Before the start of your semester at UVM, you will attend International Student Orientation. Orientation is required for all new international students and includes information about immigration, student life, cultural adjustment, course registration, health and safety procedures, housing, and meal plans. It also offers activities like campus and library tours, social events, and trips to help set up US cell phones and bank accounts.

See International Student Orientation for dates and more information. Students who do not attend orientation may be unable to begin their studies at UVM.

To study in the US, you will probably need an immigration document for a student immigration status. This is usually an F-1 status but could also be a J-1 status. If you are a US citizen or Permanent Resident (Green Card holder), then you will not need a non-immigrant status. 

1. Request your I-20 or DS-2019: After you have confirmed that you will enroll at UVM, you will receive emails from the Office of International Education (OIE) with instructions about how to request an immigration document in iStart or tell us about an existing immigration status. Pay attention to the deadlines for requesting this document. We cannot accommodate late requests.
2. Pay your SEVIS (I-901) fee: After you receive your I-20 or DS-2019, you will use the information listed on the document to pay your SEVIS fee. This activates your document. Most students can pay this fee online. Keep your receipt.
3. Apply for your F-1 or J-1 visa: You will apply for this at a US consulate or embassy. Read more about this process here: Applying for Your F-1 or J-1 Visa. You must plan ahead for this step - it could take several months, and you will need it to enter the US. Citizens of Canada and Bermuda do not need a visa but must still pay the SEVIS fee to activate your immigration document.

You will need your student ID number, also called your '95 Number', to activate your UVM Network Identification (NetID). You can find this number in your pre-arrival email. Once you have this number handy, click here to set up your NetID password.

When you set up your NetID password, you must remember it. If you forget it, it is very complicated to reset from outside the US. You will need your NetID and password for many things at UVM, including accessing your email, registering for classes, and logging into UVM's wifi network.

Where you live is important, and often requires advanced planning.

• Undergraduate students are required to live on campus for their first four semesters at UVM, but this does not apply for transfer students. Residential Life will contact you to complete a housing and meal plan contract. Do not try to complete the housing contract online before Residential Life contacts you.
  • If you are seeking on-campus housing accommodations due to a documented disability, please contact UVM Student Accessibility Services (SAS) as soon as possible. There are deadlines for housing accommodation requests which you can view here.
• Graduate students do not live on campus unless they are students in the HESA program and assigned to work in Residential Life. All other graduate students can learn about housing in Burlington by visiting our International Student Housing website. We strongly recommend that you arrange your housing before arriving in the US.

Immunizations

Most students begin their course scheduling before arrival so that you can build the best possible selection of courses for your first semester. Class availability is limited in the week or two before the semester starts and it is best to schedule classes early. If you have questions about which department to contact please contact the OIE. More information about enrollment requirements is available on our Full-Time Enrollment webpage. 

• Undergraduate Students will begin course selection over email or the phone with your academic department before arrival. This usually happens in late June or July if you are arriving in August or in November or December if you are arriving in January. Some students will then additionally meet their academic advisor during orientation week.
• Graduate students should contact their program to understand the enrollment process. Some graduate programs do not enroll students until they are on campus – if this is the case for your program, do not worry – they will help you upon arrival. The important thing is to contact your department and ask.

Academic Accommodations

If you are seeking academic accommodations due to a documented disability that substantially limits your ability to learn, please contact UVM Student Accessibility Services (SAS) to learn more about their services and to get started. We recommend that you reach out to SAS as soon as possible; ideally students are registered in their system before the semester begins.

We know that it can be really hard to predict expenses in a place you have not lived before. This section offers some general guidance and a sample budget to help you prepare financially for your time in Vermont.

Graduate students with UVM assistantships: Please be aware that the stipend amount listed in your funding letter is not your take-home amount. Applicable state and federal income taxes will be deducted from each paycheck. 

Common Start-up Costs:

• Textbooks, course materials
• Winter/cold weather clothes
• Kitchen-ware & pantry staples
• Furniture
• Security deposit

Questions to Consider:

1. Will my living space be furnished?
2. What are my eating habits? Do I plan to cook my own food? Order take-out? 
3. How often do I plan to travel? What will those transportation costs look like? 
4. Do I plan to buy a car during my time at UVM?

The following table offers a sample budget. Actual expenses of course will vary based on personal choices, but we do not recommend building a budget that is significantly less than the amounts below, as we have found at times that students will underestimate expenses prior to arrival and be unable to meet their needs once all costs are accounted for in Vermont. 

*This is an estimated cost for a bedroom within a larger shared apartment. One-bedroom apartments can average around $1,600-$1,800+ per month. Students coming with dependents looking for a two-bedroom apartment can expect to pay a minimum of $2,200-$2,500+ per month.

Students who are coming to the US with dependents (spouses and dependent children) will require additional funds to cover those additional expenses. Generally, this will require significant savings from home as dependent spouses are often unable to work (F-2) or any work authorization that can be granted is designed solely to offer incidental income and is not designed to support core living expenses (J-2). UVM assistantships and other forms of funding are not generally sufficient to cover the costs of dependents. Some additional costs to consider when coming with dependents include: increased accommodation needs, childcare expenses, dependent health insurance, and general increased living expenses for all of the areas outlined above to cover additional people.

You must arrive in Burlington in time to attend International Student Orientation. There are several ways to get to Burlington, but most students arrive by plane or bus.

Undergraduate students living on campus: It is not possible to move into UVM housing earlier than the stated move-in date or outside of the stated move-in times. This may mean that you have to arrange temporary accommodation if you arrive a day early or after hours. This often can cost $150+ per night and in many cases it is worth price differences in flights to book travel that will help you check into your UVM housing during the designated window.

Students can fly directly to Burlington International Airport (BTV) or may also take a bus or train to Burlington from another point of arrival. New York City, Boston, and Montreal are all within a distance that travel can occur in a day. Burlington International Airport (BTV) is a 10-minute taxi ride from the UVM campus (around $25 including tip), or a 30-minute city bus ride. While taxis and rideshare options like Uber and Lyft exist in the Burlington area, they are not as readily available as they are in some bigger cities in the US.

Students are responsible for making their own way to campus, though occasionally a student organization will offer airport/bus station/train station pick-up. If that is available in a given term, students will be notified of such in pre-arrival communications.

You may have a bill to pay to UVM. Undergraduate and Graduate students will pay all costs directly to UVM. UVM will email you when your bill is ready. If a bill has been charged to your UVM account, you will be notified by Student Financial Services via your UVM email. If you have questions about payment options or bill due dates, please contact Student Financial Services directly.

Important: Your name and ID Number must be on all correspondence with Student Financial Services. You should also pay the exact amount that is listed on your bill, not what is listed on your I-20 form.

Follow us on Instagram.

Connect with International Student Clubs and Organizations: UVM has student groups and associations that bring together students from different countries and cultural backgrounds. Some of these are tied to specific countries, others to regions of the world, and we have organizations at both the undergraduate and graduate level that are for anyone who identifies as an international student. Check out the whole list of international student organizations on our website.

Plan activities you want to try: You can start by reading our Life in Burlington and Getting Involved pages. Bookmark the UVM Bored calendar for events happening during the semester on campus and in the Burlington community Check out information about UVM’s many clubs and organizations here, and think about what club(s) you may want to join.

Think about ways to stay healthy and take care of yourself: Look at the opportunities available at the Patrick Gym. Using the fitness center is free once classes start but some of the classes and intramural sports have an extra fee. Living Well offers other ways to reduce stress and stay healthy, such as meditation and yoga classes, drop-in conversations with counselors, therapy dogs, and more. Think about ways you take care of yourself and enjoy spending time at home – whether that is dance, music, exercise, or another activity – and how you might incorporate that into your life at UVM.