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Pre-Arrival Orientation

Welcome to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign! Pre-Arrival Orientation is an optional orientation that provides new, incoming international students with information about arrival to campus, immigration, campus resources, academics, and safety to help ease their transition to the university.

Pre-Arrival Orientation is offered virtually and in select cities each year. Each orientation provides identical information and lasts approximately three hours. The invite to participate in pre-arrival orientation will be sent to new incoming graduate and undergraduate students via email in early May.

2024 Event Schedule

  • June 4 - Virtual (Zoom)
  • June 5 - Virtual (Zoom)
  • June 6 - Virtual (Zoom)
  • June 14 - Seoul, South Korea
  • June 16 - Shanghai, China
  • June 19 - Beijing, China
  • June 22 - Mumbai, India
  • June 23 - Mumbai, India
  • June 26 - Istanbul, Türkiye

Presentation Schedule

  1. Immigration Information
  2. University Housing
  3. Billing & Finances
  4. McKinley Health Center
  5. Student Health Insurance
  6. Campus Safety
  7. Break!
  8. Breakout Sessions: Parents/Families, Undergraduate Academics, Graduate Academics
  9. New Student Networking Reception (in-person events only)

Frequently Asked Questions: In-Person Events

Students who choose to attend in-person may bring one (1) guest. Due to space constraints, we are unable to accommodate more than one guest (no exceptions).

No. Due to space constraints, you may only attend one (1) of the in-person events.

The dress code is casual. You will want to dress comfortably, but remember that you will be meeting with university representatives and your new classmates.

Check In

Students should plan to arrive and check in between 13:30 and 14:00 (1:30 and 2:00 PM) local time . All in-person events start promptly at 14:00 (2:00 PM) local time.

Presentations & Breakout Rooms

Representatives from the university will each present on their topic (see schedule above) covering relevant information for new international students. Students will then be broken out into smaller rooms by academic level (undergraduate and graduate) for academic-specific information. There will also be an optional session for parents and families.

Asking Questions

Participants will be able to ask questions of the presenters after each presentation and during breaks.

New Student Networking Reception

Students who choose to attend in person will have the opportunity to connect with fellow new students at a reception immediately following the last presentation.

Run Time

The orientation will run for a little over three hours.

Locations are chosen a year in advance and change each year. Several factors are included in the decision-making process included student population size and proximity to proposed location, availability of venues, country entry requirements, previous event attendance, and more.

Registration is not limited to students who reside in that country. If a student wishes to travel to another country to attend an orientation, please be sure to check travel/visa requirements. ISSS is unable to assist with travel/visa requirements or related logisitics.


Frequently Asked Questions: Virtual Events

Zoom is a video conferencing software that provides meeting and webinar functionality for enhanced learning and collaboration among students, faculty, staff, and research partners. Zoom is a commonly used tool at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Zoom training is available via QuickStart Guides or Video Tutorials.

Please be advised that all chat messages are public to the hosts (even if you mark the chat as 'Private'). We encourage you to review Zoom's legal and privacy policies.

Students will need to log into Zoom using their personal or Illinois email account prior to registering for the orientation. Students can log into their Illinois Zoom account using their Net ID and password here: https://illinois.zoom.us/.

Students who have registered for the event will receive a Zoom invite link for their selected date and time via the email they used to register.

Logging In & Start Time

When you log in to Zoom, you will be placed in a waiting room. At the event start time, you will be let into the main room by the event host. Your microphone will be muted and your camera will be turned off upon entry. Please keep your microphone muted and your camera turned off during the event.

Presentations & Breakout Rooms

Representatives from the university will each present on their topic (see schedule above) covering relevant information for new international students. Students will be broken out into smaller rooms by academic level (undergrad and grad) for academic specific information.

Asking Questions

Participants will be able to utilize the Zoom chat to ask questions of the presenters after each presentation and during the breakout sessions.

Run Time

The event will run for approximately three hours.

If you have registered for the event, you will receive a Zoom invite link for the date and time you selected via the email you used to register for the event. First, we ask that you check your spam folder for the message. If you still do not find the email, please contact isss-programs@illinois.edu.

If you need to switch your virtual orientation registration, you may simply register yourself for a different date without contacting ISSS. If you are switching your registration for an in-person event, please contact ISSS at isss-programs@illinois.edu.


Contact

Please contact isss-programs@illinois.edu with additional questions.