[ Chinese Version ]

Welcome to the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP). For most of you, it is a significant milestone of your life. A successful beginning will lead you halfway through a smooth and productive experience at UMCP. Here we present to you this living guide which consists of some important keys to your new life here. We also urge you to refer to more detailed references and consult senior students for further information.

Upon Arrival | Housing | Communication | Food & Shopping | Getting Around |

Temporary living place:
We will assist you in finding a temporary living place upon arrival. Housing is limited in the UMD area so plan early. We will post related information shortly.

After you arrive:
CGSA has set up a "New Student Reception" program to help new students. Our volunteers will meet new students at the airport, help them settle down and share their experiences about living in America with new students.

Orientation:
This is an event held by the university for international students. The most important thing to do is to apply for your Social Security Number (SSN). If you are a TA, you need to attend the international TA evaluation workshop.

Registration:
Talk to your advisor and select the courses you are going to take. Please go to Mitchell Building to register for your classes. You also get your student identification card there after paying your mandatory fees.

Health Insurance:
As a TA or RA, you will enjoy the benefits of health insurance for Maryland state employees. Please talk to the personnel office of your department about it or consult with senior students. If you are not a TA or RA, please contact IES (314-7740) about the "Health Care Plus International Student Plan".

Financial Stuff:
How much money should one bring? Usually new students complete all paper work of financial support in the mid of August, which is part of the orientation program of their department. That means they can only get their first paycheck in the mid of September. So be prepared to pay the initial expenses upon arrival, including housing security deposits(roughly one month's rent), first month's rent, mandatory fees (more than $300, depending on the credits you register), and others. Therefore you probably will need more than $1000 during the first month.

Banking:
After receiving your SSN, you can go to a bank and open an account (most likely checking account and savings account). The most popular ones are Chevy Chase Bank which has an on-campus branch in the Stamp Student Union and State Employee Credit Union of Maryland, known as SECU, located on US Route 1 to the north of campus.

Housing is quite expensive at UMCP. The rent usually ranges from $200 to $400 per room. Since most of you may not have a car upon arrival, the best choice is the Graduate Housing Apartments nearby, known as Graduate Hill at Tulane Dr. and Graduate Garden at Rowalt Dr. Single rooms are also available in nearby houses, but be sure to choose a place that is on the Shuttle bus (school bus) routes or within walking distance from the campus. After you buy a car, you will get more freedom in choosing a place to live. For housing information please visit the off-campus housing office located in Rm. 1195 of Stamp Student Union. There are lots of fliers advertising housing information. You may also subscribe to CGSA mailing list to find out more housing advertisements. Another source to find a house is the Appartment Locator, which is an automatic search engine for off-campus housing maintained by the university. You can itemize different requirement, e.g. roommate preference, distance from the campus, range of rent, to obtain available houses and according maps. Usually they provide infomation on single houses.

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To call China, you need to dial 011-86-area code without the leading "0"-local number, for instance, 011-86-10-12345678 for calls to Beijing. To make a domestic long distance call, dial 1-area code-local number. For local calls, dial 301-local number.

When you use a phone in your campus office, you only need to dial the last five digits of another on-campus phone number (for example, x56173 or x49465). For off campus calls, you need to dial 9 first.

Keep a phone directory with you. Making phone calls is the best way to keep in touch with people in the USA. It is strongly recommended that you call someone before you visit him/her.

The postage for first-class domestic mail in the USA is 33c. For international air mails, the rate is 60c.

Electronic mail is a free service to campus students. As a TA or RA, you will get a umail account, and you can use any computer on the campus network to log into your account. Any student can also apply for a WAM (Workstation at Maryland) account. For more information, please contact aITs Consulting Lab at 405-1500, or visit their website.

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Food cost varies from $100 to $300 per month depending on your life style. The most affordable food stores near campus are the "Shoppers Food Warehouse (SFW)" located at Adelphi Plaza and in the intersection of Route 1 and I-495. There are other food stores such as "Giant" and "Safeway", etc.

For Chinese food and grocery, the most popular store is the Oriental Maxim Supermarket (MEI3 XIN1) in Silver Spring. There is also a newly-opened oriental food store opposite to MEI3 XIN1. They are a little bit far from campus. Thus you may consider the "Asian Village" near Shoppers on Rt. 193. There are many Chinese restaurants around this area.

For textbooks, there is a book store in Stamp Student Union. However, books, especially textbooks are very expensive. You might consider borrowing or buying used books.

For general shopping like clothes, shoes, and housewares etc, you can go to Beltway Plaza, Prince George's Plaza, K-mart, Wal-mart and so on.

Sometimes you may get advertisements in your mail box. Mail order is becoming a common shopping practice. But be cautious, you might be told that you just won 10 millions dollars but you need to buy something to claim the prize. Don't get excited and never believe it even if you want to purchase their products!

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Get familiar with the university:
The campus of university of Maryland is very large and beautiful. For new students, it is easy to get lost. Ever one can obtain a campus map from either the Graduate Office of each department or Mitchell Building. Be aware of the direction of the map, in which the right of the map leads north.
For the nearby area, you can get a map from Yahoo.

Public Transportation:
UM Shuttle service is open in regular semesters, namely, Spring and Fall. From this Summer, a few routes are in operation when the school is in Summer session. There is no service on weekends (except evening routes) and holidays, as well as school breaks (winter and spring break). It is free for UMD students. You can get route maps and schedule information in Rm. 1195 of Stamp Student Union (the same place as housing information). Keep in mind that the public transportation here in Maryland is not as convenient as you expect. You may have to spend much time waiting for the bus. Fortunately, there is a Green Line Metro (subway) passing College Park, which makes it easier to go to downtown Washington DC. The nearest Metro station is College Park station. There is UM Shuttle route between this station and the campus. It usually costs less than $5.00 for a round trip to Washington DC.

Car and Driver's License:
It is a big decision to buy a car, so be careful and shop around. You must make sure the car can pass Maryland state inspection and be aware of any potential repair costs. Car insurance is very expensive if you are male, single or under 25 years old (it could be as high as $1,300 a year). In order to get your driver's license, you need to pass a law test to get a learner's permit. Then you must attend a driving school for the "Driver's Education Course." Meanwhile, you will need to accumulate at leaset 40 hours of driving experience under the supervision of a licensed driver. Then you will need to take a road test. If you pass, you will be issued a "Provisional Driver's License," with which you may not drive after midnight unless to or from work/home. If you do not have any moving violations in the following 18 months, you will be issued the full driver's license. The nearest Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) is located at Beltsville, 11760 Baltimore Avenue (US Route 1). Drive safely!

Sightseeing:
The best tourist attraction in Washington D.C. is the National Mall area where the White House, US Capitol Hill, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and Smithsonian Institute and many museums are located. All of them are free of charge! You can get there by Metro. There are some other places around D.C. worth visiting, including Annapolis, Baltimore, Shenandoah National Park and Virginia Beach, etc.

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Still more questions?
Let us know and we will try our best to help! Email us at: cgsa@umail.umd.edu

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