Once you've paid your $5,000 housing and enrollment deposit, you can begin preparations to arrive on campus and start your studies at Northwestern.

• After you have been accepted, filled out your Housing Application, and paid your deposit, we'll assign you a room and a roommate.
• Visit our residence life webpage to learn more about living on campus.
• Here's a helpful list for what to bring to Northwestern. (Note: You can buy necessary items or have them shipped directly to campus, including bedding and towels.) 

• Payment of your deposit will also enable us to register you for classes. If you plan to enroll in the fall, we will send you a Course Preference Survey in late April or early May to help us create your course schedule.
• Once you have been registered for classes, you will be able to log into your own "My Northwestern" account. Once logged in, you will need to complete several other pre-arrival forms, including:
  • Immunization and Health History Record
  • Release and Consent for Emergency Care
  • Housing Contract

International students are required to subscribe to an acceptable health insurance plan.

Make your travel arrangements to arrive in time for orientation as indicated by your admissions counselor or coach. Then send us your flight itinerary. You may enter the U.S. up to 30 days prior to that date, but Northwestern housing and food service will not be available more than one day before your start date (or report date for student-athletes). You will need to make your own housing arrangements if you arrive sooner.

We will provide transportation from the following regional airports, but please share your itinerary so we can track ALL of your flights:

• Sioux Falls Regional Airport (FSD), Sioux Falls, South Dakota
• Sioux Gateway Airport (SUX), Sioux City, Iowa 

Do NOT book travel to the Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska (OMA). Because of distance, no shuttle service is provided to and from that airport.

Before departure for the U.S., you should carefully review immigration information available on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website for instructions about nonimmigrant inspection at your U.S. Port of Entry. You should hand carry all the documents that you used to apply for your visa, especially your I-20 Form and passport. Do not pack them in your luggage. (You won't have a Form I-94, Social Security Card, or Form I-766 prior to your first entry into the U.S.)

International students are encouraged to arrive one to two days before orientation.

• Fall orientation begins in mid-August, the week before classes begin.
• Orientation for the spring semester is in early January, the day before classes begin.