TO DO

DONE

Clear your student account so your diploma and/ or transcripts can be released.  Check with the Cashiers Cage regarding your balance.  Make sure and leave your new address with the graduation clerk so you will correctly receive your diploma and/ or transcripts.  
 

Order transcripts if you will need them.  Order and pay for extras if there is a charge so you will not need to find foreign currency to pay for them after you return home.  

Make arrangements to have your diploma sent to you if you do not receive it before departing.   

Fill out departure forms in the CIP and the Departing Students Survey on the International Programs Website.  Leave the CIP your permanent home address.  If you will be traveling for more than a few days on the way home, leave your itinerary and if possible, telephone numbers where you can be reached in case of an emergency.  

Leave your permanent home address with your department, faculty advisor and others who might wish to be in contact with you.  

Give the university alumni office your permanent home address.  Ask them to put you on their mailing list.  

Get a supply of university applications, catalogs and other materials to give your friends.  Ask the CIP if they will mail the materials to you directly.  

Return borrowed household items to the place your borrowed them.  If you have items to pass on, donate them to your university loan closet for foreign students, or ask your friends to share them with new arrivals.  See Heidi for details.  

Remember, you have 60 days to remain in the USA legally after your graduation date.  See the CIP if you wish to apply for practical training.  The application must be sent prior to graduation.  

Fill out forwarding address forms at the Post Office.  

Request “change of address” postcards from the Post Office.  Send them to your friends. 

If you are taking a computer or other “high-tech” equipment home, fill out the necessary customs documents.  

Determine shipping regulations to your home country by asking the Post Office.  (Every country has different requirements, and they change from time to time…be sure you look them up.)  Ask about special rates for selling books.  

Determine regulations on the size, weight and content of boxes if you are sending your belongings home be mail.  Compare the costs of sending things home by post, by airfreight, and by hiring a shipping company.  Consider the length of time it will take for the parcels to arrive, and any potential damage to equipment, books, etc.  

Contact the phone company to disconnect your telephone.  Sell your telephone set if you purchased it, return it if you leased it.  

Call your long distance company to be sure all of your telephone calls have been paid for.  

Cancel all subscriptions, i.e., newspaper, or provide a forwarding address for mailing purposes.  

Check out of your apartment.  Leave a forwarding address with the manager.  Return your keys and request the return of your security deposit.  Give 30 days notice if a lease has been signed.  Sell or donate your furniture and household belongings.  

Sell your pets or give them away to families who will provide good homes.  

File any medical insurance claims that are still outstanding.  Pay the balance that you owe.  Leave copies of the forms with your sponsor or the Center for International Office (CIP), in case there are questions about payment.  

Sell your automobile if you have one.  Be sure to have the title transferred before you leave.  If that is not possible, sign a “power of attorney” form and leave it with the persons selling your car.  DO NOT leave your license plates on the care, no matter how good a friend bought it, unless your state law requires you to do so.  
 

Do not “sneak” out of town!  Call or visit your friends before you go home.  Be sure to express your thanks to your host family if you had one.  

Clear all of your accounts.  Leave money with a trusted friend if bills are still outstanding.  Notify your creditors that you are leaving and give them the name of your friend who should pay the bill if they cannot clear it at that time.  

Close your bank account.  Purchase traveler’s checks if you will need them.  

Check with the airline you will be flying home for specific regulations on the weight and size of suitcases, excess baggage, airfreight and costs.  If you are not checking your baggage through to your ultimate destination, be sure to ask what the baggage regulations are for your intermediate stops.  The regulations can vary by country and by carrier.  

Make arrangements for transportation to the airport early, particularly if you have a lot of baggage.  Plan to arrive at the airport AT LEAST 2 HOURS EARLY.  

Consult your embassy or consulate to determine what customs regulations you will need to consider when taking your belongings home, determine Immigration matters for departing students (if any).

 

Notify your family of your arrival, don’t surprise them!  They need time to prepare for your return home, too.