SIM cards, Phones & Computers

You need to check if your phone is unlocked. Many networks “lock” the phones so they can only be used on their network. When unlocked, the SIM card inside can be removed and replaced with a US local SIM once you arrive at Purdue. This allows you to select the plan that best fits your needs, often as “pay-as-you-go”. If your phone is locked, your only option is to purchase an international plan through your provider. Phones under a contract/ payment plan often cannot be unlocked. Phones are almost impossible to unlock from overseas, so this is something you should check in advance. If you have a locked phone, see if you have an older unlocked phone lying around and consider using that while at Purdue or buy a new phone when you land (Phones in US are cheaper than most places).

I would strongly recommend that you and your child also have eSIM capable phones (i.e. one which accepts a non-physical sim card), as then activation of a new number once you chose a network provider is done online and quickly- within an hour or so. If your phone only accepts a physical sim, you will need to either buy them on arrival or order your physical sim card in advance (more on this later in this post).

Next, find out what network technology your phone requires and ensure you only purchase a SIM card compatible with your phone type. (GSM is the most common type of network worldwide.) You’ll then need to find a provider in the US that offers the necessary network technology.

In the United States, the three primary mobile service providers (also called cellular phone companies, mobile phone companies, or wireless providers) are Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.

On top of that there are many MVNO’s in the USA, so called Mobile Virtual Network Operators. What they basically do is use the network of one of the above main internet providers to offer their mobile services. Well known MVNO’s in the USA are Mint Mobile, Lycamobile and Boost. Many of these don’t have their own physical stores but you can buy their sim cards in shops like Best Buy, Target, Walmart, etc.

If your phone is locked, you will have no choice but to purchase a new phone. If you purchase a phone directly from a service provider, then that phone will work on that provider’s network, but you will not be able to switch the phone to a different network in your home country after school is over. For example, if you purchase a phone from Verizon, chances are that it will be locked to the Verizon network. If you want to be able to switch to a different service provider’s network, if you are unhappy with their service or when you return to your home country, it might make more sense to purchase an unlocked phone from a third party.

Generally, its not worth being tempted by the system in US where you buy a plan from a carrier company like AT&T and you get the handset for free. Large deposits are usually required, especially for people without Social Security numbers meaing that they will require you to in effect lay down the price of a new phone upfront. The reason is that they will give you a locked phone which cannot be used elsewhere and they will force you to sign up for a contract – typically a 24 months plan. Also the phone will not be portable to other carriers even when the plan ends. The monthly call/data packages will invariably higher than getting a pay-as-you go plan- so you are in effect paying for the phone over time.

Never buy a phone from any carrier even if they claim is is unlocked. Generally it costs the same to buy from outside as it is from carrier (if its a unlocked phone). But the carrier will sell you an unlocked phone that will still be full of bloatware (rubbish apps which slow down your phone- most of which you cant uninstall). You may still have residual portability issues when you shift to another carrier- even though unlocked. The same model phone from a carrier may not have all the bands so you will face difficulty swapping to another carrier which uses those missing bands. The carrier may sell you an unlocked phone but it may still not allow Updates to the phones operating system which may be detrimental if your new carrier has features which use the newer OS.

There are so many more reasons not to buy from the carrier- click here if you want to read more.

Buy a new phone only from the many electronics retail stores such as Best Buy, Target, and Walmart all found near Purdue, or online such as Amazon. Note that there is no i-Phone store in West Lafayette- the nearest one is in Indianapolis or Chicago.

While deciding on a service provider, consider a number of important factors. The most important factor is probably coverage. The term “coverage” refers to the different areas where a company provides mobile signals. For West Lafayette, the providers who offer the best coverage are T-Mobile followed by Verizon; and all those virtual carriers who use these two networks such as Mint Mobile which uses T-Mobile.

You will also want to choose a wireless service that provides competitive rates for calling your home country, although with Face-time and WhatsApp this has become less of a concern these days

After you pick a mobile service provider, the next step is to pick a mobile plan. Each service provider offers its own unique plans with its own unique pricing.

Do you want unlimited calling, texting, and data? This will cost a lot of money. Alternatively, if you already know how much data you plan to use, you could choose a middle-tiered price plan. For example, a service provider might offer 2 gigabytes of data per month for a set price.

If you are looking to save money, your best bet will be a pay-as-you-go plan. These plans allow you to purchase prepaid cards that carry a set number of minutes. Once you use up your service, you can reload the card for an additional charge. Typically, using a prepaid plan with your existing phone won’t require a Social Security Number and there is no credit check, no deposit required, and no contract. which is ideal for a new international student.

For some Parents, especially those flying to the US for just a few days, it may be more convenient to activate a roaming plan from their home country. Check what plans are offered (minutes+data) and then evaluate whether it is cost-effective. Other parents prefer to use a sim which works internationally, including the USA. If you are opting for this, ensure you activate your roaming plan before you leave for the US or get the new world sim in advance.

However, most of these offer expensive plans. If both of these are costly, like it was for me, then you too should get a new sim-card in the US, just like your child who will have to shift to a US provider.

Unfortunately buying a prepaid sim card at any international airport in the USA is pretty much a coin toss. Some airports don’t have sim card shops like at JFK Airport in New York or you can only find extremely overpriced sim card in a vending machine. I didn’t explore this option myself, but apparently at Chicago O’Hare you can get a sim card in the Hudson stores in concourse M of Terminal 5, and in the international arrivals area of ​​T5, by the baggage claim area.

If you haven’t pre-ordered an eSIM, the best way is to either visit a mobile operator’s retail store (but this can be inconvenient) or to pick one up at a Walgreens, 7-Eleven, Target, Walmart or CVS. Generally, you can expect to pay around $20-$50 USD for a month for a prepaid US sim card including unlimited calling minutes and a fixed data package (between 3-10GB).

For a Parent staying for just under 7 days, the best option is probably a Mint Mobile 7-Day Trial Kit which comes with 250 minutes of talk time, 250 text messages, and only 250 MB data. If your data needs are being met via the hotel and 250MB is OK for you, this would be the cheapest option. With an eSIM its free- you can activate it immediately– All you need is a credit card, an email address, and a compatible unlocked phone. If you need a physical sim, you can buy this at Target and Best Buy for just $2. Walmart is often out of stock of these and its more expensive at $5.

For a Parent staying for upto 30 days or who requires more mobile data, the cheapest option would be the the prepaid Ultra Mobile sim (which runs on the T-Mobile network). All plans come with 30 days unlimited calls and free calls to 90+ International Destinations. The rates are (at the time of writing): $17.88 (for 3GB data), $29.88 (10GB), and $39.88 (40GB) at Walmart. Target had higher pricing for the same.

After extensive research for my own son, I found that Mint Mobile is the ideal network for him. It has great coverage inside the Purdue campus (as it uses the T-mobile network- in fact T-mobile is buying Mint Mobile), no downtime and fast internet. I have no hesitation recommending this for your child too!

You can pick up the same 7 days starter kit as outlined above from the retailers, and then convert to a full plan once the trial is over. But that would be a mistake. Mint mobile has special offers which are valid only if you order directly from their website. Read on to understand this.

Generally, all Mint Mobile plans have unlimited calls and text and you need to buy in advance for 3/9 or 12 months with a sliding scale for prices depending on the number of months you pay for. The only difference is the data package. You can choose from 5 GB/month to Unlimited data.

Under their special offer, available only if you order from their website, new customers can try their service at just $15 per month for the first 3 months for all of their plans including Unlimited Data. After the offer trial of 3 months is over, you can switch to any of their plans and pay for a 3, 6 or 12 month period at the normal renewal prices. For e.g. the 5GB per month plan will be just $15 per month if you choose the 12 month renewal. What’s more if you sign up using my referral link, you will get $15 off when you first renew!

However, if you buy from a retailer or from anywhere else except their website, the special offer is not available and you pay the general (renewal) rate from the first day.

If you do opt for the offer from their website, ensure you choose the Unlimited plan and the option “Not To Autorenew” when you sign-up so that you can change your plan when the offer expires. You can buy this option just before you leave your home country. If it is an eSIM, it will activate the same day, and if you need a physical sim, you can pre-order from your country and get them to deliver to your hotel. It takes around 4 days to arrive. You can pick it from your hotel front desk the day you arrive! They don’t ask for any ID or docs on sign-up.

What I did for my son was to get the offer for Unlimited data for 3months, then when that was over, we checked what his actual data usage was. We found that since he was using University wifi most of the time, he could get by with 5GB a month. The only time in the last year that he has exceeded his limit was over his Spring Break when he went to Chicago- and that month he topped up by paying a little extra.

Sign up for Mint Mobile using this referral link and you get $15 off on renewal! at No extra cost to you!

iMechanic (235 E State St WL IN 47906) opposite Taste of India restaurant is recommended and quite close to the campus. They repair both Androids and Apples.

I get it, you’re prepping for school and need to know the real deal on how important a good laptop is. Everyone has the same question, so here are some of Boilermaker’s most popular answers:

Overall, what laptop you choose will not matter much. In general, any recently purchased laptop or desktop computer will work for Purdue’s networking and software requirements.

For software-intensive majors like engineering, many students prefer Windows OS, because most CAD packages are native to Windows, but you can also run Windows OS on a Mac using Boot Camp “pretty easily” (according to some users) if you prefer Apple. FYE maintains recommended guidelines and specifications for computer hardware and software. See here. and here. Incoming students should check with their academic department or advisor to see if their program has specific computing requirements.

Surprisingly, most Boilermakers agree that the most important laptop specs across all majors are Battery Life and Weight. A lightweight laptop with a good battery and 16 GB of RAM will be able to handle almost all your academic activities (yes, including Engineering and CS). In the off-chance you need more juice to run a program, there are many campus lab computers that will be pre-loaded with all the software you will need.

For the first year, FYE will not be using much software- maybe some MATLAB or light work. If you already have a laptop (whether Windows or MAC), carry it and figure out if it meets your needs during school year. There is no speciality software that you would absolutely need to run and the class does not give you workarounds. If there is something that you need, and it’s only available on Windows the course will give you alternatives (or ask you to work on WALC).

You may still be wondering, “What about note-taking? Should I get a tablet or a 2-in-1?” This will depend on your preference. Some people prefer the 2+1 to have all their files easily in the same place, some people think a 2-in-1 doesn’t do well as either a laptop or tablet and prefer the split, and some people prefer taking paper notes in a notebook. Any of these note-taking methods can work for you, it really just comes down to your budget. See this discussion on Reddit Whether to Buy a Laptop, tablet or 2in1 for further insight.

Side Note: Some people prefer just having one lightweight laptop but another option that some people use is to have a powerful not-very-portable gaming laptop and a note-taking device (chromebook, iPad, Remarkable, etc.).

Laptops including Lenovos, Dell and Macs are much cheaper in US than other countries, so its better to buy after arrival if you are thinking of buying a new one. Hardware discounts are available for all Purdue students and staff, including discounts for Apple and Dell devices. To learn more, see here. You should also visit the individual vendors sites to see if they have special offers. They often stack with student discount codes and new customer sign-up offers. You should also use Rakuten.com cashback to maximise your discounts. We did that for a Dell laptop, I have written more about it here.

This is a difficult one. When I was doing my research prior to my son moving, I found out that Purdue only allows certain types of scientific calculators. The policies further vary by department and course.

For Math, the calculators allowed are here

Mechanical Engineering- it allows 2 lines- and names specific models. See here

Electrical and computer engineering allow ONLY a Texas Instruments TI-30X IIS scientific calculator. This is an inexpensive calculator with a 2-line display. See here

Most math exams don’t use a calculator at all

Other engineering exams usually don’t allow graphing calculators

The TI30 is what most people use on exams that allow calculators

Since my son had one he was using, he took that along to use if for his day to day work and we decided for exams buy the one that is allowed in his stream. He has had no problems using his so far in his first year. However, keep a reminder on your phone to revisit the issue before your first mid-term exam say around mid-Sep.

A personal printer is not that necessary as there are many dotted around the campus. They can even use the ones at their residence dorm front desk in an emergency.

All faculty, staff and students with a Purdue career account have access to use the Purdue IT printers. Each is provided with an allotment of prints using the PaperCut print management system. Students can transfer funds to their print quota from their BoilerExpress account by using the Add Credit link on the PaperCut Account Summary page.

More info about printing at Purdue can be found here and here.

Please do not forget about backups! For your students, the time and energy invested into the information they’re creating on their devices is much more valuable than the computer itself. While a lot of coursework is done via the cloud, there will be valuable files stored on their devices too. Purdue gives students a Box.com Backup account free with 5TB of cloud storage.  See here

Alternatively get them signed up with a cloud backup provider (Backblaze, Carbonite, etc), or make sure they’re storing everything in OneDrive on windows, or iCloud on Mac.

Whatever you choose from the above, make sure that’s working before they head off to Purdue.  If ever their tech ends up broken, they can still get to their important files from any other device simply by logging in to the backup service.

Purdue AirLink, known as PAL, is the wireless network utilized on the University’s West Lafayette campus. This is the recommend wireless service for students, faculty and staff.  Using this link, new students can set up their devices (laptops, phones, tablets) to connect to campus Wi-Fi, even if you are not in range, so that you will be ready to connect when you arrive on campus.

Wifi is generally good- but if you game or have wifi connectivity issues – then the wired Ethernet is blazingly fast and ports in the dorms wall have LAN connectivity. You just buy or carry a LAN cable (a 25 ft length is optimal ) and if you don’t have a LAN port on your laptop- buy a USB to RJ45 Ethernet adapter like this. Both items are on my Shopping list attached on my Things to Pack & Buy! post.

Use of a personal router not allowed in dorms – Although some students do this, its against the rules. Usage of a personal router will result in the Ethernet port being disabled in the resident’s room.

Warning: Piracy (Torrenting /IPTV etc) are very taken very seriously by Purdue. Do NOT use the Purdue wifi (or indeed any wifi) for pirating or torrenting. If you do, you will get called in to the Dean of Students for being caught torrenting if using Purdue wifi. The first time will land you a warning letter, and the 2nd time will be a face-to-face meeting with potentially worse consequences like probation, suspension, the like. If you do need to torrent, use a VPN.

Purdue has licensed Office 365 from Microsoft to make it available for free on an individual basis to students, faculty and staff, including for use on their personally owned machines. To install Office 365 on your computer, visit the Purdue Office 365 portal. Sign in with your Purdue email address and password. Then click the Install button on the top right of the page. You can install Office 365 on up to five devices. I suggest if you don’t have Office, then you do this while you are home to get you off to a flying start when you arrive.

Academic software requirements vary by major, but Purdue students have access to many free or low-cost software options. To learn more about available software, visit Purdue IT’s Software page. Software Remote is a service that allows students to access many of the applications available in Purdue IT labs. To get started, go to  https://goremote.itap.purdue.edu.

If you are having trouble connecting to a network or service, contact the Purdue IT Service Desk by calling (765)494-4000 or using the Purdue IT Service Portal.  To contact your local academic IT department, see the list here.  

For issues with your laptop,check if you are under warranty and if so, contact your nearest warranty point. If you are out of warranty, or if the distances/time for warranty repairs are not suitable, then these two services which are close to campus come very highly recommended; Lafayette Local IT & Boilertech Solutions.