Congratulations for your decision to attend PLU! Before you enter this exciting PLU adventure, there are a lot of items to take care of. The list below can be overwhelming but trust us; your transition to new life in US and at PLU will go a lot smoother if you take care of the following items before you depart your home country. Please let us know if you need any assistance or have any questions!
There are two types of orientation that International Students need to attend. One is International Student Orientation (ISO) and the other is New Student Orientation (NSO).
When you are on NSO webpage, please choose your student status such as First Year Student or Transfer Students for more details. If you are a Non-Degree Seeking Undergraduate Student, please read the Transfer Student’s page. If you are a Graduate Student, please contact your graduate program advisor for a special orientation program details.
Please be sure to be on-campus and attend all required events of ISO and NSO!
Check to make sure your I-20 accurately reflects your first, last, middle name and date of birth. If you find any error, please quickly contact Office of Admissions. For undergraduate students, contact International Admission (intl@plu.edu). For graduate students, contact Ms. Pat Wodaege (wodaegpd@plu.edu)
Make an appointment with the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your country and complete the application for your student visa interview. Be sure to contact Office of Admissions about your visa interview date. For undergraduate students, contact International Admission (intl@plu.edu). For graduate students, contact Ms. Pat Wodaege (wodaegpd@plu.edu). For more information on applying to F-1 student visa, visit Visa page.
Check to make sure your visa accurately reflects your first, last and middle name, visa classification (F-1) and states "Pacific Lutheran University" as name of institution. If you find any error, immediately contact the local U.S. Embassy or General Consulate Office that you used.
Health History Form along with any record of immunization is required to attend any activities at PLU. Please send all documents to the Health Center via mail: Pacific Lutheran University, Attn: Ms. Crystal Kennedy, MA, PLU Health Center, Tacoma, WA 98447, via email: kennedcm@plu.edu or via fax to: 253-536-5042 The deadline for submission is: Monday, August 5, 2013
All International students are automatically enrolled to the PLU International Student Health Insurance plan. The plan cost is $825 for the academic year and $435 for students enrolled for only one semester. If you are already covered by a comparable or better health insurance, you may be waived from enrolling in the PLU International Student Health Insurance plan. To apply for the waiver, please download and fill out International Student Health Insurance Plan Waiver Form. Please return the completed form to the Office of Finance & Operations via mail: Pacific Lutheran University, Attn: Finance & Operations, Tacoma, WA 98447, via fax: (253) 536-5047 or via email: fiop@plu.edu.
Please consider the fact that the form needs to be filled out by both you and your insurance agent. The deadline for this waiver is: Friday, September 20, 2013.
Please note that your billing statement will NOT be updated automatically after the waiver is approved. Billing statements are updated only once a month. If you have been approved for a waiver, the fee should be removed from the next billing statement. If you encounter any issues, please email the Student Services Center: ssvc@plu.edu.
If you would like to make a payment to PLU before your billing statement is adjusted and your insurance waiver has been approved, you may subtract the waived fee and pay the remaining amount.
If you have a special dietary needs (such as gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, kosher and more), please let ISS know in advance. We will try our best to accommodate you when we eat together.
Get dental and optical check-ups before departure! Please do NOT take any immunization shots before arrival. PLU cannot accept result of PPD or X-ray taken outside of US.
After receiving all of your secondary or post secondary grades, please mail transcript(s) to PLU. If the completion date is not on your post secondary school transcript, please also submit evidence of secondary school completion (diploma).
To be considered official, transcript and diploma needs to be sent directly from your institution to PLU via sealed envelope with a date and an original signature or a school seal.
Mail documents to Pacific Lutheran University, Attn: Registrar’s Office, Tacoma, WA 98447
The deadline for submission is August 25 for Fall semester and January 25 for Spring semester.
Look at item 9 of your I-20 for mandatory ISO date and make sure you will be on-campus at 9AM on that date, ready to attend orientation sessions. If you plan to live on-campus move-in date is on Sunday before ISO begins.
Note that F-1 students are not permitted to enter US more than 30 days before their program start date. This date is normally the 1st day of on-campus move-in date. Look at item 5 of your I-20 to find your program start date.
Nearest airport from PLU is Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) located approximately 45 minutes by driving.
PLU operated air-port pick up is available with a fee, please read the Airport Pick-up page for more information.
If you have an on-campus housing, please let us know when you are arriving to campus by submitting this online form. We can meet you at the campus safety office and help you move-in. The deadline for submission is: Monday, August 5, 2013
This log-in and password combination gives you access to on-campus computers, wireless network, your Google account, Sakai and many other on-campus network accesses. Go to this page and follow the instructions. You will be asked to enter your PLU student ID number.
As soon as you activate your ePass, you can log into your new PLU email account here. Please check your PLU email account at least twice a week before arriving to PLU. You may set all emails that come to your PLU email account to be forwarded to your personal email account. Just go to the "Settings" and the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab. We will go over detailed features of Google account during Orientation.
The Community Standards Module is a dynamic module that covers important policies and skills for new students to PLU. This module is mandatory and required for all new students to PLU. On August 1, 2013 instructions on how to complete the module and the due date will be sent to your PLU e-mail address. We thank you for your patience. If you have any questions, please contact conduct@plu.edu.
If you signed up for an on-campus housing, please complete this agreement. Epass is required to access this agreement. The deadline for submission is the move-in date.
Once you started using your PLU email account, your next task is to open a Banner account. Banner is essentially a university database. Access to Banner will allow you to do many things online. Please carefully follow this instruction to open your account. We will go over detailed features of Banner during Orientation.
Once your Banner account has been opened, now it's time for you to sign Payment Contract. Go to Student Services tab and then click on Payment Contract link.
Log into Banner. Go to the Financial Aid Services tab, and lick on Award link.
All new degree seeking students should take the math placement exam online before arriving to PLU. Please read the instruction carefully.
If you a non-degree seeking student, you do not need to take this Math Placement Test unless you would like to be enrolled in a class that is Math or require Math as a pre-requisite.
If you are 21 or older, you may now have alcohol in your South Hall residence under certain guidelines. Don't forget to take the South Hall Policy Course and get to know the South Hall Alcohol Policy
View the Online Class Schedule to explore class offerings.
After you pay advanced tuition deposit to PLU, you will receive a special email address from Office of Admission to get in touch with Academic Advising Office. intlaadv@plu.edu Academic Advising office staff will assist you with your course selection. If you are Non-degree seeking students, please speak to your home institutions' advisors regarding class registration.
PLU has a bookstore called, The Garfield Book Company, located within a short walking distance from campus. When you have your class schedule ready, visit this Garfield Book Company’s webpage to find out books for your classes. Here are some types of books available to purchase from the bookstore and how they may be priced.
If you purchase your books online from the book store, select an option to pick up books when you arrive to campus.
Payments are due at following dates for the following semesters/ terms:
To pay by credit card or check online, log into your Banner>Student Services>Student Account>Make a Payment.
MasterCard, American Express or Discover are accepted but 2.5% charge will apply. In order to use check option, you will need an American Bank Account.
The easiest way to pay is to use a secure wire transfer. PLU works with a company called, Peer Transfer. There is no fee associated to this transaction and you can pay using any currency.
GCC is a program which new International Students and current PLU students are matched for is a mutual beneficial learning experience. To learn more about the program, please visit the GCC website. The deadline for submission is: Monday, August 5, 2013
We have a special Facebook page for PLU International Student.
Chat, email or call us! If you are already in the area, please do not hesitate to stop by!