Orientation

After your arrival you should show up at the international office and hand in some documents: an identity photograph, your passport (to make a photocopy of your study permit), proof of medical insurance, your letter of admission and proof of payment of your tuition fees.

Most important is to attend the orientation week before the semester starts!
It is compulsory anyway ;)

• welcoming breakfast
• campus tours
• town tours
• safety briefing
• culture shock advice
• student organisations
• registration process
• IPSU courses
• English proficiency screening test
• welcoming party

safety

First of all, you should adhere strictly to the security guidlines provided by the international office during the orientation week. South Africa has a high crime rate but it depends much on the area where you stay. It is definitively not as bloody and fatal as one can see in TV broadcasts about crime in Townships of Johannesburg. However, some might be fooled by the beauty of Stellenbosch thus one should follow some advice:

• do not walk alone at night
• do not use deserted streets - when you see a lot of tourists, you are on the right path :)
• do use the Green Route in Stellenbosch. This is a safe route which is patrolled at night
• do not leave valuables unattended
• do not leave anything in your car, it might be of some value for a potential theft
• do not carry large amounts of money with you
• do not behave as a typical tourist
• be careful at ATMs: “friendly” guys who want to give you a hand are very suspicious: they steal your card and you think it is still inside the machine. There is a lot of students who lost their credit card by this method. Be careful and leave at once!
• you should avoid using trains or "minibus"-taxis
• in case you are involved in an assault, keep calm, hand over your valuables and do not try to be "superhero"

To calm you down, during my visit and stay in South Africa I've never experienced any serious violation or assault. I was in a precarious situation at an ATM, but I managed to save the card :)

registration process

After your arrival you should call your academic departments to assure that you are accepted for the chosen courses. Often you are accepted for a whole program like Honours or Masters and you have to figure out which modules you want to choose. You can also attend the IPSU courses which are exclusively offered to international students. Some academic departments accept only a certain number of international students per course and according to your qualifications you are allowed to choose between all modules of a specific program or only some. In my case the academic department did not even know that I had applied. But the international office and most of the professors are very nice people and help to sort this out.

The registration process for international students is divided in two parts: preliminary and final registration.

At the preliminary registration you indicate some courses you want to take but the main purpose is to register you at the Administration A as a proper student in order to get your student card. After the preliminary registration you have two weeks time to elect your courses and then do your final registration. After final registration it is impossible to add new courses. Naturally it is possible to drop a course and at the end of your studies, you can decide which courses and marks will appear on your academic transcript.

student card

At the preliminary registration you will receive your student card which gives you:

• access to the library and allows you to borrow books.
• access to the computer facilities: every faculty belongs to a certain computer facility. To obtain access you need to get your card activated at the IT office of the appropriate computer centre. These rooms are accessible 24h a day and 7 days a week. Internet usage is charged per MB download. For printing you have to purchase pre-paid printing credits at the cashier at Administration A.
• access to academic buildings after hours. You have to get your card activated at the secretary of the specific department.
• photocopies: the first time, you have to insert your card at the card reader of the copier and to make a PIN up.

English test

At the end of the welcoming week all students have to attend an English proficiency screening test. Depending on the test results you could be forced to attend a language course to improve your English. Naturally you can also attend theses EFL (English as a Foreign Language courses) without failing the test. There exist a lot of courses like "Academic Writing Skills" or "International Business Communication". First language speakers and students with a sufficient score on the TOEFL test are exempted from the English test. Do not forget, to provide your TOEFL results.

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