student newsletter seasons greetings - study abroad...
TRANSCRIPT
Nov. / Dec. 2012 Student Newsletter
SeaSonS GreetinGSThe decorations are going up, there’s music in the air, and the holiday cheer is spreading. That’s right! It’s the most festive— and wonderful—time of the year!
In the US, Americans celebrate a variety of holidays: Thanksgiving—a harvest celebration in November where you give thanks for all things good, Hannukah—the Jewish Festival of Lights celebrated with eight days of presents & games, Christmas—the birthday of Jesus Christ (and when Santa Claus comes to visit!), and Kwanzaa—a weeklong celebration of African-American culture & heritage.
In Europe, you are sure to find Hanukkah and Christmas but get the added bonus of St. Nicholas Day. On the night of December 5th, children place a boot outside their door with the hope that St. Nick will fill it with presents early on December 6th.
For those of you in the UK, Canada, Australia & New Zealand, don’t worry. People there celebrate Hanukkah & Christmas (usually with Santa in shorts Down Under!), too. However, they also celebrate—get your credit cards ready—Boxing Day! This is one of the largest shopping days of the year with many major stores featuring huge sales!
And throughout the whole world, we mark the end of one year and the beginning of another with New Year celebrations, featuring countdown parties, fireworks and perhaps even a midnight kiss for you lucky ones!
A word of advice: Some people are sensitive about the holidays they celebrate, so to be on the safe side, if you wish to offer someone a holiday greeting, just simply say, “Happy Holidays.” So from all of us at SAF, we wish you the happiest of holiday seasons.
SAF Program Extension Have you enjoyed your semester abroad? Have you been thinking about extending for another semester? If so, this is the time to act! Please don’t delay. SAF has a procedure for extending your program, as does your host university. If you have not spoken with anyone at your host university yet, please do so, and also write to your SAF HQ Program Coordinator so that they can send you the SAF Program Extension Form. SAF requirements for extension include:
• Completed SAF Program Extension Form including signature from an official at your host university• New financial documentation and affidavit of support • Permission from your home university for the extension period • All documents should be sent to SAF HQ once completed.
Program Highlights SAF HQ Fall 2012
University of Utah Aug. 2012
University of Edinburgh Sep. 2012
University of Minnesota Sep. 2012
University of Montana Sep. 2012
University of St. Thomas Sep. 2012
Nov. / Dec. 2012 Student Newsletter
Graduate Access Program (GAP)
SAF offers a service to its students called Graduate Access Program (GAP). This service facilitates SAF stu-dent contact with graduate departments at their host university to get more information on graduate admission processes and procedures. If you signed up for this during your application process with your SAF CO, then one of the program coordinators from HQ will be getting in touch with you in the next few weeks to give you information on contacts at your host university. Financial Issues
Every semester, some SAF students receive emails or notifications from their host university concerning a balance on their account, fee deadlines, or an invoice that needs to be paid. Please do not worry. This happens for a number of reasons and SAF has taken measures to reduce this occurrence, but sometimes students still receive notices. If you receive a notice or invoice, please contact our SAF HQ Accounting team, Chris Hartley and Fumie Ichikawa, at [email protected] or by phone at 1-317-925-2943. Remember, your SAF Program fee includes tuition, mandatory fees, housing while classes are in session, housing depos-its and arrival transportation. Under no circumstances should you pay money directly to your host university without talking to Chris Hartley or another staff at SAF HQ.
SAF HQ Contact [email protected]
Office Phone: +1-317-925-2943Mobile Help Line: +1-317-358-7025
Secondary Mobile: +1-317-777-0693Japanese Speaker Mobile: +1-317-319-7443
StudyAbroadFoundationSAF
SAF - Study Abroad FoundationOffice hours: 8:30am-5:00pm M-F (EDT)
Columbia University Oct. 2012
American U. & WSP Oct. 2012
IU and Purdue Halloween Oct. 2012
UCLA Oct. 2012
UCSDOct. 2012
Housing around the Holidays / Moving out
With many holidays, breaks and the end of the semester coming up, we wanted to remind you to ask if you can stay in your on-campus housing during the break (i.e. Thanksgiving, winter, semester break, etc.). Many universities will let you stay if you want to, but there is a process to register so that they know who will remain on campus. Please ask your RA, Front Desk, Building Manager or visit the Residence or Accommo-dation office to make sure you complete any necessary forms or paperwork for your break! If you are in a homestay, talk to your homestay family and the homestay coordinator of your program. In addition, if this is your last semester at your host university, make sure you know the procedure, dates and times for moving out. These are also good questions to ask your Front Desk or Residence Office. As always, you can contact your SAF HQ Program Coordinator if you have any questions.
SAF Student PortalSAF is launching a new online student portal that allows applicants to check the status of their application (i.e. prior to departure) and provides participants with a quick and easy way to communicate with SAF. Although the student portal will likely be most useful for students when they first travel to their host country, we wanted to introduce it to current students as well.
You will receive an email with your username and password to log-on to the new SAF Student Portal next week. Since you are already in residence, the most useful function for you can be found on the Travel Plans tab. If you are traveling for Thanksgiving and/or the Winter break, please input your travel details here. SAF would like to be able to know where you are if there is an emergency and also need to work out any bugs in our new system. Thank you in advance for your help!
ghhhgNov. / Dec. 2012
Student Newsletter