<aside> đź’ˇ Iscicle Tip: Curious to see what other students think you need before coming to the U.S. as an international student? Create a post on iscicle.com to find out!
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Heading to the United States as an international student? You might be feeling a lot of different emotions: excited, nervous, confused, happy, nostalgic (? perhaps?) - whatever it may be, just know it’s totally normal for you to be feeling all sorts of things! We created this guide so you can at least not be stressed when it comes to figuring out what you need to bring, and how to prepare, for coming the states to study.
[quick note: this not a how to guide for figuring out how to come study in the U.S. - it’s meant to support you once you’ve secured your F1 visa, university admissions, and convinced your mom she’ll be able to survive without ya.]
So whether you’re about to embark on your undergrad degree, or you’re on your way for a masters or PhD, here’s what we, at Iscicle, think you should consider:
A Credit Card
Oh, sad vibes. One of the weirdest things about moving abroad is that your credit doesn’t come with you. You’ll want to start building a credit history in the U.S., and to have a card that doesn’t charge you fees as a student. Here are some options we’d recommend looking into:
| Chase | Chase’s freedom card is one of the most used student cards out there, and their checking accounts also have great ways for you to avoid paying any fees. Plus, you can get $300 just for signing up (here). | Note: If you’re looking for a card from Chase that will reward you for travel & doesn’t have any fees when you purchase things abroad, check out the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. You can get 60,000 bonus points (approx $700) by using this link and following the instructions. |
|---|---|---|
| Discover | The Discover Student card is a great choice as long as you meet their requirements. You need to be able to show income, though for students under 21 there are various ways to do this. You can learn more about it here. | |
| Adro | Adro is a checking account and credit card made for immigrants and international students. It’s a newer company that’s focused on helping you build your credit, even before you come the U.S. - learn more here. | • No SSN needed to sign up |
| • $0 international transaction fees | ||
| • Sign up before or after you arrive in the US | ||
| Firstcard | Voted the best international student credit card by Forbes, Firstcard primarily focuses on serving students coming to the U.S. from abroad. You can learn more here. | • No credit checks |
| • No overspending risk | ||
| • Accept International students without an SSN |
Health Insurance
Health insurance in the U.S. is… tricky to say the least. As an international student, you do need to have health insurance, but figuring out what’s best can be tough. Even after speaking to many international students, and asking on Iscicle, we’ve come to the conclusion that the best price + package is usually just what’s offered to you by your university. If we find a package that we truly believe is comprehensive and cheaper than an avg. offered by a university, we will update, but for now, this is what the alums are telling us!
Housing
Oh right, you need to live somewhere! Okay housing varies a lot based on what level of higher education you’re going to do. Most of the time, freshmen undergraduates live in dorms on campus. Sometimes you do this for all four years of undergrad, sometimes just 1 (or 2) years. Usually masters and PhD students don’t live on campus, but some schools do offer housing for these degree types, too. You’ll want to check with your school’s housing if it’s of interest.
Off-campus housing can be found in a few ways. We’ve established a partnership with Uniplaces, which is a student housing marketplace. They cater to international students, so they have agreements with rentals where you won’t have to show a guarantor or super high income. If you find something you like on Uniplaces, you can use the code ISCICLE30 to get 30% off.
Other options include facebook groups (search the name of your school and housing to find ones in that area). It’s a good option when it comes to finding a room, too. Another option would be zillow or apartments.com - the only issue you might run into with these more traditional rental sites is that they may ask for you to show a higher income (sometimes 3x the rent) or show a guarantor - someone who can show that they have that income - which can be challenging for international students.
Transportation
When it comes to transportation, you have a few options. Let’s start with public transportation because its more common (for students). Usually the area you’re in is going to have some sort of bus system. Trains in the U.S. vary a lot more, but buses are decently consistent. Major transit hubs will have trains and city trams/munis/etc. - typically there will be some way of purchasing a card that allows you to pay for this quickly. For example, in the SF Bay Area, California, this would be a clipper card, in New York City it’s a metrocard, and so on.
On campus, students usually walk to class, bike, or use an electric scooter. Every campus is different - you might want to get there first and then figure out what would be best for you!