Orientation Meetings

Hello Folks,

I'm so glad to have met most of you this week for the orientation meetings.  We have some great folks going on the trip.

Here are some reminders about what we covered this week in the orientation meetings:

1). Deposit of $170 is due at the end of the month.  I'm waiting to hear back from the FLP department regarding how they want the deposits given.  Once your deposit is received, I will send you the student handbook so you can get started reading through it.  The handbook has quite a few tips for students that are really helpful in the 'planning' process.  (Your $170 deposit is for your Visa application).

2). The flight is approximately $1500.  This amount should be available to you by the end of November.  That means that if the travel agent pulls the trigger because she found the best deal on tickets, we need to be ready to give her our passport and credit card information.

3). The remaining approximately $2500 is due in May of 2013.  This is when you will register for the class and pay for your tuition.

4). You must apply for a passport ASAP if you do not already have one.  This is serious business folks!  If you need to renew your passport, do it ASAP, meaning Monday.  New passport applications take 6-8 weeks to process.  That means that you need to apply for the passport THIS COMING WEEK if you want to get your passport in time to book the flight.

5). Please also note that your passport MUST be valid until at least 6 months after we return from our trip.  So in short, your passport must be valid until 2014.

6). I will try not to clog your email inboxes with too much information, so I'll send you a nudge here and there to check this blog.  But it would be great if you simply checked the Beijing blog often to see if there are any updates.

7). If you need course accommodations, please make an appointment with Stephanie Coopman as soon as possible.  She will handle all course accommodations.

8). There is one thing I forgot to mention in the orientation meetings:  During Spring 2013 semester we will have 2 mandatory meetings, most likely on Saturdays.  These meeting dates have yet to be determined, but they are mandatory for everyone who is traveling to Beijing.  In the meetings we will cover quite a bit of information regarding our travels, coursework, etc.....  In short, the meetings must be attended by everyone, no exceptions. 

I will update my blog again next week when I have heard back from the FLP department regarding deposits.

:)
Carol