course registration
begins
* December 21 – January 3: EAP Office closed
for the holidays
* January 3: Suggested Arrival Date
* January 4: CLASSES BEGIN
* January 8: MANDATORY International Student Orientation
(3:00-4:30pm)
* January 8: EAP Reception -- meet American students!
(4:30-6:00pm)
If you will have already arranged your
housing prior to your arrival in Santa Barbara, we suggest
you arrive a day or two prior to the beginning of the quarter,
which begins January 4. University-owned housing will typically
only allow students to move into their assigned housing
January 2 or later. If, however, you plan on looking for
housing once you arrive, you should arrive several weeks
earlier. Please keep in mind that the majority of UCSB
campus offices will be closed from December 21-January
3. When arranging your travel plans, please remember
that the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB)
is located near the city of Goleta, and is actually about
10 miles (16 kilometers) west of the city of Santa Barbara.
Carefully read the sections below as they include information
that may answer many of the questions you might have regarding
your first several days in Santa Barbara.
TRANSPORTATION:
There are two relatively easy means of traveling from Los
Angeles Airport (LAX) to UCSB: (1) Many airlines offer
flights from LAX to Santa Barbara Airport for about $150-200
(one-way) – depending on when you make your reservations;
(2) The Santa Barbara Airbus runs from LAX to Goleta.
The Airbus is scheduled to run from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00
p.m. at approximately two to three hour intervals. For
more information and reservations, please see http://www.santabarbaraairbus.com/lax/index.php.
To get to UCSB from the Santa Barbara Airbus stop in
Goleta, you can take a taxi for approximately $20.00.
The number for Santa Barbara Yellow Cab is (805) 965-5111
or 800-549-8294 and the Airbus driver can call a cab
for you and have it wait for your arrival.
If you arrive by plane at the Santa Barbara Airport, transportation
to campus is quick and relatively inexpensive, as the campus
is only two miles from the airport. There are several ways
to get to campus from the airport: (1) A public transportation
bus (MTD #11) runs roughly every thirty minutes between
the hours of 6:37 a.m. and 11:55 p.m. on weekdays, and
7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on weekends. The bus trip costs
$1.75 and stops at UCSB. For more information, please see http://www.sbmtd.gov/.
(2) A taxi ride from the Santa Barbara airport to UCSB
is about $15.00. You can easily find a taxi waiting outside
the airport terminal at all times.
If you arrive in Goleta during business hours (9:00 a.m.
to 4:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday) and you need our help,
call us at (805) 893-3763.
TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION (upon
your arrival):
Santa Barbara has a youth hostel downtown: http://www.sbhostel.com/ as
well as a number of hotels. For hotel information in Santa
Barbara and Goleta, go to: http://www.santabarbara.com/ .
FINDING THE EAP OFFICE:
Please stop by to visit us when you arrive on campus! We
are located in 2431 South Hall. From the bus loop
walk toward Storke Tower and away from the mountains, and
you’ll see South Hall. Here is a campus map
for your reference: http://www.aw.id.ucsb.edu/maps/ucsbmap.html.
**********
STUDENT ID NUMBER & EMAIL **********
PERM NUMBER (STUDENT ID NUMBER):
A student’s permanent (perm) number is the student’s
identification number which will be emailed to each student
individually from the UCSB Office of the Registrar. These
sometimes get filtered into junk/spam mail so please check
your folder periodically. It will be used for nearly all
things official at UCSB ranging from paying bills, to setting
up a Umail account, to course registration, to setting
up a doctor’s appointment with the Student Health
Service. It is a 7-digit number, but it is not the same
as the CPID which also has seven (7) digits. If you do
not know or have lost your perm number, please email me
to request it.
UMAIL (UCSB STUDENT EMAIL):
Umail is UCSB’s official email service for students
studying at UCSB. All official information sent by UCSB
departments to students is sent to students’ Umail
addresses. It is crucial that students set up a Umail address
as soon as possible and check their Umail regularly, as
academic departments, professors, official university announcements,
UCSB Housing, etc. will all contact students via their
Umail accounts. To set up a Umail address, please visit https://secureweb.umail.ucsb.edu/identity/ and
create an account as soon as you receive your perm number.
Beginning in late October, the Registrar
will email every student their PERM and PIN numbers as
soon as they are assigned as well as enrollment pass times
and information on how to enroll in courses using the GOLD
system. All EAP Reciprocity students must enroll
in a minimum of 12.0 units in order to maintain visa status,
maintain program requirements, ride buses free, and be
eligible for internships.
For general information about enrollment,
see the Reciprocity Student Guide Academic section at http://eap.ucop.edu/reciprocal_exchanges/_pub/StuGude0910.pdf.
Click on the GOLD help button available on the GOLD web
site for detailed instructions.
* My major shows as “undeclared” on
GOLD, what can I do to change this? No action is required from you. GOLD shows all
undergraduate reciprocity students as having an “undeclared” major.
* GOLD says I do not meet the prerequisites
to take a course, how do I prove that I meet the prerequisites? If GOLD says that you cannot take a course
because you do not meet the prerequisite or because
the course is open to majors only, you need to contact
the undergraduate advisor for the appropriate department.
Email the departmental advisor/instructor thePrerequisite
Clearance Request Formto demonstrate that
you met the course prerequisites and request permission
to enroll. To find the appropriate undergraduate advisor,
go to the UCSB website (http://www.ucsb.edu/academics/depts/index.shtml )
and search for the departmental home page.
* How can I enroll in an English
as a Second Language (ESL) course?
If you are planning to enroll at some time during your
EAP studies in an ESL course, you need to take an English
Language Placement Exam (ELPE) to determine your enrollment
in the appropriate level of ESL class(es). ELPE is only
a placement exam and it implies no obligation to enroll
in English Language Program classes. For more information
about the ELPE, go to www.esl.ucsb.edu/schedules/elpe.htm
Please note that not all universities will accept ESL courses
as credit toward graduation, and your transcript will state “No
Baccalaureate Credit.” The ESL schedule of
classes is available online at www.esl.ucsb.edu/schedules.htm.
* How do I get the registration
sticker to ride the busses for free? Once you have enrolled in 12.0 units on GOLD,
updated your local address on GOLD, and paid your fees
to the Billing Office (BA/RC), you will be able to request
a registration sticker by mail that you can then attach
to your Access card (student identity card). Some students
may find that they are able to order the sticker without
having paid the insurance fees (and University housing
fees, if applicable), but the Registrar may block students
from ordering the sticker until all fees are paid in full.
* Do I need to fill out the Statement of
Legal Residence (SLR)? No, this form is not required of EAP reciprocity
students.
* All of the courses I want to take are
full (or closed) -- what can I do? It may still be possible for you to take a class
that is full (or closed) through a process called “crashing” (that
is, to sit in on a class that is full/closed, join a “crash” list,
and add the class as soon as an enrolled student drops
it). Crashing may seem intimidating, but is very common
here. Procedures for crashing classes may vary slightly
in each department, and departments in the College
of Letters & Science have the procedures posted
on their webpages.
To make crashing a class easier, email the professor who
is teaching the class (copy the department undergraduate
advisor) and ask if you can be placed on a waiting list.
Many departments are participating in the new centralized
online waiting list for UCSB: https://waitlist.ucsb.edu/.
You can log in with the same username and password that
you use for GOLD and add your name to the waiting list
if you see your desired course there.
Identify yourself as an EAP reciprocity
student who may not be familiar with the registration process
here at UCSB in your first quarter. Starting the first
week of school, go to all of the classes that you wish
to take. Sign the roster to reserve a spot and to let the
professor knows that you attended the class. When you successfully
get into the class, the professor will provide you with
a 4- or 5-digit approval code, which you will then use
to add the class on GOLD.
In the meantime, you should also sign up for alternate
classes to make sure that you will be enrolled
for a full-course load of 12 units during the quarter.
This will also enable you to get your registration sticker
upon arrival and to use student facilities such as the
library, recreational center, and to ride the buses for
free. You can drop the alternate classes once you successfully
crash your desired courses, but you must drop courses by the
drop deadline, otherwise you will receive a “failing” grade.
This process may sound overwhelming, but try
not to worry. There are many students, both EAP reciprocity
and UC, in this situation and rarely does someone graduate
from UCSB without having crashed a few classes. I, or
anyone else in the EAP office, can give you more advice
on how to crash, so do not hesitate to contact us!
* What is the difference between P/NP and a letter grade? The basic difference is that letter grades are
used in calculating the university grade-point average
(GPA). Unit credit is awarded for any grade of D- or
above (A+ through D-), while no credit is awarded for
F grades. Passed/Not Passed (P/NP) grades, on the other
hand, are not included in the computation of the university
grade-point average and a grade of P will be assigned
for coursework equivalent to a C or higher on the letter-grade
basis. A grade of NP will be assigned for coursework
equivalent to a C- or below, and no unit or degree credit
will be awarded. Some universities will not accept courses
taken on the P/NP grading option, so please check with
your home university before making your selection. For
more information on the difference between the two grading
options, go to: http://www.advising.ltsc.ucsb.edu/grades/available.php.
* What does "R" in the schedule of classes stand for? The "R" stands for Thursday ("T" is for Tuesday, "W" for
Wednesday, etc.). Thus, a class that meets TR meets Tuesdays and Thursdays.
**********
PAYING FEES **********
Many of you will soon receive statements
from the UCSB Billing Office (BARC) saying that your fees
for housing, health insurance, etc. are due. As an international
student, you are automatically granted an extension to
pay these bills, so you will not incur any late fees or
penalties as long as you pay by January 22, 2010. If you
cannot make a payment by January 22, please contact me
so that we can arrange to have an extension granted.
Although international students are protected from late
payment penalties until January 22, you may be denied free
access to the Recreation Center (a.k.a. RecCen, or the
student gymnasium) and/or bus-riding privileges until all
fees are paid.
Due to the high cost and difficulty of trying to pay UCSB
bills from abroad, we recommend that you wait until arrival
to pay your BARC fees. Bills must be paid by cash or check – no
credit cards are accepted. Please plan ahead with this
in mind.
At orientation, you will be provided with information on
how to open up a U.S. bank account, including a map of
where to find the banks, automated teller machines (ATMs),
etc. If you have an ATM (cash) card with a 4-digit PIN
you should be able to withdraw money from any ATM in the
U.S., but there is often a $2.00-$3.00 fee to do so. Please
check with your bank to ensure ATM access in the U.S.
**********
HEALTH INFORMATION **********
As an international UCSB student you
are required to purchase the Undergraduate Student Health
Insurance Policy (USHIP) offered by UCSB. For the 2009-10
academic year, the undergraduate student insurance cost
$327.45 per quarter (fall, winter, and spring) and the
graduate student insurance cost $721.25 per quarter. This
fee is automatically added to your UCSB billing statement.
If your current health insurance will cover you while you
are studying at UCSB, you may be eligible for a waiver
and not required to purchase additional coverage. You may
have already received a waiver form along with further
information regarding your insurance from our Student Health
Services (SHS). You may also find the waiver form online: https://apps.sa.ucsb.edu//insurancewaiver/login.asp.
However, please note that in order to
be considered for a waiver, the medical plan for waiver
must be provided by a recognized company or government
agency that is owned, headquartered and operated in the
United States. Foreign insurance plans with U.S.
affiliates or representatives, travel insurance plans and
reimbursement programs of any kind do not qualify, including
reimbursement arrangements or vouchers from home governments
or their U.S.-based consulates.
Please DO NOT request a waiver if you
are enrolled in an international or a travel insurance
plan. If you have questions not answered above, please
email UCSB Student Health at insurance@sa.ucsb.edu.
You will receive a response within three days.
Be aware of any gaps in insurance coverage you may encounter.
For example, the UCSB health insurance (USHIP & GSHIP)
for winter quarter begins January 4, so if you plan to
travel before your program begins, you are strongly recommended
to obtain supplemental health insurance to cover this gap.
In addition, it is your responsibility to read the terms
and conditions for UCSB Health Insurance: http://studenthealth.sa.ucsb.edu/Insurance.aspx.
Many students, for example, do not realize that USHIP and
GSHIP may only cover 60% - 80% of the fees for visiting
a doctor outside of UCSB Student Health Services.
* Do I need additional health
coverage?
Many students find SHIP to be sufficient for their needs.
However, it is important that each student read the terms
and conditions of SHIP to determine whether or not additional
coverage is necessary.
* Will UCSB health insurance
(SHIP) cover me when I travel outside CA and the U.S.?
Yes, SHIP will provide limited coverage outside of CA and
the United States. For more information about what SHIP
will cover, go to: http://studenthealth.sa.ucsb.edu/Insurance.aspx.
**********
HOUSING INFORMATION **********
UNIVERSITY-OWNED APARTMENTS AND
RESIDENCE HALLS (UC Housing)
You can apply for university-owned housing between October
1, 2009 and November 15, 2009 by filling out the online
application: http://www.housing.ucsb.edu/application/apps-winter-spring-info.htm.
If you haven’t received your perm number yet, you
can use a phony number (for example: 0000000). It
needs to be 7 digits. Please contact the Housing
Office (housingnews@housing.ucsb.edu)
with your real perm number as soon as you receive it.
For those of you who do not apply for
university housing by November 15, we suggest adding your
name to the waiting list for university-owned accommodation
by contacting the proper housing office: Apartment Assignments
[email: aptcontracts@housing.ucsb.edu & phone:
+1 (805) 893-4021] or Residence Halls Assignments [email: contracts@housing.ucsb.edu & phone:
+1 (805) 893-5513]. Many students on the waiting
list will be offered contracts eventually, although it
may take until late December. If you are on the waiting
list, please check both your Umail and personal email daily
or twice daily to see if you are awarded a contract. There
have been cases where students did not respond within 24
hours and their spaces were awarded to other students.
PRIVATE HOUSING (Non-UC Housing)
If you decide to do a private rental, you should be very
careful to discuss your exact financial obligations with
the landlord before signing a contract. Most require – in
advance – the first and last month's rent plus a “security/cleaning
deposit.” The deposit is refundable unless money
is needed for the repair of any damages made to the apartment.
Be sure to examine the apartment carefully with the landlord
before renting and note any existing damage (holes in walls,
stains on carpets, broken fixtures, etc.). Some will require
that you have your carpets professionally steam-cleaned
before you leave.
The UCSB Community Housing Office has
a housing board where you can search for apartments. The
staff in that office can also help you with the logistics
of renting and legal issues. If you want to search
for private accommodation, please begin your search by
visiting their website: http://www.housing.ucsb.edu/hchoices/cho-general-info.htm.
If you are still looking for housing, you may want to join
the OISS email listserv where other international students
advertise rooms for rent and items for sale. To subscribe
to this email list, send an email to: ISABIZ-L-SUBSCRIBE-REQUEST@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU.
If you have questions regarding housing, please contact
Kate Musselman at the UCSB EAP Campus Office via email: kate@eap.ucsb.edu or
phone: +1 (805) 893-5662.
* Is it true that if I
live in University-owned accommodation, I will have to
move out of my housing over the holidays? It depends. Students living in University-owned
apartments are allowed to stay in their apartment during
the holidays. Students living in university-owned dormitories,
however, will have to leave their rooms over winter and
spring breaks, but will not have to move their belongings
out of their rooms during this time. The dormitories remain
locked over the winter and spring holidays, so belongings
should remain safe.
**********
MISCELLANEOUS FAQs **********
* On the UCSB Admissions
website, I saw a deadline to submit my Statement of LegalResidence
(SLR) and I am confused as to how to complete this form
online. What should I do? Please do NOT complete the SLR as it does
not apply to EAP students.
* Is there any way that I can get in contact
with other reciprocity students coming in the winter? Yes. You can join the EAP reciprocity Facebook
group, where people are coordinating arrival information,
travel plans, and general socializing among our EAP students. You
can join the group here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17228492764.
You can also become of fan
of the UCSB EAP Office: http://facebook.com/ucsbeap. Here
you can get automatic updates on EAP events and meet other
UCSB students as well as other EAP reciprocity students.
* What is the weather like? Variable. Although we have over 300 days of sunshine
a year, it does get cold, especially at night! Pack some
sweaters and a warm jacket.
* I want to drive while in CA. What are
the requirements for this? It is recommended that all students who plan
to drive during their term abroad obtain a California
driver’s license. For more information on how to
obtain a CA driver’s license, go to: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/.
* Where can I find out about things to
do in Santa Barbara? For information about weekly community events,
The Independent, a local paper published every Thursday,
can be picked up on campus free of charge or viewed online
at http://www.independent.com/.
General information about Santa Barbara is posted on http://www.santabarbara.com/.
* Where can I find more information about internships? The best places to find internships related to your field of study
are the Career Services office and your academic department office at UCSB.
Paid internships and internships that extend beyond a student’s last
quarter at UCSB are typically limited to students with J-1 visas only, and
require the permission of both the UCSB EAP Office and the Office of International
Students and Scholars (OISS). F-1 visa holders may pursue an internship while
a student if they receive academic credit (a registered course or independent
study) for the internship and it is related to the academic focus indicated
on their DS-2019 / I-20 with the permission of both the UCSB EAP Office and
OISS.
* How can I get a Social Security Number if I need one? Why
might I need one? J-1 visa holders who wish to receive a Social Security Number (SSN)
should update their local addresses on GOLD, and must wait until 10 days
after arrival in the United States to before visiting the Office of International
Students and Scholars in order to start the process for applying for a SSN.
A student will need a SSN for a California Driver’s License, a California
ID (so you do not need to carry your passport), or for employment off-campus.
* How do I open a U.S. Bank Account?
At orientation, you will be provided with information on
how to open up a U.S. bank account, including a map of
where to find the banks, automated teller machines (ATMs),
etc. If you have an ATM (cash) card with a 4-digit pin
you should be able to withdraw money from any ATM in the
U.S., but there is often a $2.00-$3.00 fee to do so. Please
check with your bank to ensure ATM access in the U.S.
* I heard that the alcohol
policy in the U.S. is very strict and I may be required
to show an I.D. card if I try to purchase alcohol - is
this true? YES! We want to remind you that the alcohol policy
in the United States is probably enforced more stringently
than in your home country. All students are expected to
follow state regulations regarding drinking (meaning no
alcohol for students under 21 years of age). Even those
students who are 21 and older need to be aware of the policies
regarding alcohol (see below). Please discuss these policies
with a staff administrator or our office if you feel it
will be a restriction for you.
Please be aware that in addition to a general
drinking age of 21, alcohol in Santa Barbara has certain
other restrictions. For example, in order to purchase
any alcoholic beverage (in a bar or supermarket) students
must show an identification card (I.D.) with their photo
and date of birth on it to prove they are 21 or older.
Many nightclubs will not admit people under 21, so you
must provide your I.D. to gain admittance, regardless
of whether you intend to purchase alcohol or not.
Also, it is illegal to carry an “open
container” (an open can, bottle, cup or glass of
any alcoholic beverage: beer, wine, spirits, etc.) on
the streets, parks, and beaches of Santa Barbara, Goleta,
or Isla Vista. Please observe these policies or they
may lead to fines and/or imprisonment.
Police are also very strict with students bicycling
while intoxicated and the offense is treated as seriously
as if someone were driving a car while intoxicated.
