Before
You Arrive

• Schedule a free visa information and preparation session with your personal Enrollment Advisor.
• Check that the details on your I-20 are correct (including your date of birth), and make sure that your name is the same as it appears on your passport.
• Prepare the documents that you will need to take to the embassy when attending your visa interview.

• Complete your visa application.
• Pay your I-90 (SEVIS) fee.
• Visit usembassy.gov to learn more about scheduling your visa appointment, what to expect when you arrive and the documentation that you need to take with you.
• Notify your personal Enrollment Advisor of the date and Embassy where you have scheduled your visa appointment.
• Watch these videos to help you apply for your visa and prepare for your interview:

Other links that international students find useful:

• Visa appointment and processing wait times
• Visa photo requirements
• Studying in the U.S.

Once you book your travel, visit umbinternationaldirect.org/arrival to enter your travel itinerary and confirm your free airport pickup if required. Airport transfer is available at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). These important details will help the campus team prepare for your arrival and make your big day go as smoothly as possible.

Students who complete their application less than two weeks before the program start date must pay their tuition and fees as soon as possible.

• Flywire by Peer Transfer: Please visit UMass Boston’s Flywire Page to complete the transfer process. Please note that you cannot use a U.S. credit card or U.S. bank account.
• Wire transfer: Find the wire transfer information on your offer letter. When making the transaction, be sure to include the student’s name and birthday.

NOTE: You are only paying UMass Boston International Direct for your tuition and mandatory fees. Additional fees, including health insurance,will be paid directly to the university after your arrival to the United States.

Undergraduate International Direct students ONLY: You will need to access WISER in order to complete your required pre-arrival assessments. If you have any questions, please contact your Enrollment Services advisor. It is very important that, before you arrive, you JUST click on the “My Academics” button (see step 2 below) and DO NOT review any of the other information in the portal, as much of it will not be applicable to you.

Graduate International Direct students ONLY: You may access WISER before your arrival, but note that you do not need to complete anything in this portal before you arrive.

To access WISER:

1. Set up your UMass Boston email account.

   • You will receive your email address from the UMass Boston Student Services account (studentservices@umbinternationaldirect.org). It will be a combination of your legal first name and last name, a three-digit-number, and @umb.edu.

   • Your password will be in the following format: First letter of your last name (uppercase) + second letter of your last name (lowercase) + your date of birth in this format: DD-Mon-YY (your date of birth in 2 digits – the first three letters of the month, beginning with a capital letter – the last two digits of your year of birth). You must include the hyphens, as shown in the example below.

     • Sandy Beach, born Feb. 1, 1990, might have an email address of sandy.beach001@umb.edu and an initial password of Be01-Feb-90

1. • Follow the instructions on this webpage, starting at Step 2.

2. Once you have set up your email address, you will set up WISER. You log in to WISER with your UMass Boston campus email username (the first part, before the @ symbol) and password.

   • Follow the instructions on this webpage.

Undergraduate only: Once you have set up your campus email account and your WISER account, please ONLY click the “My Academics” button (see screenshot below).

• Immunization Form
• TB Risk Assessment Form
• Checklist of immunizations requirements

Submit your immunization form using one of the four options below:

• Fax documents to 617.287.3977. Include student ID number and date of birth on the documentation.
• Bring records to University Health Services (office located on the second floor of the Quinn Building). Office hours: M-W: 8:30 a.m.—7:00 p.m., Th-F: 8:30 a.m.—5:00 p.m. A drop box available after hours.
• Mail records to the address below:
  • University Health Services Quinn Administration Building
    University of Massachusetts Boston
    100 Morrissey Boulevard
    Boston, MA 02125-3393.
  • Include student ID number and date of birth on the documentation
• Submit via the WISER Portal (more information here)

If you are unable to complete this requirement pre-arrival, you will be required to complete it as soon as you arrive.

DEADLINE TO COMPLETE: TWO WEEKS BEFORE PROGRAM START DATE

All first-year students are required to complete a math assessment and a writing assessment pre-arrival. These are very important to ensure that students are placed in the appropriate-level class.

• Math Assessment: ALEKS

  • To access the ALEKS Math Assessment: Log into WISER→My Academics→Placement Testing→ALEKS Math Place, Prep, Learn.

  • Make sure that the pop-up blocker is disabled or the link will not open.

  • You may take the ALEKS Placement Assessment up to three times. The Preparation & Learning module is required for retesting: Students need to wait three hours between the first and second attempt and five hours between the second and third attempt.

• Writing Assessment

  • To access the Writing Assessment: Log into WISER→My Academics→Placement Testing→Writing Assessment

  • In this assessment, you’ll be given one hour to read a short passage and to write a response to a question about the ideas in the text. Faculty members will read your essay and evaluate your critical reading and writing abilities. Nonnative speakers of English may take an ESL version of this assessment.

IMPORTANT: While the website linked below states that you need to submit a $200 New Student Deposit in order to register, you do not need to submit this deposit. You will be able to register without submitting the deposit. If you cannot, please contact studentservices@umbinternationaldirect.org

All international students are required to sign up for orientation so that the university can plan appropriately. Graduate students should not sign up for the undergraduate orientation. However, graduate students will receive a separate invitation to a welcome session for all international students.

This welcome is held on the Tuesday the week before classes begin. Please navigate to this website in order to sign up. You register online by creating an account and using your student ID number (located on your offer letter).

Some good resources:

• Information for international students
• Boston-Area Housing Resources

Please be sure to book short-term housing for when you first arrive if you are not able to move into your apartment/home immediately. Boston hotels are very strict about ages.

Most hotels in Boston will not permit a student under the age of 21 to check into a room without a parent/guardian (even if the student is over 18 and someone over 21 made the reservation) and virtually no hotel will allow someone under the age of 18 to check into a hotel alone (even if the parent made the reservation, or if a member of our staff is with them when they check in).

If you are 16-17  years old: Contact the International Guest House to see if they have vacancies and are able to accommodate you based on your age.

If you are 18-21 years old: Contact HI Boston Hotel to see if they have vacancies and are able to accommodate you based on your age. Information about their age restrictions.