1. Adjusting to the U.S.

2. Neighborhoods  Areas close to UMD shuttle and metro are more convenient for new students  Popular places for UMD students - Graduate Hills/Gardens - Silver Spring - Seven Spring Village - Lakeside North - Powder Mill Village - Mazza grandmarc/The Enclave  List of Pros/Cons (Proximity, Construction etc.) LIVING

3. Furnishing  washingtondc.craigslist.org  Terrapin Traders  IKEA in College Park (www.ikea.com)www.ikea.com  Mattress Warehouse  CORT- Rental TV and Internet  Comcast  Verizon Miscellaneous items  Target  Office Depot/Staples  PG Plaza (UMD Shuttle 133)  Greenbelt Beltway Plaza (UMD Shuttle 101) Settling in

4. Free! UMD Shuttle  www.transportation.umd.edu, Route Rider Appwww.transportation.umd.edu Metro Rail and Metro Bus  www.wmata.com  www.nextbus.com Driver’s license  mva.maryland.gov - Very useful as an ID - Special rules for Intl driver’s license holders TransportationLIVING

5. Buying a car  washingtondc.craigslist.org - private sellers  www.carmax.com - certified used cars  www.kbb.com - for car market value  www.carfax.com - for car history Insurance  GEICO, Progressive, 21st Century TransportationLIVING

6.  Subway  Rudy’s in VMH - Coffee and snacks  Stamp Student Union - Fast-food restaurants outh Campus Dining Hall - 5 min walk from VMH  Restaurants on Route 1 - 15 min walk from VMH Food on campus

7. LIVING Stores near campus  Giant, Safeway, Target, Shoppers, CVS, PEAPOD Ethnic stores  Silver Spring, MD - Han Ah Reum - 12015 Georgia Ave - LA Mart - 640 University Blvd - Asian Food - 2301 University Blvd  Rockville, MD - Maxim - 460 Hungerford Drive,  Hyattsville, MD - Patel Bros - 2074 University Blvd E  Falls Church, VA - Greatwall - 2982 Gallows Road Food - Groceries

8. Banking LIVING Stamp Student Union  Chevy Chase Bank  Capital One Route 1  Bank of America  Chevy Chase Bank  Citibank ATM 7-Eleven Good to know  ID for checking account  A debit card is as good as a credit card  SSN required for credit cards

9. LIVING  Major Service Providers: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint  2 year contracts with high switching fees  Most of them require an SSN/ Security deposit to get a monthly post-paid plan (Except T-Mobile)  Without an SSN, your may have to use the pre-paid phones which cost more  Verizon has the best network coverage, but is more expensive and requires more documents from applicants  Long-distance International Phone Cards http://www.1stphonecard.com http://www.onesuite.com/  Skype/Rebtel Phone

10. LIVING  Snow clothes  Prepare for a “Real” Winter Weather

11. SSNWORKING  Who is eligible? - International students with GA’s - International students with on-campus jobs -International students with an internship or full time job  International Education Services (IES) - Instructions http://www.international.umd.edu/ies/2431 - Request a Social Security Letter from IES http://www.international.umd.edu/ies/1470  Rules and Procedures: - An offer of employment (i.e.: GA or TA on campus) - Visit Social Security Administration Office - You can choose the name that will appear on the ID  Do Not panic if you cannot apply for an SSN right now

12. Q&A