Exchange students are required to attend all of the International Student Orientation organized by the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO). During the multi-day orientation, you will meet other exchange and international students, go through immigration processing, complete a health screening, learn about campus resources, and more. The orientation starts up to 10 days before the start of the semester. A specific arrival date is available below and will also be provided in your acceptance letter from admissions.

Exchange students are required to attend all of their orientation. It is expected you will arrive in the United States and Ames, Iowa by your reported arrival date at the latest. If uncontrollable circumstances will require you to arrive later, please contact your exchange coordinator and the Office of Admissions at admissions@iastate.edu. Arriving later due to less expensive flights or wanting to visit other US cities first are not excuses for not arriving in Ames by the arrival date 

Graduate Students: Typically international graduate students who are receiving a full degree from ISU do not attend the same orientation as undergraduate international students, instead there are more independent orientation sessions. Graduate exchange students are expected and encouraged to arrive by the undergrad arrival date and participate in the whole orientation though, including social activities and sessions for exchange students. Graduate exchange students who will not be able to attend the regular undergraduate orientation should let their exchange coordinator know.     

August Entry 2023 (Fall semester or Academic Year students)

• Arrival Date: Arrive no later than August 8th. Orientation starts the 9th. We recommend not arriving on campus too much earlier than the 8th, 1-2 days should be enough if you do want to arrive at ISU early.
  
  Graduate students should arrive no later than August 17th. However, it is the expectation that graduate students arrive by August 8th and participate in all of the orientation. There are activities and sessions to meet other exchange students, so by not arriving by the 8th, graduate exchange students may miss out on those opportunities.

January Entry 2024 (Spring semester or Calendar Year students)

• Arrival Date: Arrive no later than January 7th. Orientation starts the 9th.

 

August Entry Orientation typically starts up to 10 days before the start of the semester, and some new exchange students may choose to arrive before that day when housing may not yet be available. Temporary housing for fall orientation is available for students who arrive before they can move into their on-campus housing is available.Temporary housing in the fall is $25 per night.

More information can be found on the ISU’s Department of Residence Early Arrival webpage .


January Entry: Temporary housing is available at a nearby hotel for the few days between your mandatory arrival date and when campus housing is open. More details are in the Next Steps Guide sent out to students.

Students who are coming to ISU starting in the fall semester (either fall semester students or Academic Year students) who live in ISU housing will be able to move into their housing before the official move in day. This is called early check-in and will be during orientation. For each day you are in housing prior to the official move in date, there is an additional cost of $25 per day that will be placed on the U-Bill for the fall. Exchange students coming in the fall that are living in campus housing should budget for several hundred dollars for these and temporary housing expenses.

 

There are multiple ways you can get from the Des Moines International Airport to Ames and campus.
   

   

ISSO New Student Orientation

Click here for all the information on Orientation including transportation to campus, housing during orientation, the schedule, FAQs, and more. This website will continue to be updated as there is new information to share.