What to bring when coming to LA/USA ?

The Association of Indian Students (AIS) helps the students, both current and prospective students throughout their stay at USC. Please check the reminders section to make sure you do not forget important documents while traveling.

Things to remember::

• Get a copy of your syllabus along, as sometimes you may end up having prerequisites and you could waive it by proving you have covered such topics as usually the course requirements maybe covered by parts in the courses we do.
• You require your provisional or degree completion certificate (sometimes they do not accept a provisional from some universities), which has to be submitted at the graduate college. So if you happen to come her as soon as you graduate apply for it.
• When traveling if you are a vegetarian specify for vegetarian food on your flight.
• Keep your cabin baggage as light as possible, during transits you may have to walk long distances. It would be good if you could get a trolley.
• If you could you can try for a International Driving Permit (Driving License)
• Dental checkup, go for it atleast a 15 days in advance to avoid last moment confusions Eye sight check up, and if you have sight get a spare as they are usually expensive here A TB test is also advisable as if they ask you to get one done here, it is also expensive and not only that their tests are sensitive and usually we Indians test positive for it.
• Carry money as travelers' cheques, safest and convenient method of carrying money.

What to Get and What Not ?

If you intend to cook Indian food then we would suggest getting along a pressure cooker and any flat-bottomed vessels that you would feel comfortable using. You could get along some masala powders, pickles etc. you could even carry some pulses etc but we would suggest not to as we have Indian groceries around our campus Here usually we wash clothes in Laundromats (maybe once in 10 days) so get clothes that would suit our washing conditions, as usually they are rough and tough. Get atleast 10 to 12 sets of under garments, socks (usually you get better ones here but you can get some to get starting) You wouldn't require warm clothes as its usually quite hot here except for 2 - 3 months in winter Get a good alarm clock (that sounds loud) Do not get any stationary items like (staplers, punchers etc) You should buy a good pair of sneakers, as you have to walk a lot here Do not get along any electronic items here as the voltage is much lower than in India A good school bag, a Visa folder (to hold cards), a wallet/ purses (leather good are usually expensive here) Get some medicines which you think would be useful or any common health problems that you have you could get some basic medicines for headache, stomach ache, indigestion, fever etc. You could get along some Indian music cassettes etc that you enjoy.

Baggage specifications

Box specifications:(As an example the Air India economy class baggage specifications to the USA are given below. Note the specs may be different for other countries/airlines). 2 pieces of baggage with total linear dimension (l+b+h) not exceeding 270cm (106"). Moreover the total linear dimension of each piece should not be over 158 cms (62"). The weight of each bag should not exceed 32kg (70 lb) [note: they are not particular about this] Carry on baggage: In addition you can carry a bag with linear dimension not exceeding 115 cms (45") onboard (fits beneath the seat). Put a copy of the documents you are carrying in each piece of your luggage. Do not carry any sharp things along with you as they are usually detected as weapons

What should I bring from INDIA?

Books are the first priority. The list of books, being huge, is not provided here. Select the courses you are planning to take and find the corresponding books for those courses. If you don't find the books corresponding to the courses that you intend to take then you may request some of the AIS members from your department for help. Please do not ask AIS about courses you may take.

You are advised to have the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) injection, and get a certificate if possible for all the vaccinations you had when you were a child. Hepatitis-B vaccinations are also advised, but it takes 3 injections over 6 months. Consult your doctor on all this. Medicines are pretty costly here. Do get some medicines from home, especially if you have some known problem. Get proper prescription for those medicines you bring along. Its very important as you might be asked at the airport and plus try and get a small note as to what medicine to take for what illness.

Note: This list of other items has been constructed according to the personal experiences of people who have come here. So, may be some important items are missing or are inadequately specified. Hence, personal discretion is highly recommended. Also if you feel something is not here then please do send us an email and we will try and post that info asap.

[#] Type of clothes depends on the habits of an individual. As far as dressing code is concerned, there is none. Shorts and T-Shirts to the school are the ones popular here. No formal stuff its highly casual. Try to get cotton stuff as it suits the climate here and cotton tends to withstand the extreme torture of machine washing and drying here quite well.