Final Pre-Arrival Steps

High school students who apply to Purdue self-report their courses and grades on the application. Those who are admitted and accept their admission offer must provide final, official transcripts prior to enrolling. See here. For fall enrollment, the deadline to provide official transcripts is Aug. 1. However, in case your results are declared after that deadline (like my son’s CIE A level exams) then send them the reports as soon as possible after they are declared. If you are looking to get transfer credit at Purdue from your Board level exams, then you need to ensure you do this. Your Purdue Academic Advisor has nothing to do with your High School transcripts or the grant of transfer credit – so don’t involve them.

You should get your High School or Examining Board to send these results direct to Purdue admissions office on email at admissions@purdue.edu. In our case, CIE direct independently certifying directly to Purdue was quite expensive, so we emailed the admissions office and they said they can accept a forwarded email from us with the results. They had their own way of counter checking the authenticity of the results against the CIE records using the centre number and candidate number. You need to check with your high school or Examining Board as to how they can arrange to send the results. Also try to get them to notify you when they have sent this email so that you can confirm the receipt of the results from Purdue.

Also note that even though Purdue mention that the Transcripts must match courses and grades that were reported at the time of application, you should not be worried if your final grades are off by a bit from your forecast grades. You have unconditional acceptance from Purdue based on your predicted results. Only If your child has had a drastic change i.e. instead of A they got a D then do you need to be concerned (and even then you can give mitigating circumstances). Any small changes (A to B or C in say just one subject) is generally not a problem.

You need to arrange in US$ cash from your local bank or bureau de change. I would suggest a minimum of $500 but you should probably carry more- to cover you in case your credit card or debit card does not work in the US. This is a personal decision.

Think about an add-on credit card in your name, as your child will most likely not be able to get a credit card in the US at this stage with no SSN and/or ITIN.

Alternatively get a prepaid forex card for the student from home preloaded with US$. Forex cards are issued by the bank. It’ll be issued only in an adults name. So if your child is a minor, take it in your name. It’s like a ready card, so your name is not embossed on it. Anyone in possession of it can use it. So you’ll have to keep it safe. You can one to your child, and reload more money on it from home whenever you want to.

Your child will probably need the Meningococcal B vaccine and definitely need the TB test done on arrival. The official guidance from PUSH is to arrive on campus and then book an appointment. However, PUSH gets inundated with the huge number of internationals freshmen who need this done during the BGRi week. You can’t schedule this online on their appointment system.

I called them about a week before we were flying and booked it in advance over the phone. However, after sharing this tip with other parents in our chat group, some were told they can’t book in advance- so its all a matter of luck as to who you get on the phone…Try doing it now, and if they refuse, then you can do it first thing on arrival.

Only if your kid is a minor (under 18), you, as a parent, can book the appointment. Otherwise get the kid to do so. Have your student PUID handy and before you call, ensure:

1. you have finished uploading the immunisation record on their portal.

2. that all items on the PUSH list, except for the TB test and the vaccine, are marked complete.

3. you have paid for the medical insurance (and it shows Paid)..they know the membership number will not show till Aug 1^st

Then call on +1-765-494-1700 and choose option 0 to book your appointment.

In line with federal and state privacy laws, the academic records of a student are NOT accessible by anyone including parents. In order for parents to access their child’s records, they have to be authorised. That’s where myPurdue Proxy is important.

A student can give parents, legal guardians, or other trusted parties access to view certain pieces of their student information online. This access is referred to as proxy access, and the person who is granted this authorization is called myPurdue proxy. The student controls the entire process through their myPurdue Portal, and can add anyone with a valid email address as a proxy.

First, the student must log in to the myPurdue Portal to create an account for the proxy. They can click Proxy Management in the Personal Information section to begin this process. Once the student has set up the proxy account, login information and account setup directions will be sent to the proxy’s email address. Note: The proxy must have a valid e-mail address in order to access the site.

A proxy will only see the pieces of information they have been authorized to view. Students select which information pages will be viewable when they set up the account, and can grant and remove access through the Proxy Management page. Examples of information a student may grant access to would be final grades, mid-term grades, registration and schedule.

For a complete guide to myProxy for the student- click here
For Instructions for Parents & myPurdue Proxy Access- click here
Click here for FAQs

Once you have set-up the proxy authorisations above, the parent can log in here to access the academic records here

Similar to the above academic release, you also need a PUSH health records release for the parents. Current students wishing to allow others access to their medical records may submit an electronic form on the homepage of the PUSH patient portal. Your kid needs to log onto PUSH portal and access the form there. Alternatively you can submit a completed authorization form which you can download here. Instructions on how to complete the form are here.

In case the child becomes so ill, that they cannot make health care decisions for themselves, the next of kin (parent, spouse, adult child) in Indiana are allowed to make health care decisions. So no further steps are required if the next of kin will be making decisions. However, if you are not a next of kin (for e.g. guardian/uncle/aunt etc) the student has to submit an Advance Directive in writing to PUSH now, in which they name a person of their choice to make health care decisions for them when they cannot make the choices themselves. More information and assistance regarding these documents can be found on the Purdue Student Legal Services web page.

1. Follow ISS Events – free games nights/ activities/ field trips/ snack and meet ups/dinners for International students. Sign up for the activities that need registration or just attend the open to all events. A great way to make new friends.
2. Join Facebook and Whatsapp groups for parents & freshmen students- There are informal groups on FB and Whatapp and provide a valuable source of breaking news, tips and support on your journey. I joined one on FB and another for Freshmen students of Indian origin and I would thoroughly recommend.
3. Follow Townie Moms on Facebook- Click here. This group of local mothers, most of whose kids who attended Central Catholic High School, created the Facebook group in 2015 when their own kids transitioned to Purdue. They now serve as moms-away-from-home and volunteer around the city and answer questions for new Purdue parents, and they’re still going strong. Although they answer plenty of questions, the townie moms are more than just a base of knowledge. They help out where they can, too.
4. Instagram is the main social media platform for student organizations and other advocacy groups at Purdue, and is the main place that news spreads (in addition to reddit). Follow a few of your favourite or more well-known organizations and go from there. Start with BGR/BGRi Purdue social media accounts @allaboardpurdue or Purdue Orientation on X (formerly twitter).

Purdue ALERT Emergency Warning Notification System Sign-up—This covers all the ways you could be notified of an emergency in the campus area.  Sign up to receive a text message regarding any emergency notification in relation to campus—weather, accidents, areas to avoid, etc.

Sign up for emergency text messages at http://www.purdue.edu/securepurdue/. Click on the “Change Your Password” icon, log in. Then click on emergency contact information under the account tools list in the right column and enter your cell phone number.

Follow @purdueemergency on X (Twitter)- you must have a X (Twitter) account to get notifications from @purdueemergency. You may need to log into your X (Twitter) account to see this timeline for the most current updates.

Many stores in the US give student discounts. The ID.me website is used by most big retailers to verify student discounts. Make a student account for yourself and see the discounts that you can get. We scored some really cheap school supplies from the store Staples this way. Create an account here using your @purdue.edu email.

The US market is bonkers. Apart from the low prices, they have a thing called cashback which you get from signing up with a cashback site. They work by earning a commission from partnering stores in exchange for sending them customers. They then share part of that commission with you in the form of a cash back

You can create a cash-back account at many sites, but we chose Rakuten.com as they are reliable and have been in the business much longer than the rest. Read through the end of this section before proceeding.

Rakuten is an online shopping portal formerly called Ebates. It partners with hundreds of online retailers, from household brands like Dell, Samsung, Target and Nike to smaller merchants. By starting your purchase at Rakuten and clicking through to the merchant from there, you’ll take home a bonus on every eligible purchase you make — in addition to earnings on the credit card you use for the purchase. You can even download the Rakuten plug-in to make things even easier. Once this is installed, go directly to the merchant’s site. The browser extension will then notify you if there’s a rebate available

Although these kind of cashbacks deals may seem like a scam, its totally legit, and we have used it ourselves, to score an additional 10% off plus a discount coupon of $50 on an already clearance price laptop from Dell; and on a 10% discount on a Samsung phone directly on Samsung’s website.

To begin earning cash back on eligible purchases, you can visit Rakuten.com, download the app or install the browser extension. Once you activate a cash back offer and make a qualifying purchase, you’ll be able to see what you’ve earned in your Rakuten account. Once you earn more than $5, you’ll get a check or a PayPal deposit on the next quarterly payment date. In addition to online stores, you can earn cash back in stores, on travel, groceries, dining and more.

Once you find a cash back offer you’d like to activate on Rakuten’s site, you can click on it to see additional terms and details. From their website, click “Shop Now” which clicks through the retailer’s website to begin shopping. From the app, you’ll automatically be redirected once activating an offer. As long as you make your purchase through Rakuten’s website or app, your cash back will be credited once the purchase has been verified by the retailer.

Sign up using my referral link, you will get an extra 10% Cash Back on all purchases during the first seven days of joining to stack on top of the normal cash-back rates.

In order to qualify for this bonus, you must be a US-resident! So sign up after you land in the US and are ready to place your orders- to maximise your introductory bonus offers (10% off using my referral link above) on top of the usual Cash Back offers within the first week.

If you don’t already have a Reddit account, sign up. Then join the r/Purdue sub-reddit. This subreddit is a fantastic hub of helpful information, campus conversations, and (sometimes) swirling rumors. The Purdue subreddit tends to learn heavily STEM (CS is especially well-represented), heavily liberal, and heavily critical towards Purdue. The students love Purdue- but love to moan! Keep this in mind as you read posts and participate in discussions.

PurdueToday is the official email newsletter for Purdue University. I believe that employees are automatically subscribed, but students can do so by clicking here. It’s a concise and convenient way to get important campus updates on a frequent basis.

Purdue’s officially unofficial student-run newspaper is another good source of information. The quality of their journalism can vary from year-to-year based on their membership, but you can at least rely on them to accurately report any big campus news. They have paid print and digital editions, but you can get the headlines and articles from their website and they are also very active on Twitter.

2023 saw a spate of deaths at Purdue and US universities of international students, mainly Indian. Although all were accidents or otherwise without external malice/harm, international parents panicked. Instead of constantly worrying, or phoning your kid multiple times a day to ask if he is fine, just install and activate the free Life360 app on your child and at least one parents phone. Although there is a privacy issue, if your child is OK with sharing their location- this is the best way to reduce stress and anxiety for all international parents!

These maps will be needed for your stay in Lafayette- Download (and maybe print?) these to have for the BGRi week!

Map of Lafayette/West Lafayette

Campus Map

Purdue Parking Map (for those with cars for BGRi)

Townie Moms Cheat Sheet– This is a super useful cheat sheet from local Purdue Moms (Townie Moms). Save it!

A one page cheat list of Useful Offices on Campus.

The Purdue Exponent Readers Choice Award Winners 2023– in every category.

Maybe you are done with all the preparations and you still have some time to go before you fly off? Why don’t you take in the

New student Edition– by the Purdue Exponent (2023) and New Parent Edition– Purdue Exponent (2023)

These are really relevant to all freshmen and their parents!