Before Leaving Home

To satisfy this requirement, you must submit your completed Health Background Form to UB. Since you will not be able to register for classes until you do so, you should complete and submit this form via the patient portal as soon as possible. 

If you are unable to complete all of your immunizations in your country, Student Health Services will assist you in obtaining the immunizations, but this will delay your class registration and you may not get the classes you want.

All international students at UB are required to have health insurance and will be automatically billed for it. You are urged not to purchase health insurance for yourself prior to coming to UB because your insurance may not be accepted by UB.

Students are billed each semester for all university-related charges (tuition, student fees, on-campus housing and meals, health insurance, etc.) All bills will be sent to your @buffalo.edu email address. Visit the Student Accounts website for information on billing dates and payment due dates.

For information on the various methods available to pay your university bill, visit the Student Account's website. 

A hold on a UB student's account may prevent the student from registering for classes, receiving grades or transcripts, etc. Students receive a hold when action is required on their part.

Every new international student has an “IS” Hold on his/her account. This will remain in place until you have submitted your a copy of your U.S. visa stamp via the International Student Check-in.  Once the U.S. visa stamp e-form has been processed, your IS Hold will be removed.

All new undergraduate students have been evaluated for credit English course placement based upon section scores of their English language test (TOEFL, IELTS).  A total score is not used for course placement purposes.  A total score is only used for admission purposes. 

If you have questions about this hold please contact the English Language Institute for assistance.

All new or current graduate students offered an assistantship are required to take SPEAK. Graduate students who have an ELI hold are expected to take the SPEAK (Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit) before being permitted to register for classes and cleared for teaching duties. 

SPEAK information as well as a practice test can be found on ELI’s website.

If you have questions about this hold please contact the English Language Institute for assistance.

If you plan to bring money (e.g. cash, money order, certified check, travelers’ checks, letter of credit) into the U.S., please note the following from the Customs & Border Protection (CBP) website: “Travelers leaving or entering the U.S. are required to report monetary instruments (ie. currency or checks) valued at $10,000 or more on a "Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments" FinCEN 105 form. “Failure to declare currency in amounts over $10,000 can result in its seizure.”

Please Note:

• We do not recommend that you carry large sums of cash when you come to the U.S. Please bring a money card or travelers’ checks instead.
  
• Do not assume that you can multiply $10,000 by the number of people in your group and bring in that amount of money. The border officer will try to determine to whom the money really belongs. If they determine that it belongs to one person, they will seize it if the amount exceeds $10,000.
• Never make false statements to a border officer about money or anything else. The penalty for making false statements to border officers is very severe, including a fine and up to two years of imprisonment.
• If you do not follow the above-mentioned advice and your money is seized, we advise you not to fill out any forms to request that the money be returned to you. To file a request that will be approved by Customs & Border Protection requires in-depth knowledge of the relevant regulations and the way that such requests are adjudicated. For these reasons, it is much better to hire an attorney to help you get your money back.

You can find the Estimated Cost of Attendance for your degree program on the Financial Aid website.

You will need to choose a financial institution to keep your money while studying at UB.  Please review the following information to help you choose the type of financial institution(s) and account(s) (most commonly used by international students) that will be right for you.

When trying to determine which financial institution to open an account with, consider the following questions when making your decisions:

Save money and earn interest? Withdraw money frequently? Write checks? Wire money home and receive wire transfers?

At the bank/credit union? Online? Using an ATM (Automated Teller Machine)? 

Is it close to home or campus? Can I easily walk there if necessary? Will I have easy access to an ATM?

How much are the fees? (ATM, wire transfers, etc.)

Below are the two most common types of accounts that international students open:

(Most common account type)

• Permits you to write checks up to the amount of money in the account
• Minimum amount of money may be required to open account
• May have monthly fees, fees per check written, fees associated with debit card use, and overdraft fees
• May have a minimum balance requirement
• May offer overdraft protection (writing a check or taking more money out of an ATM machine that you have available)

• Earn interest on the money in the account (Interest rate is usually very small)
• May not have check-writing or ATM privileges
• May have limits on the number of monthly transactions
• If you will making multiple transactions on your account, this type of account might not be practical for you.

• Provides 24-hour access to your money
• Used to deposit money into or withdraw it from your account
• You may be charged fees if you use an ATM that is not your bank’s ATM

(Similar to an ATM Card)

• Card which is used to make purchases
• Money is taken directly from the account
• Debit cards will allow you to make purchases like a credit card and will not alert you if you overdraw your account
• Some banks charge a fee each time you use a debit card

• Card which is used to make purchases
• Owner of the card is billed for the purchases and pays later
• If you do not pay your bill on time each month you will be charges late fees

• Passport or other official government I.D.
• Copies of your immigration documents
• UB Card (may be optional)
• Address in U.S. (not a university office)
• Address in your home country
• U.S. phone number
• Minimum required deposit
• Proof of enrollment (may be optional)

• For specific information about the products and services offered by banks or credit unions, please speak directly with their representatives.
• ISS does not recommend any specific bank or credit union, and a bank or credit union presence on campus does not constitute a recommendation.
• ISS cannot answer specific questions about your account, or services and products offered by your bank or credit union

There are a variety of scholarship opportunities for students at UB. If interested take a few minutes to explore the information in the links below. 

Have scholarship questions? Be sure to talk to the office directly responsible for the scholarship opportunity. ISS can help you find resources but we do not have detailed information on specific scholarships.