ACSSL New student

Information for New Students and Scholars

Dear Friends,

Congratulations！You have been accepted into Texas Tech University.

Texas Tech University was founded in 1923, which now has became a major doctoral research institution. It offers 150 undergraduate, 100 master and 50 doctoral degrees. More programs are available at the Health Sciences Center of Texas Tech University.

Texas Tech University is located in Lubbock of Texas with population of 207,852 (Census in 2004). Lubbock is the 11th-largest city in the state of Texas and is situated on the High Plains of West Texas at an elevation of 3,200 feet and is located between Dallas and Albuquerque. Please click to see Texas Tech University at the Texas map and the Lubbock map. Furthermore, click to see Campus Map of Texas Tech University.

After your arrival at Lubbock of Texas, you will see a peaceful city. After a period study at Texas Tech University, you will enjoy your life. It is not only because Lubbock is a beautiful city, but also because people here are very kindly. They are willing to supply any help that you need. Therefore, you are going to love your study time at TTU. If you want to know more about the history of TTU, please click here.

The summer at Lubbock is long and hot, and the winter is short and cold. If you are interested to know more about weather at Lubbock, please go to Yahoo’s website. Click Weather in the front page first, and then type in 79401 when you fill in Zip Code field. After this, you will see information that may be useful.

You have or you are going to receive a lot of documents from Texas Tech University. We strongly encourage you to read them carefully because all of them are useful and helpful. If you have any questions regard them, please fell free to contact Office of International Affair at TTU or Graduate School at TTU. They will be very glad to answer all your questions. Furthermore, the followings are some tips, which might be useful to prepare your long trip to the United States.

Association of Chinese Students and Scholars in Lubbock (ACSSL) is looking forward to seeing you soon.

ACSSL

* Visa Application

Visa application process is one of the most unpredictable things in the world. However, we are trying our best to provide you some useful advices. Hopefully, they are going to be helpful for your application.

1. Prepare all necessary documents. I-20, passport, visa application form, 2x2 ID pictures, admission and financial aid letters, GRE/GMAT and TOEFL official scores, university transcripts, degree certificates, financial statement if applicable and so on.

2. Talk to your friends who have already got the U.S. visas before your interview.

3. Be polite all the time during the interview.

4. In the interview, if you are asked any questions that you don't know, don't be nervous, but say anything honestly instead. Remember: please never try to make up any stories on yourself.

5. In the interview, if you couldn’t understand the question(s) that be asked, feel free to ask the consulate officers to repeat it (them) slowly. Remember: don't answer any of them based on your assumption.

* Flight Tickets:

Once you get the visa, you can schedule your flight to the United States. Usually, the departure cities could be Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or some other major cities. And the corresponded airlines could be Northwest Airline (Beijing), Eastern Airline (Shanghai), and Southern Airline (Guangzhou) etc. Different travel agencies could offer flight tickets at different prices, so it will be better if you can compare some of them before making final decisions.

ACSSL provides airport pickup service. If you need a pickup, please fill in this form. Because it is not safe to drive in the night, please don’t book any tickets arrived after 11:30pm. However, if you have to, please inform us as soon as possible.

Additionally, if you have to change flights during your trip, please leave a gap between each of them for about 4 hours. Sometimes, it is possible to miss the scheduled flight. If you are in this case, don't be afraid. That’s because you could ask the help desk at airport to put you in the coming flight. Remember: don't forget to tell us about your delay.

However, if you come for Spring semester, try to avoid your arrival time between Dec.24 to Jan.1. That’s because it is the period of holiday vacation, we CANNOT find anyone to pick you up. Besides this, the weather during this period is severe since it snows a lot at this time, which may cause both the cancellation of your flight and the dangerous drive to the airport. Therefore, we strongly recommend you come after Jan 1 for spring semester. However, if you have to come between Dec.24 to Jan.1, please call a taxi and check in a motel.

You also can contact Lubbock Chinese Church to ask for airport pickup. The contact information of ACSSL is Vice President Miss Puhui Li ( puhui.li@ttu.edu) and the contact information of Lubbock Chinese Church is Pastor Robert Sea (rmsea1@yahoo.com).

* Traveling Tips:

Here are some useful tips for you to enjoy your lone trip to Taxes Tech University.

1. Don't hesitate to talk with other passengers.

2. Bring all important documents with yourself, such as I-20 and the passport. That’s because the Immigration Officer will check these documents when you enter the United States at the airport.

3. If you come in as a TA or RA, you won’t receive your first paycheck until 1st of October for fall semester. Therefore, Prepare some one or five dollar bills and some quarters for the emergency calls. Don't bring too much cash with you, but use Traveler's Checks from Bank of China instead.

4. Have emergency contact telephone numbers with you during the travel.

5. If you have any trouble upon your arrival at Lubbock, you can call ACSSL, Office of International Affair or police for the help.

* Email us at least one week before your departure if you need a pickup at the Lubbock International Airport. In the mail and tell us your detailed information including your flight number, scheduled arrival time, your name, gender and your major.

* What To Bring With You:

Please don’t bring any electrical Apparatus. That’s because they may not be plugged into the wall sockets. However, laptop is ok. The followings are guideline about what is necessary when you first arrive TTU.

1. Clothes

The weather of Lubbock is very similar with that of Northwest part of China, in winter it can go as low as minus 10 °C with snows, and in summer as high as 40 °C. Therefore, you should prepare enough T-shirts, shorts, jeans and thick jackets, woolen sweaters as well. Most students like wearing informal clothes, such as T-shirts (or casual shirts), jeans, shorts and sports shoes, so if you can buy inexpensive and comfortable casual clothes like those, don't hesitate to pack them in your baggage since clothes here are more expensive. Don't forget to bring some formal wear (suits, ties, leather shoes), which will be very handy during your presentations, interviews, ceremonies, wedding parties and other formal parties, etc.

Bring at least one set of sheet, pillow, bed spread and blanket or comforter so that you can survive for the first a couple of days.

2. Money

You may ask how much money I should bring with me? It is really hard to say because it depends on how you are gonna spend your money. The average amount of money that new students bring with them is around $2500. Remember, it is just an average. If you are a RA or TA, you will not get your first paycheck until October 1st for Fall semester, and March 1st for Spring semester.

How to bring this large amount of money to the States?

I. As far as I know this year, if you have a Great Wall Electrical Credit Card, then you can bring it with you because it is accepted in Lubbock. There is also an ATM (Cirrus) on TTU campus.

II. Traveler's check is accepted in almost all banks in Lubbock, such as Bank of America, American State Bank, etc. You can either deposit your traveler's checks into your account or cash them out in American State Bank on campus without any hidden charge.

III. If you know someone here whom you can trust, you can wire your money to that person's bank account and when you arrive you can transfer the money to your own account. There should have a charge for wiring money, but it is free to withdraw. However, this option sounds a little bit risky to many people.

3. Documents

I. I-20, passport, degree certificates, GRE/GMAT & TOEFL official scores, medical check records (TTU requires every new student provide record of MMR immunization shots, if you can't get the record or get the shots prior to your departure, you can get MMR shot at Thompson Hall of TTU when you arrive, it costs $50 this year.)

II. Useful and helpful reference books related to your major

III. All documents that you received from TTU

IV. Your transcripts, recommendation letters if applicable and other application materials

V. English-Chinese dictionary, Chinese-English dictionary and technical dictionary specialized in your major.

4. Medicine

First aid and some medicines for cold, headache and other minor disorders.

5. Cooking stuff

I. Several pairs of chopsticks. Chopsticks are expensive here.

II. Chinese kitchen knife

III. Chinese cuisine books

6. Personal Stuff

I. Bring travel-size shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc. Don't bring too much because they are really inexpensive in supermarkets here.

II. Other personal stuff that you think useful and helpful.

* Something to Learn Prior to Your Departure

1. You should have basic computer knowledge such as Windows, Microsoft Office (especially Word, Excel and PowerPoint). Most departments require students write reports and papers with computer.

2. If possible, attend a driving school. It will help you apply for a driver's license here.

3. Learn some Chinese cuisine from your Mom, don't expect someone will cook for you.

* Airport Pickup:

You should send your request for pickup to us at least two weeks prior to your departure from China. Then keep in close touch with us and let us know your flight number and your approximate arrival time and detailed personal information, such as your name, gender, major, TA or RA, name of the city that you come from. You can also contact with any Chinese student who is in the same department with you, and they may help you on many things.

* First Several Days

If you come in at Spring semester, we could probably find a temporary place for you to live for two or three days, try NOT live there for more than three days. Therefore, once you arrive here, you should find a place yourself as soon as possible.

If you come in at Fall semester, we probably could NOT find a temporary place for you to live, because there will be 20-30 new students each year coming to TTU at Fall semester, it is impossible for us to find places for so many students.

However, you can join our mailing list and ask for housing information or ask for roommates. This year, most of new students found roommates through our mailing list even before they physically arrived in Lubbock.

If you come in as a Teaching Assistant (TA), you will probably be required to arrive early in order to participate a TA Workshop upon your arrival. You will be asked to arrive at a certain time, and you will be provided with housing and dining for about three weeks. Our university will send you information about the proper check-in dates for TA's, please read the instructions carefully and don't come too early, otherwise you can not check in to the place that TTU provided for you; don't come too late either, otherwise you will miss the Workshop and your TA job will be jeopardized.

* Housing:

Living in Lubbock is inexpensive compared with other parts of the US. Usually the monthly rent is about $250 for efficiencies and $325-400 for one-bedrooms and $500 and up for two-bedrooms close to campus. The two-bedrooms can be shared by two people.

Almost all Chinese students live off campus in apartments or houses, because it is more convenient and saves money. To live in University dormitories you need to prepay for the whole semester and you can not cook Chinese food. If you want to live on campus, please contact the university's housing office. Remember: ACSSL can’t make apartment reservation or sign the lease for you. You’d better have a look at the place by yourself and compare all the options before you make decision. We can, however, help by providing housing information and telephone numbers. Usually you can find a place during the first several days upon your arrival.

If you already decided to come to TTU, we encourage you to join our mailing list, then you will receive a lot of helpful information including housing, and you can also ask for help through our mailing list because your email will be forwarded to every Chinese student on our list. If you want to join, please click here.

Once you are on our mailing list, you can send emails to other Chinese students and ask for help, or information that you need, or share information that you have.

* Reminder:

If you already requested OIA for an airport pick-up, please let us know immediately;

If you already found a place, please let us know so we can send you directly to your apartment;

If you still have questions after you read this letter, please click here for Frequently Asked Questions which is provided by ACSSL. (if you are prompted for Username and Password, just click "Cancel").