Welcome and congratulations on your acceptance to Haverford College! It is a pleasure for me to invite you to attend the International Students Orientation, commonly referred to as ISO.
ISO is scheduled to begin on Sunday, August 23, 2009 and continue through the morning of Wednesday, August 26, 2009. ISO was developed to attend to the wellbeing of all incoming international students who hold F-1 visas and international exchange students. If you are a native of Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands, a United States citizen, a permanent resident (green card holder), who completed high school outside of the U.S., or an international student who attended high school within the U.S., you may still benefit from participating in this pre-customs orientation.
The agenda for ISO includes a review of important rules and regulations of the Student Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). In addition, we will cover topics on how to obtain a social security card or a photo identification card, classroom and campus climate, consumerism, and banking and commerce. Also, there will be a walking tour of the campus, a van-tour of the surrounding areas -- Ardmore, Haverford, Wynnewood, and Bryn Mawr-- and taking a local train into downtown Philadelphia for a tour of the city. Furthermore, the ISO program will allow students to meet other international students, including international students from Bryn Mawr College, and upper-class students who will serve as International Student Resource Persons (ISRP), learn how to adjust to living in the United States, have an opportunity to shop for immediate personal items, and recover from jet lag.
In order to register for ISO, please fill out the International/Exchange Student Orientation Questionnaire and return it by July 13, 2009. Also, kindly send us a passport photograph of yourself so that our Safety and Security personnel can process your One-card. The photograph should be sent to onecard@haverford.edu. Please refer to detailed information which will be, or already has been sent to you from Raisa Williams, Dean of First-Year Students and Marianne Smith, Director of Student Housing. Please take the time to read all communications, in their entirety, because it will help to make your transition from home to Haverford smoother.
Please find some pertinent information below, including a preliminary ISO Schedule, which you might find helpful as you make plans to secure a visa and travel to Haverford.
For information regarding Haverford College’s Customs Program, which follows ISO immediately, please see the web page at http://www.students.haverford.edu/customs/.
If you have any questions regarding ISO, please contact me via telephone (610-896-1232), or via electronic mail (dallison@haverford.edu) and I will respond.
I look forward to meeting you. Best wishes as you travel to Haverford!
Sincerely Yours,
Denise V. Allison
Assistant to the Dean / Director of International Students Services
version of the form.