Pre-Departure Advice

What to Leave at Home

• 220–240 Volt electrical appliances: In the United States, 110-120 Volt electricity and AC power are the standard. Plugging in an appliance with different electrical standards can ruin your appliance or cause other damage. If you do want to bring an electric appliance from home, consider buying a Volt Converter. Volt converters can be easily purchased at any of the electronics stores in the United States, such as Best Buy, RadioShack, etc. 
• Perishable foods, meats, most plants and animals: Consult the U.S. Customs website to learn what items are not allowed to be imported.
• Bedding and towels: Dominican University of California will provide you with appropriate sheets and towels upon your arrival at a cost.
• School books: You will need to buy new books upon arrival.

What to Bring with You

San Rafael has a Mediterranean climate: Summers and early falls are warm and winters and late falls are cool. The average temperatures in San Francisco Bay Area range from around 50 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 27 degrees Centigrade).

During summer and early fall, students often wear short pants and t-shirts to class. In the late fall and winter months, warmer clothes like sweaters, coats and rain gear are necessary.

• You may bring your personal belongings, photos, arts and crafts, maps and any souvenirs that will remind you of home and that will help you share your culture and traditions with your fellow students and campus community.
• If you wear glasses, get a prescription from your eye doctor.
• If you need regular medication, get an adequate initial supply as well as a prescription from your doctor. Bring any medical documentation you can and translate it into English.
• If you wish to begin driving as soon as you come to California, bring your driver license and its translation into English or bring your international driving license.
• Bring about $200 in cash (in small denominations, $5, $10, $20) to use as spending money when you first arrive in the United States. You might not be able to access your debit/credit card accounts right away and the local U.S. banks do not exchange money as a routine procedure.

How to Arrange for Mail

Until you have a mailing address at Dominican University of California, you may have your letters mailed to you in care of the GEO. Make sure that the words "Hold for arrival" are written on the envelope. Use the following address:

Global Education Office (GEO)
50 Acacia San Rafael, CA 94901
U.S.A.

Write Down Important Numbers

• your passport number
• your travelers cheques’ numbers 
• your bank draft number
• your flight number 
• your contact number and your emergency contact number

Write down all of these numbers on a single sheet of paper, and keep it in your handbag or on your person. This way you won’t have to take out your important documents every time you are asked to fill out a form. Leave a list of these important numbers at home so your family can use it in case of emergency.

Make a photocopy of all your important documents and carry those photocopies separately. Keep a set of photocopies in each piece of luggage, in case one of your bags is misplaced or lost in transit.

Airport to Campus Transportation

Dominican University of California will provide all of our international students, who need it, with free pick-up and transportation from the San Francisco or Oakland airports to the University.

Please make sure you inform us two weeks in advance of your flight information, date and time of arrival. Please send an e-mail as early as possible to both geo@dominican.edu and vaolele.stawiarski@dominican.edu with all the necessary information.

Bedding, Towels and SIM Phone Card

Dominican University will provide you with sheets, pillows covers, towels and a T-Mobile SIM card for the fee of $120. Make sure that you bring a GSM unlocked phone so that you may use the SIM card. Upon your arrival you will be given:

• Twin bed sheets, a pillow, and a comforter
• Two towels
• Phone card from T-Mobile worth $10 (The card comes with 10 minutes of credit time. You will be able to purchase more minutes through the T-Mobile website.)

Click here to request this service.

Date of arrival

U.S. immigration regulations state that new students entering on an F-1 student visa will only be eligible to enter the United States thirty calendar days or less prior to the beginning of the program date or start date, as indicated on the SEVIS I-20 form.

For new F-1 students, this reporting date is indicated in the question number 5 of the I-20 form. Please consider this date carefully when making travel plans to the United States.