Before You Arrive

Health Insurance

According to The Guide to Graduate Life, Penn State University requires that all graduate assistants, students, fellows and international students have acceptable health insurance. There are two health insurance options available through the University for graduate students: MEGA and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. There is also a vision plan option with MEGA. Forms are available in Grange building, and the process takes approximately two weeks. The department pays 80$\%$ of the premiums for graduate assistants or fellows enrolled in MEGA's Basic Plan. The remaining 20$\%$ is taken out of your paycheck in three installments: September, February and April. This ends up being approximately $40-50 each of those three times. It is very important to realize that you will be automatically enrolled in MEGA's Basic Plan unless you submit a waiver and can demonstrate that you have an acceptable alternative plan. The department does not subsidize Blue Cross/Blue Shield or any other health insurance plan. More detailed information is available in the The Guide to Graduate Life or from the Health Insurance Office in 320 Grange Building (814-865-7467). After your graduation from Penn State, you will be eligible for short-term Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans which are offered by the Alumni Association (1-800-922-1245).

Tuition Bill

About six weeks before the beginning of each semester, you should receive your tuition bill. If you are a graduate assistant (or fellow) write ``Graduate Assistant (or Graduate Fellow) in the Statistics Department'' on your bill, put balance due of 0, and return it by the due date. If you prefer, you may file your 0 bill by phone by calling the Bursar's Office Voice Response System (814-863-2777). Zero bills can also be filed online through the elion system. Note that if the Registrar's office does not receive your tuition bill before the deadline, your account will be charged $25 (which you are responsible for paying). If you are not on a graduate assistantship, follow the directions on the bill for calculating your tuition, computer fee and activity fee (all adjusted for the number of credits for which you are enrolled). If you need further assistance, call the Graduate Secretary.

Registration

During orientation you will be given an opportunity to meet with an advisor regarding course selection. After this meeting, you should register before the first day of classes in order to avoid ``late registration fees.'' Courses may be added or dropped during the first ten calendar days of the fifteen week semester. Note that you are permitted to add or drop classes without penalty only during the first week of classes. Then starting with the seventh day, a $6 fee is charged each day an add/drop transaction is processed. See Section for the appropriate number of credits to take.

Where to Live

Graduate students and their families can choose between on and off campus housing. If you are planning on living off campus, we suggest making a trip to State College in the spring or early summer (at the latest). There are numerous ways to find places to live including websites such as statecollege.com and rent.net, looking in the Centre Daily Times (the State College regional newspaper) and the Collegian (the Penn State campus newspaper). Discussing housing options with current graduate students to learn from their experiences is also helpful. The Office of Off Campus Living also posts lists of people looking for roommates. Also, the Department of Town Affairs in 203 Hetzel Union Building (814-865-6851) publishes The Apartment Guide. Here you can find a listing of all State College realtors and descriptions of the many apartment complexes in the area. In addition, you may wish to contact the Graduate Secretary to see if other incoming or current graduate students in our department are looking for roommates. If you wish to live on campus, contact the Assignment Office for Campus Residences in 101 Shields at 814-865-7501.

Football Tickets

Penn State has a nationally recognized football team, and a lot of the fall activities center around football games. If you don't know who Joe Paterno is now, you will soon. You will receive an application for football tickets in May. If you wish to purchase season tickets send in the form with your check as soon as possible because the tickets usually sell out during the summer on a first-come, first-serve basis. The seats are not pre-assigned and since there is always a group of graduate students in the department who regularly attend the home games together, you won't have to worry about sitting alone.

Additional References

The Guide to Graduate Life and The GSA Tax Guide may be obtained at 111B Kern Graduate Building. More information on taxes is discussed in Section . Each incoming graduate student will receive a card allowing them to pick up (free of charge) one copy of The Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin from the Kern Information Desk. The Graduate Student Association has a home page at http://cac.psu.edu/$\sim$gsa which has The Guide to Graduate Life online, as well as various other topics.