Foreign students face many unique chanllenges. We strongly urge you to vist the Office of Foreign Student Affairs (OFSA) in 209 Goodison Hall, phone 487-3116, and to take advantage of the support services they provide. There are two issues of particular concern: English language proficiency and medical insurance.

All international students must demonstrate English language proficiency prior to degree admission into the Graduate school. Details are provided in the Graduate Catalog. Furthermore, the Chemistry Department has additional requirements for those seeking a graduate assistantship: Details are provided in the Graduate Assistantship Program section of the Chemsitry Graduate Handbook.

Medical costs are very high in this country, and you will be expected to pay for them at the time of service--unless you have insurance. Therefore, it is essential that all students obtain health insurance. It is your responsibility to compare coverages and costs, and select the plan you want to purchase. (Most plans exclude pre-existing conditions, routine physical examinations, self-inflicted injury or suicide, war, insurrection or act of war, elective abortions, and expenses incurred in the home country of foreign students.) Information on medical insurance is available from OFSA.

The student fee paid at registration permits use of the Snow Health Center at a reduced rate (but not free), and allows you to put your charges on your student account. Snow Health Center is not a hospital, but it does provide a wide range of services, including treatment for minor emergencies, individual/group counseling, and "wellness" information/programs. In addition, certain services are availabe free of cost to all who live in Washtenaw county: measles, tetanus, polio, and hepatitis B immunization shots are available at the Washtenaw County Heath Department (971-3993).