Once you have been admitted to a program and have decided to attend, take the following steps:

1. File a Notice of Study Leave form, and sign attached waiver by the program filing deadline of the semester prior to your departure. Remember to get the required signatures from the Financial Aid office (whether or not you receive any financial aid) and your adviser before turning the forms in to Dean Young. Students studying abroad in countries on the U.S. State Department Travel Warning List must obtain the signature of a parent or guardian on the waiver, even if the student is over 18.

2. File for study leave course approvals on eBear, by the last day of classes for the semester before you leave. Be sure to read all of the instructions, reminders, and conditions on eBear before uploading your courses for approval. You may take courses abroad for major/minor requirements, General Education Requirements, and elective credit. Speak to your major adviser about how many courses can be fulfilled abroad. Courses must be taken for a letter grade, if that is an option on your program. Your grades from study abroad will be recorded on your Barnard transcript but will not figure in your Barnard GPA; they will only be factored in before you graduate, if you are being considered for Latin honors (cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum laude).

3. HOUSING

Leaving College Housing: If you are going abroad for the fall semester or for the full academic year, you must fill out a housing withdrawal form by May 15 to avoid the $1000 housing cancellation fee; if you are going abroad for the spring you must withdraw from housing by December 1.

Returning to College Housing: If you are returning to College housing for the spring semester, please submit a housing application (http://www.barnard.edu/reslife/forms.html) by December 1; if you are returning to Barnard for the fall semester and are eligible to participate in Room Selection, please complete & submit a Proxy Form to the Residential Life & Housing Office by March 1; if you are ineligible to participate in Room Selection, please submit a housing application (http://www.barnard.edu/reslife/forms.html) by July 1.

4. Go to the Bursar's Office (15 Milbank, x42026), to complete a refund request form for each semester you will be abroad if you wish funds to be forwarded while you are away; to cancel your meal plan for the semester(s) you will be abroad; and to arrange payment of your tuition and fees.

5. If you will need a visa, please check with your program or the relevant consulate if there is anything you need from Barnard, as your home institution.

6. If you will need to take any limited enrollment courses (e.g., labs, seminars) in your first semester back, be sure to go to the appropriate department even before leaving to find out how to sign up while abroad.

7. Request a deferral from the Chair of the Physical Education Department (206 Barnard Hall, x42085) before leaving campus if you have not completed the two-semester Physical Education requirement prior to studying abroad during your junior year. You may otherwise risk receiving an F on your transcript for failing to complete the requirement on time.

8. Leave a forwarding address with the staff in the student mailroom if you want your mail sent to an address in the United States other than your permanent home address.

9. Go to Health Services as soon as possible if you need immunization shots for your host country. Please be aware that immunization shots have to be ordered and are not readily available at Health Services.

10. Remember to review a copy of "A Guide to Living Abroad," a booklet sent to you by the Dean of Studies Office before you leave.