Once you have arrived in Chicago and have had a chance to catch up from your jet lag, you will be ready to begin your preparations for your studies!

The following is a general list of "things to do" to help you organize your first few days in the U.S., especially until you attend an International Student Orientation.   By now you should have already read the Pre-Arrival Checklist designed to assist you with your travel to the U.S.

If you have additional suggestions you think would be helpful to new students, please let the ISO staff know.  Your suggestions are welcome!

Report to the International Student Office

All international students in F-1 and J-1 visa status who are new to DePaul University are required to report to the International Student Office with the following documents:

• SEVIS I-20 Form (F-1) or DS-2019 Form (J-1)

• Passport

• Arrival/Departure Form - also known as an I-94 card (small white card stapled to your passport at the airport)

• Change of Status approval notice (if applicable)

• Proof of Insurance (if in J-1 visa status)

• Dependent documents - you will need to also provide all the above documents for your dependents (child or spouse) if they hold F-2 or J-2 visa status.

You will be unable to register for classes until you first check-in with the ISO and submit the above documents.

Within 24 hours of submission of all required documents to the ISO, the ISO registration block on your student account will be removed. Once this registration block has been removed, you will be able to register for classes.

Please note that you should register for classes through your college office. Call your college office for instructions.

If you have not already registered for an ISO orientation, you will be required to do so when you report to our office.

Open a bank account. 

It is unwise to carry large amounts of cash, so keep most of your money in traveler's checks (or other non-cash forms), until you open a bank account.  There are many banks to choose from in Chicago. The ISO will assist you with information about banks in the area and provide a letter of introduction for you to present when opening an account. Please do not bring large amounts of cash with you.

Meet with your academic or faculty advisor.

In order to register for courses, most departments require that you first meet with an academic or faculty advisor. For more information on who your academic or faculty advisor is, please contact your academic department directly.

College of Commerce                                   312-362-5358

Graduate School of Business                        312-362-8810

College of Computing and Digital Media          312-362-8381

School of Education                                      773-325-7740

College of Law                                              312-362-8701

College of Communication                             773-325-7585

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences     Undergraduate                                              773-325-7310

Graduate                                                      773-325-7315

School of Music                                            773-325-7260

The Theatre School                                       773-325-7917

Obtain a Campus Connection User ID

In addition to meeting with your academic or faculty advisor, you will also need to get your user ID and password in order to log-into the Campus Connection system. Campus Connection is a web portal that gives you access to registering for courses, updating your addresses, viewing your course schedule and tuition account information. We will offer a Campus Connection training session during new student orientation on how to update your addresses and other contact information in the system.

In order to be eligible for a Campus Connection User ID and Password, you must be accepted into a degree program at DePaul University. You do NOT need to be registered for classes in order to get your user ID and password. Take a photo id (passport is acceptable) with you and visit the nearest ID Card  Services Office:

Loop: DePaul Center 9700

Phone: 312-362-5959

Lincoln Park: Student Center Room 109

Phone: 773-325-7466

Register for classes

After you’ve met with your academic or faculty advisor, obtained your Campus Connection user ID and password, you will be ready to register for classes by logging on to Campus Connection!

International students in F-1 and J-1 non-immigrant student visa status must complete the following number of credits each term in order to be considered full-time by SEVIS:

Undergraduate                                               12 credit hours

Graduate                                                       8 credit hours

Graduate Music                                             6 credit hours

Law                                                              12 credit hours

English Language Academy                            4 courses

Obtain a DePaul University Student ID Card

Once you have registered for courses, you will need to take to visit the nearest ID card services office in order to be issued a DePaul University student ID card. Your student ID card gives you access to campus computer labs, the libraries and allows you to use the printers and copiers. For more information on obtaining a student identification card as well as the benefits of doing so, please visit the Information Services web site.