Most of you would be coming to SJSU for the first time after clearing VISA. So, traveling in US should be of utmost care. Following are the ways you could get to SJSU.
1. Book a ride through UBER ( first ride free if you are making new account and then $20 off for referral) .
2. You can book Super shuttle . ( prices could be found here https://reservations.supershuttle.com/Default.aspx ) afaik the price from Sanfrancisco airport to San Jose is $45/person and $10 for every extra person ( if you are coming as a group ).
3. Same as UBER , u can try Lyft, sidecar .
4. Ask your friend or senior to come in Zipcar ( would be $12.5/Hr ).
5. Check with Hindu Yuva Group on Facebook, Members offer rides frequently!
If you have less luggage then i would suggest you to take VTA bus service which will charge u a max of $4 from San jose airport to places around. and a maximum of
While, earlier they had this same service to the organizations that have purchased the bulk licences for the desktops and laptops, where students need to sign up with the college/university and wait for the licence to arrive, this time the Microsoft team announced that there is no need to ask the organization as if they have enabled a feature of getting subscription right away by following the simple steps for sign up as explained in the following video. Starting this December, Faculty also gets a copy of Microsoft 365.
The Subscription includes the following Benifits:
The latest versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access and Publisher
Installation on up to five PCs or Macs, and Office apps on other mobile devices including Windows tablets and iPad
1 Terabyte of OneDrive cloud storage
Office Online
Office 365 covers the September 22nd announcement that all eligible students can get Office free. In this show hosts Jeremy Chapman and Frank Chiappone explain how to tell if you're among the millions of qualifying students, the new simple process to get an Office 365 account and what you can do with Office 365 ProPlus once you've got it installed. They also look at Office Mix, OneNote tools for teachers and take Napoleon's March into the 21st century with powerful PowerMap analytics in Excel. Note: Currently this feature is available in US and will spread across the world by the end of the year as said in the Official blog post of Mircrosoft.
I hope you are doing well!. I would like to share an important feature of SJSU for fee Payments.
You can Pay Fee in Installments or All at a time.
Subscribing for the Installment plan:
Instead of paying fee all at a time you can choose to pay in installments(monthly payments). there will be an overall transaction fee of $33 will be added to the total fee. To subscribe to the payment plan : logon to my.sjsu.edu and just below fee summary, there will be an option : Payment plan and other services. click on it and follow few simple steps and you will be subscribed to it!. as simple as that!
They offer 2 Options to pay:
* Pay by Cash at Bursar's Office ( timings : http://www.sjsu.edu/bursar/ ) .
* Pay Online.
Paying by cash is not preferred because it will be huge amount on your pocket which is not safe to carry along.
Paying online is categorized into 3 ways. You can pay online in following ways.
1) Wire Transfer ( peertransfer.com ).
2) Credit Card ( Transaction charges of 2.75% )
3) E-check ( transaction Charges : 0% !!) So, the Best way to pay fee(either for installment plan or by if you have money in your bank account is through the E-check. following are the steps to do it : . 1. Logon to my.sjsu.edu and then click "pay now" which is just below the summary.
2. Once you have clicked on it , you will be asked to click on "Student Balance" option underlined. click on it and then select : Pay by "E-check" . you will get the following window. displaying the options to pay by credit card and by the e-check ( NO CONVENIENCE FEE!! - No issue on carrying money with u :) . WHy stand in Line when you can Pay online ? :) You will save paper too!) .
3. Enter all the details respectively after you proceed with the above screen after selecting Electronic Check option . The window prompts as follows . Make sure you select proper account between "Checking" , "Saving". Usually Students will be given Checking accounts in the banks.
4. Once you enter all the details the next page after you click "Continue Checkout" . That's it ! Your fee will be paid . :) "Note: make sure you have enough balance on your account! You will recieve an email with the receipt once the payment become successful! .
International Wire Transfer
Once you select this option after clicking "Pay Now" on the my.sjsu.edu website fee summary page, You will be redirected to Peertransfer.com which is linked with almost all the universities in the united states. don't get panicked to pay through it. You can pay fee even from INDIA. But, the Exchange rate would be little higher like 1 rupee or 2 rupees higher than normal exchange rate for every dollar. . Once your done with this payment, you will be redirected to the confirmation page on my.sjsu.edu website and you will be sent a confirmation! That's it!.
I hope this post helps you! Have a great days ahead! . . .
How to get California State Driving Licence ? Full procedure. Based on My Experience.
This is Sampath ram Putta. recently i have given the California Driving Written test. i have uploaded my question paper with solutions and many other latest papers here in this channel along with the dmv test routes, live recordings, tips, traffic signals, spanish tests, etc.,: www.tinyurl.com/englishdmvtests
To help people clear their behind the wheel tests and permit tests, we came up with Applications for iOS. Requires iOS 9.3 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
You can download the English permit tests app by going to:
Have your Passport, i20, i94 ( take printout ) , and if you have International licence or licence from your home country , then make sure you don't miss any of these to the Nearest DMV Office.
Usually you will have to walk in to the DMV office if you don't book an appointment online(https://www.dmv.ca.gov/foa/welcome.do?localeName=en ). don't worry , if you go early enough like 7 am, you can straight away take the test without appointment. they will give you the token and you will have to wait until your time come where your ticket number will be shown on the screen followed by your counter number to verify and make you ready for the test. the Fee for the written test is $34. You can pay either by Cash or DEBITcard ONLY. This test is mandatory for Everyone who's seeking a driving licence, be it Motorcycle , or any automobile. If you already Drove in other states with respective state Driving License, You will still have to take this test but you don't need to take behind the wheel test ( driving test - You will have to apply for this test once you clear the Written test where in You will be accompanied by the Examiner and at the end of driving you will be given a Valid License once passed). I have tried my best to put every paper together in the above mentioned channel to make it easy for you to get 100% in the test.
Go in a good dress as if you will be taken a snap there for the Written test. once your done with it then you will be directed to the Written test paper issuing window. take the paper. be with cool mind. you can take as much time as you want to fill the answers. so , why hurry ? be cool and then double check your answers . All questions will be framed from The California DMV manual. its always best idea to go-through Official DMV channel : @
Because there are many live illustrations of rules and important things that one should know if appearing for the Driving Test or the Written test.
once your done with your exam and if you don't score less than 30 out of 36 Questions, you will be given a Temporary Driving licence.
UPDATE: 1. starting May 2015, The California Department of Motor Vehicles have stopped Giving The Temporary permit ( where in you would be allowed to drive by yourself for 2 months and you would need to take the behind the wheel test before it expires) even with Indian/ Home country licence. The Permit which they are giving after written test is valid for 1 Year and someone with California ID SHOULD be beside you while you are driving until you clear the behind the wheel test. 2. Starting January,2015, Most of the DMV test centers have been switched to Touch screen testing. If you ask for Paper test then they would give you the paper test.
Finally . once you book the Driving test slot. be prepared to go early if you don't have an appointment. usually , in Driving test, an instructor will be sitting next to you and will ask you to drive with all rules what you have learnt. This is called the Behind the wheel test. you can book an appointment online : https://www.dmv.ca.gov/foa/welcome.do?localeName=en . Do well. All the very best :) .
Author : Sampath ram kumar Putta.
Make sure you follow the blog. !! any kind of suggestions, requests for new posts , are always welcome and are greatly appreciated !! . Feel free to share,Like,comment on this post. Helping hands are far better than praying Lips ! i wish you all Success. Do check out my other blogs !! i created one for IELTS to help people across the world reach their desired scores : Http://ieltsisveryeasy.blogspot.com . and i am really happy that 10 people scored above 7 bands overall(check the Score board on the facebook IELTS Discussion group : http://www.facebook.com/groups/ieltsforall !! and for USVISAS : http://allaboutusvisas.blogspot.com where in i have shared my Own VISA experience ( MUST Read ) and all other stuff related to VISA's and its processing. i hope you will really like it and its as easy as that ..! and there are many other posts related to Visa's ( like transfer of sevis, Step by step instructions for Booking VISA Slot, paying Sevis Fee, Filling Ds-160 form and Lot more !! ) .
Stay Tuned !
Have a Great day !
Extra tags : California,driving,licence,howto,how,to,get,dl,dmv,driving test,tests,written,tests,written test, driving tests,easy,2014,july,june,latest,papers,test papers,test paper,cal,CA,San jose,los angeles,SJ,LA,department,of,motor,vehicles,dmv ca,cadmv,cadmvtests,cadmvtests1,online,update,tests latest,latest paper,may,january,february,march,april,full,tests,videos,learning,how to,pass,dmv tests,how to get california licence,how to get california driving licence,how to get california's driving licence,how to get licence in california,2014,july 2014,june 2014,may 2014,august,September,
This post has been made simple and is for you to get a gist about SSN, Procedure to Apply for it and the benefits of having an SSN. The Key thing about SSN is at Bottom, Don't forget to read it!
SSN - Social Security Number.
SSN is a 9 digit Number ( in the form : xxx-xx-xxxx ) issued by Social Security Administration (SSA) on the Social Security Card as above(Sample image), to people who are Legally in United states. In order to Start Working in US you should have a Social Security Number for yourself ( solely Yourself, that number cannot be shared with others!!). You can apply for it if you are eligible to work in United states Legally ( on - campus or If you become authorized to work in the US during your CPT Period, OPT Period read more about off-campus employment CPT and OPT here in the previous post : http://iso-sjsu.blogspot.com/2014/08/all-about-cpts-and-opts-at-san-jose.html ). In order to become part of the Social Security system, you must have lawful alien status, permission by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work in the U.S., and a Social Security Number.
How to Apply for SSN ?
There is a Social Security Administration office in each and every county of US. The nearest one to San Jose State University is at 280 S 1st St San Jose, CA 95113.or You may find your nearest SSA office using the online Social Security Office Locator, or by calling the Social Security Administration's national toll-free number: 1-800-772-1213. The application process is FREE. you will just need to go to the nearest SSA office. You might need to go early if you wanted to start an application to get an SSN because there will be long lines if it gets Late and "TIMINGS on WEDNESDAY is only from 9am untill 12pm!!).
You will need your Offer letter from the employer, passport ( or any identification document such as California drivers license: read more on how you can get that here : http://iso-sjsu.blogspot.com/2014/09/how-to-apply-for-california-dl.html ), to apply for SSN. You will get Your SSN in 4-5 Bussiness days after applying. Once you have your SSN you will be eligible for the following benifits.
Benefits for Non-US Citizens, Immigrants, Non-immigrants :
1) Actually speaking, when people who are working become disabled, or become ill and cannot work due to aging, disabilities , SSA gives pension to them on monthly basis. SSA( Social Security Administration ) collects taxes from every employer in the United states and spend it for every one who is disabled,unable to work. once you retire, all the taxes that you have paid will come to you in the form of pension to you.
2) It is like a form of Proof to get Loan, Credit Card,Bank account, because no one else knows that except himself/herself.
You don't need to pay the taxes unless you are on Temporary work permit in United states ( unless it is mentioned in your offer letter but most of them will need to pay taxes).
Types of Social Security Cards Issued When you receive a Social Security Card, it will be one of three types of Social Security Cards:
The first type of Social Security Card is the card most people have, and has been issued since 1935. It shows the person's name and Social Security Number / SSN, and it lets the person work without restriction. The Social Security Administration issues it to U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens.
The second type of Social Security Card bears the legend "NOT VALID FOR EMPLOYMENT." The Social Security Administration issues it to people from other countries who are lawfully admitted to the United States without U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) work authorization, but who need a Social Security Number / SSN because of a federal, state or local law requiring a Social Security Number to get a benefit or service.
The Social Security Administration began issuing the third type of Social Security Card in 1992. It bears the legend "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION." It is issued to people who are admitted to the United States on a temporary basis with authorization to work from USCIS (an agency within the Department of Homeland Security).
How Much Are My Social Security Taxes? How Are They Calculated?
Social Security taxes, also known as FICA (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) are usually withheld from your salary. As an employee, you are taxed 7.65%, which covers both Social Security and Medicare (the government health insurance program providing coverage to people age 65 and over).
The Social Security part of the tax is 6.20% of gross wages (wages before any deductions) up to $76,200. The Medicare tax is 1.45% of all earnings.
Your employer is required to contribute an additional 7.65% to match your contribution. If you are self-employed, you pay Social Security taxes equal to the combined employee/employer tax (15.3%), which you must remit to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on a regular basis (although half of this tax is deductible as a business cost).
KEY THINGS :
Lost/replacement SSN : You can go to the nearest SSA office to apply for the ssn card ( won't be a new number). don't get panicked if you lost your SSN. Check with the SSA office by calling their toll free number to notify them about the status of your SSN card. You won't be charged to get a new card ( same number).
Don't carry your SSN with you unless you are required to. Keep it in a safe place with your other important papers.
Never Share the SSN with Anyone!!
SSN stands as a prime source for IDENTITY THEFT. if someone got your SSN then they can do any illegal transaction and as you know that you pay tax on your salary, every payment made to you by your employer will be recorded in Your History!! so, anything illegal will also come on to your history.
BEWARE, Take Care. If you have any questions , feel free to comment on this post. Have a great days ahead.!!
Getting fee waivers ( at least partial) is very rare cases at SJSU. If you have exceptional profile then you might get fee waiver. The following is applicable to every department at SJSU.
Teaching Assistant ( TA) : TA'ship is completely based on your knowledge and teaching skills, you need to be super proactive to get TAship in the first semester of your graduate study. Thing that you might need to do to get TA ship in first semester are :
1. Find out which professor offers which courses.
2. Find out the fields of interest that match your expertise.
3. Drop an email to the professor about your skills and expertise in that particular field/course focusing on what all you have done like projects,thesis,internship during your undergraduate study.
4. Finally meet professor in person by checking the office hours.
Now lets move on to the benefits of being a TA
Benefits of TA'ship:
1. fee waiver upto 2 courses which is approximately $3000 along with the Montly stipend of $354.
2. You will build a Professional Network and links with industry. Because, when you work under a professor, for sure he/she is going to have a tie up with industries all around.
3. Knowledge,Happiness is only when it is shared! so, you will definitely reach to a point where it make u feel happy about yourself being learnt something and shared what you know with the students.
Duties of TA would typically involve teaching.
Student Assistant, Instructional Student Assistant ( SA, ISA) :
This is a hourly basis( varies from $10.50 to $12 ) job in respective departments. Duties involve grading, proctoring.
Same is the case with Research Assistantship (RA) you will need to work on a project under a professor. and pay varies based on the project your working on and the professor. read more about from SJSU Website : http://www.sjsu.edu/meteorology/graduates/assistantships/
Here is another post on Working On-Campus,Offcampus :
Although this sort of thing is a rare case possibility that I didn't think ever occurred over here, recent events have prompted me to create this post and warn everyone.
Many of us are looking for accommodations and many are offering them. The confirmations have been mostly word-of-mouth and the money transfers mostly fair. But recently, I have heard of a few people who are using marketing tactics to get people in. For example, telling the person seeking accommodation that I have two more waiting and they should confirm soon to make sure the place stays.
Now for a student who is already here, it's easier for them to come to the apartment, look through it and then decide for themselves whether they are gonna go ahead or not. And even so, a buffer of one to two days is normally allowed. All a person needs is a few hours of notice to make the house ready for the new arrival. And the new arrival can then transfer the money after they have moved in.
But what if, the student is very new and searching for an accommodation from far. Like from a cousin's place in San Francisco or from India itself. Now these students need accommodation and since they have no clue what to expect, just finding someone who says "Yes" itself would be a great thing for them.
Yet this warning is for all the students searching for accommodation. DO NOT TRANSFER MONEY TO ANYBODY AT ALL until you have checked the apartment completely. Check the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc., anything and everything possible. Take your time in checking the apartments and only when you are fully satisfied, give them a confirmation. And just to make sure that you are with good people, ask around among friends and seniors.
And the ones giving out accommodation, please keep in mind that most students who are coming to you are fellow Indian students. A lot of them are just coming in for the first time here. They don't really know how things are here. Nor do they know how things could be done. Help them understand what they are getting into and give them enough time. There are enough number of people and vacant apartments for everybody. Telling them to confirm within a day or two is asking a lot from them.
As an illustration, I heard of an incident where three girls were charged nearly $700 each for an apartment in Metro Station. They were told to come on to the Lease also and pay the money from July 15th even though none of them were moving in before the 1st of August. They were given less than a day to confirm and transfer the money without even getting to check out the apartment. When they actually landed, none of them liked the apartment and so they moved out to other places after showing her other replacements. But then, not only did the person decline the replacements, she also declined to return the money. Now this kind of a situation shames the whole Indian student community. It destroys these students perception of life and makes it even harder for them to adjust and settle down so far from home.
So new students and old students, please be very careful about your finances. And do not trust any and everybody just like that. Transfer money to someone when you know for sure about the person. Because once you transfer it, there are very very few ways you can get them back.
There are two ways you can get employed ( Only possible on F- 1 Visa status ) : on campus and Off campus. On campus job u can do up to 20 hours during spring/fall and up to 40 hours in Summer. number of working hours is the same during off campus work period too which is after 2 semesters of graduate study. you will need to contact International Program Services to do some paper work to get work authorization. You can do any number of On campus jobs but the total number of working hours should add up to the limit i.e,., 20 hours during spring/fall and 40 hours during Summer semester. Here is something i would like to share with all of you about off campus Employment which is made in form of flow chart to make it easy for you to understand. : sorry for my Ms paint flow chart. i hope this serves the purpose .
Curricular Practical Training or CPT is done during your Studies at SJSU. SJSU Allows 3 CPT's , either you can take them for spring/fall/summer semesters. but, you will have a restriction of working hours as mentioned above. read more about CPT here : http://www.sjsu.edu/isa/employment/curricular_practical_training/
Optional Practical Training or OPT is of two types : Pre Completion and Post Completion of your Masters degree at SJSU to get a work permit even after you graduate. Opt can be given for 17 months. read more about OPT here : http://www.sjsu.edu/isa/employment/optional_practical_training/
You would have to apply for this atleast90 days ahead of time from the planned start date of work. Since processing at IPS(international Programs and Services Office in Clark hall 5th floor), & then shipping to the USCIS for approval and waiting for the approval takes about 75 ~90 days. Hence please plan accordingly.
Key suggestion:
1) when you are only left with One course in the last semester, It would be ideal to take Pre-OPT and work fulltime ( if you have an offer letter/ job after your graduation).
2) If you donot have job offer after for Post gradution, then its wise to apply for OPT period directly after Graduation.
3) Good thing about Pre-OPT is that, the un-employment days are not counted towards the total final un-employment days.
Exceptional Case :
You can Do Off campus Job in extreme cases like Severe Economic Hardship and is permitted only in cases where there is
economic necessity due to unforeseen circumstances. This work authorization is to cover up your expenses along with the school fee. You may
not apply for this work permission until you have been in full-time F-1 status
for two academic semesters.
I hope this post helps you!
Thank you for taking your time in reading this post.! feel free to share this post with your friends. comment if you have any questions. stay tuned by subscribing to the Blog, lot more posts to come. Have a great days ahead!
Hello and very welcome to all the Newly admitted San Jose State University students! GO Spartans!!
i have taken images of the procedure please go through one by one on how you can logon to the Sjsu email and all other sjsu applications like my sjsu, sparta jobs, Canvas etc., All you need is your student id Number with you.
1. Open My.sjsu.edu and scroll down, you will be able to see the following icon saying : "SJSU email Sign In" . click on it.
2. once you have clicked on it ,the site redirects you to the login page where you will have to enter ID # ( Student id number ) and the password as below .
3. As you don't have the login password, you will have to create a password through Sjsuone.sjsu.edu open up this link and then u will be able to see the option for setting up a new password to login. which is : https://sjsuone.sjsu.edu/sjsuone/resetpassword/ here is the screenshot of sjsuone :
4. once u set and go back to step one you should be able to login with the new password which you set!! . and here is the shortcut link for the email login of sjsu : mail.sjsu.edu! As simple as mail.google.com :D . Have fun.! All the best to you guy! , once again, Very welcome!
Hey everyone., i was exploring the campus once i got here in Spring 2014. here is one i found when i dug my phone cam today. i hope this help you find the group that matches with your interest.
***WELCOME TO ALL ADMITTED STUDENTS of San Jose State University ***
Hello Everyone!! A special Welcome to the Newly Admitted Spartans for Fall 2014 semester :) :) Here are the few things which i wanted to tell you about what you could do with the resources of the campus to shape your career.
Note : You will need the tower card for everything . so make sure you get that asap after reaching here. You can utilize many facilities for FREE. here is the post on how you could get Tower card which i made earlier in this group : https://www.facebook.com/groups/isosjsu/10152147483491207/
1. YOU WILL GET a MAC,Windows Machine , Ipad ( any one of these ) for FREE UPTO 1week. you can give it on the 7th day and u can take another one!! go to MLK library 4th Floor - Student Services : here is the link to that section on our SJSU Website :) : http://library.sjsu.edu/student-computing-services/student-computing-services-center
This thing helped me alot ! i was able to manage whole semester!!!!!.
6. You will have big Canteen in Student Union Building and beside aquatic center. Explore the food items :) . . $11 is the entrance fee in the Canteen beside Aquatic center you can eat anything you want :D .
7. checkout Associated students building ( it is established in 1901 ) , Spartan Bookstore, Sparta Shops , New Student Union.
8. You can checkout books required for your courses at martin Luthur King Library. Do it asap as if there won't be many copies of the same book.
10. Most important thing is , every SJSU Student will get 150 pages FREE Printout / Semester . you can logon to your departmentla Labs with your Student ID and your Last Name as your password( first letter Capital).
I hope this post helps !! :) :) :) Take care and Happy journey guys ! :) Very welcome to everyone! :)
With the experience of not having an on-campus job for a semester :D ..
I wanted to share my job search experience with all of you. I hope this helps you all in some way! :)
I started my MS in SJSU in Spring 2014. I came to the US on December 27th 2013. Since then I have been applying online but it was of no use until April 9th. That's when I got my first call. That day I was called for an interview. And I joined that job on June 1st.
BEST PRACTICE:
GO to every single department on campus and tell them that you have joined so and so semester and you can work upto 20 hours. Just prepare a normal resume and take 30-40 printouts and distribute them in every department. And then wait for the call. If u only rely on sparta jobs it won't be of any use : sites h can look f0r jobs :
Sparta shops
Student Union
Associated students
San jose library
Sparta jobs.
spartan book store.
Departmental websites.
There are many rumors going around about CoveredCA and it's impact on the insurance rates for International Student. Some students have called the University asking about a mail that invited students to come to an address at 14th Street describing a discount or a waiver they might receive in buying the Insurance.
It is true that the link for CoveredCA are available on our University website. But this link is only for domestic students. International Students are not eligible for CoveredCA. This might seem unfair to us as International Students. But there is an important reason behind this.
If you remember, we had submitted financial documents to SJSU and to the VISA authority proving that we had all the necessary funds needed to complete our Masters Education. Although we are still allowed to do on campus jobs, we are not supposed to apply for any subsidies or government sponsored packages. We will not be eligible to such waivers and subsidies at all regardless of what anyone says. Also, IPS and the University does not validate the CoveredCA insurance for International Students.
As applying to CoveredCA is not recommended, please ignore all mails and people who tell you it's a good idea to apply regardless of what the final date is. Taking any help from the government and the public agencies violates our VISA status. So, please be careful!
P.S. According to unconfirmed reports, from the next semester the Insurance plans will not have any age bar. Regardless of how old or young you are, you would be paying the same as everyone else if you are a student at SJSU. The IPS Office shall send an email to everybody with an update anytime soon.
Hey Newly Admitted Spartans, Welcome to San Jose State University!
The Team at Indian Students Organization feels happy and proud to have you here with us. As was mentioned at the Orientation Resource Fair by our Office Holders, we intend to help you to settle down and try to help you fight the longing for home.
Based on the questions we have received up until now, we would like to share some information with you. Firstly, accommodations. Though it is true that forming groups before hand and then leasing apartments together is a very good idea, but sometimes it doesn't pan out so well. Sometimes, there aren't so many apartments available for leasing. Other times, you don't have enough people. We suggest you to go through the available accommodations posted on our group. Split up the group if it isn't working as planned. Make friends with existing lessees. It actually comes to your advantage as the house is all setup already.
Secondly, courses. We know there are many of us kept on the waiting list of classes. But please do not worry, most cases meeting the professor on the first day of classes always does the trick. They will be giving you add codes to the classes and you shall be able to join the classes officially. So being on waitlist is not a problem.
Then comes the phone. Well, you have two options for it. Getting a prepaid card or starting a postpaid plan. If you are getting prepaid, all you need is a phone and about $30. Go to any mobile store like T-mobile or AT&T and ask for a prepaid SIM. And you are good to go!
And if you would like to go for postpaid, then it's a longer process. But it sure is a lot cheaper if you do it right. T Mobile approves postpaid and contract phones for students based on their VISA. So you can take your VISA to any T Mobile Shop for the postpaid phone.
Last but not the least, be wary of help. Other than ISO - SJSU and Hindu Yuva, there is one another group which offers help to students. It's the Amway group.This group offers almost any kind of help to students. Including SSN and sometimes even money. We at ISO and Hindu Yuva do not expect anything in return from students. This group, on the other hand, asks you to come to meetings and conferences of the Amway Group. We do not say that joining them or going to their conferences is not good. But if you are not interested in Groups that want you to buy their stuff and add people to their group, it would be better to avoid such people.
We hope to have cleared up some of the most important stuff that you need in these first days with this post. We shall aim to clear more of your questions in Parichay. To conclude, we advise you to create more relationships, build your network but never forget your old friendships. Involve in as many events and groups as you can, meet and greet as many people as possible. Let's meet at Parichay! Welcome to San Jose! Welcome to Sparta!!
