Welcome and congratulations on your acceptance to Haverford College! It is a great 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 21, and will continue through the late morning of Wednesday, August 24, 2011. This orientation program was developed to attend to the wellbeing of all incoming international students, transfer and exchange students, who hold F-1 visas. (For F-1 visa holders, your attendance is mandatory!) We strongly encourage natives of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S. permanent resident (green card holder), who completed high school outside of the U.S., U.S. citizens living abroad, and international students who attended high school within the U.S. to participate. We feel you will benefit from 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, campus and classroom climate, employment (both on and off campus), consumerism, banking and commerce, and American culture. Also, there will be a walking tour of the campus, a van-tour of the surrounding areas -- Ardmore, Haverford, Wynnewood, and Bryn Mawr-- and we will take 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 (ISRPs) International Student Resource Persons. (ISRPs, some of whom are international students themselves, will remain with you and provide guidance to all participants during the orientation and throughout the academic year). In addition, you will learn how to adjust to living in the United States, have an opportunity to shop for immediate personal items and have time to recover from travelling.
In order to register for ISO, please fill out the on-line ISO Registration Form and submit it no later than July 11, 2011. Also, kindly send us a passport photograph of yourself so that our Safety and Security personnel can process your Onecard. (The Onecard serves as your college identification; it gives you access to the Dining Center and Athletic Facilities; it allows you to make purchases against your Bookstore account and check out books from the Library, etc.) The photograph should be sent directly one-card@haverford.edu.
Please refer to detailed information which will be sent to you from Raisa Williams, Associate Dean of the College and Dean of First-Year Students, Marianne Smith, Director of Residential Life, Catherine Sharbaugh, Director of Health Services, and from the International Student Services Office. Please take the time to read all communications, in their entirety, because it will help to make your transition from home to Haverford smoother.
At the top right of this page you will find links to some pertinent information, including a tentative ISO Schedule, which you might find helpful as you make plans to secure a visa and travel to Haverford. An up-dated ISO Schedule will be given to you on the day you arrive on campus.
For information regarding Haverford College’s Customs Program, which immediately follows ISO, please visit http://www.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,
Denise V. Allison
Director of International Student Services