Fall 2008 Georgia Tech Graduate Orientation & Expo
Housing Move-In Schedule
- Graduate Students may move into housing as early as August 11. From August 11 - August 15, there will be a $55 per night charge. Official move in is Saturday and Sunday, August 16 and 17.
Attend Orientation
- Graduate Orientation for Fall Semester 2008 will be held on Tuesday, August 12, 2008, at 8:30 a.m. (doors open) in Ferst Theater. It is important that you attend this session if at all possible. Representatives from offices on campus involved with getting you enrolled and acclimated to the campus will be present to share information and give you direction.
- Your department may also have an orientation session to discuss issues specific to your program. Be certain you add this session to your calendar as well and plan to attend. Individual departments will forward information to you about these sessions.
- For international students, the Office of International Education be sending you additional information concerning special orientation sessions they will be hosting.
GradExpo
- GradExpo will be held on Wednesday, August 13, 9 am – 4 pm and Thursday, August 14, 9 am - noon in the Campus Recreation Center (CRC) . There will be a number of campus services, student organizations, and local businesses present to assist new Graduate Students in becoming familiar with campus life at Georgia Tech and the surrounding community. This is an event you don’t want to miss. Be sure to check at GradExpo to see if you are the winner of one of our super door prizes.
Taking Care of Georgia Tech Business
- Health/Medical Issues – Come to the Health Services Center next door to the Campus Recreation Center (site of GradExpo) on Wednesday, August 13, 9 am – 4 pm or on Thursday, August 14, 9 am – noon. Representatives of Health Services will assist you in getting your paperwork complete, required immunizations, tuberculosis screening, etc. handled and get any holds on registration cleared. For more information on requirements, see “Medical Requirements” below.
- Getting a Social Security Card – Come to the Campus Recreation Center (site of GradExpo) on Wednesday, August 13, 9 am – 4 pm or Thursday, August 14, 9 am – noon. Representatives of the Social Security Administration will be present to assist students in securing a Social Security card which is required in order to work. The Social Security Administration office has requested that all Georgia Tech students use this on-campus service rather than coming to the downtown Social Security office – they are sending multiple representatives who will be present on campus for two days handling this specifically for Georgia Tech students. You must bring the following items with you: Passport (with I-94 stapled inside), I-20, Visa. Other paperwork will be waiting for you at the CRC and will be handed to you when you arrive.
- Payroll Processing – Come to the Campus Recreation Center (site of GradExpo) on Wednesday, August 13, 9 am – 4 pm or Thursday, August 14, 9 am – noon. Representatives of the Georgia Tech Office of Human Resources and Payroll will be present to process employment paperwork for Graduate Research Assistants, Graduate Teaching Assistants, and Visiting Faculty. Appropriate paperwork for getting you on the payroll will be prepared by your hiring department and will be waiting for you to pick up when you arrive at the CRC. For more information on this topic, see “GRA/GTA Processing” below.
Medical Requirements
- All incoming students must comply with the University System of Georgia's and the Board of Regents' immunization requirement. This mandatory requirement must be met before registration. Proof of the following immunizations or immunity must be documented on the Georgia Tech Medical Entrance forms. Immunization and tuberculosis screening forms must be signed, dated, and addressed by a medical practitioner.
- All students must provide documentation for the following prior to attending classes:
- Immunization for measles, mumps and rubella(MMR)tetanus, varicella (chicken pox) and hepatitis B
- Tuberculosis Screening
- There are three forms required. You must download and have these completed PRIOR to coming to Georgia Tech. US students are encouraged to mail these directly to Medical Records, Georgia Tech Health Services, 740 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332-0470. International students should bring these forms with them and deliver them to representatives of Health Services upon arrival.
- Download Forms Here
- Medical Entrance Form - The student must print and complete this form.
- Tuberculosis Screening Form - You must print this form and take it to your health care provider. All students must be screened for tuberculosis before entering Georgia Tech. The tuberculosis screening form must be completed and signed by a medical practitioner. Please see http://www.health.gatech.edu/policies_procedures/incoming_students.htm for more complete information concerning tuberculosis screening requirements – read this information carefully and follow the instructions. Failure to comply with this requirement will prevent registration.
- Certificate of Immunizations - You must print out this form and take it to your health care provider. Part 1 of the form should be completed by the student. Part 2 must be completed by the health care provider.
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If you need Immunizations or TB Screening, you will be able to have this done at GradExpo. There is a cost involved for these services and you will need to be prepared to cover the costs. To learn the cost of these immunizations/screening,please contact the Immunization Office at (404) 894-1432 or e-mail them at imm@health.gatech.edu. Please be aware that for those required immunizations/screening listed above, you WILL NOT be allowed to register until these have been cleared by Health Services.
BuzzCard
- All students at Georgia Tech have an identification card known as the “BuzzCard.” Arrangements have been made with the BuzzCard office located in the Student Center Commons to have your card made on Tuesday, August 12, between 1 and 4 pm. Please make your plans to stop by the BuzzCard office during these hours.
Computer Account
- All students are provided with a computer account. This provides them with access to e-mail, software download, OIT computer labs, library resources, wireless network, BuzzPort and a number of other services. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT that you have your computer account activated immediately. Go to www.passport.gatech.edu to activate your email account now. Your Georgia Tech e-mail account will be the primary source used by institute administration, departments and organizations on campus to correspond with you. We will not correspond to you via private e-mail accounts such as Yahoo, Hotmail, etc., or departmental accounts. All institute communications will be sent only to your official Georgia Tech e-mail account (not a department-assigned email account). If you have more than one email account, you MUST check this official email account regularly and will be held responsible for complying with all information provided at this email address. When you get your BuzzCard on Tuesday, August 12 between 1 and 4 pm, representatives of the Office of Information Technology will be present at the BuzzCard Center to give you your Computer Account information.
Registration
- New Graduate Students will be able to register beginning August 12 following orientation and can continue to do so (or make schedule changes) through 4 pm on Friday, August 22. To access the online registration, please go to www.registrar.gatech.edu/registration/index.php.
- Registration Holds – Several categories of holds may be placed on your registration. These must be cleared before you will be allowed to register. Holds you may see include:
- Graduate Admission Hold – When documents are missing from your admissions file, a hold will be placed on your registration. Representatives of Graduate Admissions will be present at the Campus Recreation Center on Wednesday, August 13, 9 am – 4 pm and Thursday, August 14, 9 am – noon to accept your documents and help you clear your hold. At any other time, you must go to Room 318, Savant Building, and meet with the Graduate Admissions Specialist who handles your application. Your file will be reviewed with you and a plan for providing the needed documents will be discussed. Once you have done this, you will be allowed to register.
- Health Hold – If you have not turned in the appropriate forms to Health Services, you will have a hold placed on registration. Other health holds may be placed for failure to comply with the TB screening requirements or for lack of appropriate immunizations. You should contact Health Services and follow their instructions in order to have your health hold lifted.
- SEVIS Hold – All international students will have a SEVIS hold placed on their registration. Once you arrive in Atlanta, you should go to the Office of International Education, Room 211 Savant Building to check-in. Your immigration paperwork will be validated at this time and your registration hold will be removed.
Financial Aid
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The Financial Aid Office is located on the third floor of the Bill Moore Success Center between Tech Tower and Bobby Dodd Stadium. If you have problems or issues related to scholarships, loans, grants, etc., you should check with this office for assistance.
Fee Payment
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All tuition and fees must be paid by 4 pm on Friday, August 22. You have several options available for payment of fees and can learn more about these at http://www.bursar.gatech.edu/payopt.php. However, please be aware that all fees must be paid by the deadline or your class schedule will be cancelled on August 25. If you have questions regarding your bill or any other issues related to payment, please contact the Bursar’s Office located in Room 225, Lyman Hall. New graduate students will have the $75 late fee waived until August 22. After that date it will be assessed.
GRA / GTA Processing
- Representatives from the Social Security Administration and Georgia Tech Payroll will be present at the Campus Recreation Center, Wednesday, August 13 from 9 am until 4 pm and Thursday, August 14, 9 am – noon to assist new students in obtaining a social security card as well as getting established on the payroll. For Social Security Administration, international students will need to bring all Visa/immigration. For Payroll, Departments should make certain that their new students bring their new hire paperwork with them as well as documents listed below.
- Click here for a list of acceptable documents for payroll processing.
