INDIAN GRADUATE STUDENT ASSOCIATION – GMU
PRE DEPARTURE CHECK LIST – SPRING 2016
Luggage
First things first, you will need some suitcases to carry all your stuff. You will most likely have a student
offer by which you will be able to carry 3 * 23 kgs plus cabin luggage. The most preferred brands by
students are:
1. American Tourister
2. V.I.P
3. Samsonite
AT has some very good discounts at their factory outlets so it will probably end up the cheapest of the lot.
Samsonite is quite expensive. VIP is good too, but again might end up a little more expensive than AT.
My personal opinion - Go with American Tourister. There may be other local places where you get
unbranded pieces for cheap prices. Don't go with those. If your luggage breaks during handling at the
airports, imagine the plight of all those stuff you would have kept inside!!
You will find that there are two types - hard and soft cases. You might be tempted to go for 2 soft and 1 hard
suitcases but there is no inherent advantage of a hard case over a soft one. In fact, the hard gets scratched
easily during handling. Stick to 3 soft cases.
You need to stuff as much as possible into the cabin bag, since the airlines hardly ever weigh the cabin
luggage, but make sure that the bag doesn’t exceed the airline specified dimensions. If you are bringing your
laptop from India, then you need to have a provision for laptop inside the bag. Plan accordingly and get a
nicely padded and ample backpack. Don't look at brands, just go with utility.
Clothes and apparel
Don't get too many t-shirts from India. There will be lot of events on campus where free tshirts will be given
away. Again, don't get too few either. You won't be washing your clothes for the first two weeks at least, so
you need your clothes to last for at least two weeks. A general guideline for buying clothes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
T-shirts (round neck) : 3-4
T-shirts (polo neck) : 3-4
Jeans (stick to blue/black) : 3-4
Formal shirts : 4-5
Formal trousers – 2
Undergarments - at least 15 pairs (very important)
Formal suit : 1 complete set
Ties : 2-3
Shorts/three-fourths – 5-6
Track pants -3-4
Swimming trunks : 1-2
Traditional dress for festivals : 2-3 (Very Important)*
Towels (Turkey towel): 1-2
Leather belt – 1
15.
16.
17.
Belt for jeans – 1
Formal leather shoes - 1 pair (compulsory)
Sneakers - 1 pair (optional)
18.
Sports shoes (optional) - They are very cheap in the US. You will most probably have a pair
already. Wear it and come.
19.
Sunglasses - 1 pair (optional)
20.
Socks – 10-12 pairs
21.
Sweater - 1-2 good warm ones
22.
A light jacket (you can get a thicker one once you land in the US)
23.
Flip-flops - 2 pairs
24.
Bed sheets - 2 (Optional)
25.
Pillow covers – 2 (Optional)
26.
A good wallet (leather) – 1
27.
A wallet for passport
28.
Skull cap:1-2
This is all the clothes and accessories you might need from India.
Electronics
Though most electronics are cheaper in the US, there are some stuff you may buy from India and come.
1.
External HDD (get the portable one) - You might need this for bringing all those movies,
music and files from back home. Minimum of 250-320 GB. Any
brand is fine.
2.
USB keyboard and mouse (optional) - gamers might need this. Even otherwise, it is a good
thing to have. Get Logitech/Microsoft/Samsung/Zebronics.
3.
This is strictly optional. Most probably you will already have a quad-band phone. Get a
lifetime prepaid sim card from Airtel, register that number in one of the free SMS websites (like
way2sms). Once you land in the US, there is no charge for incoming SMS to that number. So in case any
of your friends/family want to message you/give missed call to you, they can do that for free in that
number. You can reply for free using the free sms service on the website you registered with previously.
4.
If you already have a laptop, you may bring that. Even if it is quite old, preserve it till black
Friday. You will get good deals, both online and in-store.
5.
IPod/mp3 player (optional) - You might need this if you have to wait for long times
airports. Else, get it in the US.
at
6.
Digital Camera- Get it from India. It might be a little more expensive, but you will need it to
record all those initial snaps in the US. Preferred brands are
Canon, Sony and Nikon. Don't buy cameras that require AA batteries. Buy
models with Liion batteries.
7.
A good pair of headphones with mic.
8.
Indian pin to US pin converters - 2. (Very important)
9.
A scientific calculator (very important) Casio fx991MS or fx991ES - This is
damn expensive in the US.
10.
A good branded decent wrist watch.
11.
An extra battery for your wrist watch.
Personal hygiene products
1.
Most of the brands available in India are available in the US too. However, you might need
to bring the following items for your first few days of use.
2.
Tooth paste - one large tube. Brands also available in the US - Colgate, Close-Up,
Pepsodent, Aquafresh (Note: The Pepsodent here is not the same as the
Pepsodent in India, it is owned by a different company, not by Unilever)
3.
Tooth brushes - 3-4
4.
Soap - 1-2 bars. Brands also available in the US - Dove, Palmolive and Pears. If you don't use
any of these brands, then better get used to them. No use bringing
lots of soap bars from India.
5.
Shampoo - 1 bottle. Brands also available in the US - Head and Shoulders, Sunsilk, Dove,
Pantene, Nizoral. Again, get used to any one of these brands.
6.
Shaving razor - A couple of disposable ones.
7.
Shaving foam (don't buy cream) - 1 small can
8.
Trimmer- 1
9.
Moisturizer- 1 bottle
10.
Good clean combs - 2-3
11.
Soap cases – 2
12.
Hair oil - 2 bottles
13.
Deodorant - 1 can
14.
Nail cutter – 1
15.
Earbuds - 1 small pack
16.
Sunscreen lotion - 1 (SPF 55+)
17.
Lip balm - 2
18.
Those wearing spectacles get at least 3 pairs, these are very expensive in the US. These are
all the personal hygiene products you will be needing.
Utensils and Food items
These are the most important things you need to carry from India. If you have already decided your
roommates in India, then you will have the luxury of sharing/dividing items equally. All vessels should be
flat bottomed. These may be the utensils you may want to carry with you:
1.
2.
Pressure cooker: 1 (Important)
Electric cooker: 1 ( you can even buy it here for cheaper prices)
3.
Pressure pan: 1. (As far as possible, get both the cooker and the pan from the same brand so
that you can interchange the gaskets and the weights.)
4.
Medium sized kadai for cooking vegetables – 1
5.
Serving spoons (of various sizes) - 3-4
6.
Ceramic plate:2-3
7.
Plastic spoons and forks - 3-4(for temporary usage)
8.
Extra weights and gaskets for the cookers – 3 (very important)
9.
Kadai for making sambar/dal – 1
10.
Tea strainer – 1
11.
Water bottle (preferably Tupperware) – 1
Food items
1.
Rice - 3-4 kg for initial use
2.
Maggi – 5-8 (minimum). You won't get Maggi in the US except in Indian stores.
So carry as much as you can.
3.
Pickles - 3-4 bottles
4.
Snacks - how much ever you want, for the initial days
5.
All powders - chilli, garam masala, rasam, sambar, asafoetida, other powders you use - 0.5
to 1 kg each
6.
All dals that you use in cooking - 2 kg each
7.
Salt and sugar - 0.5 kg each
8.
Papads - 2-3 packs
9.
Tamarind - 1 kg
10.
Ginger-garlic paste - 2 bottles
Stationery items
You will get a lot of stationery items free at various places in the university (career fairs, orientation, etc.)
so don't bring too much stuff.
1. Pens - 3-4
2. Notebooks - 2-3
3. Pencils - 3-4
4. Erasers – 3
5. Sharpeners – 3
6. Stapler – 1
7. Pins - 2 boxes
8. Glue sticks – 2 9. Markers – 2
10. Small ruler – 1
11. Phone book - 1. Keep all your friends' and relatives' phone numbers written before you leave.
12. Cellophane tape - 1 roll
Medicines
These are very important since for getting any specialized medicine in the US, you need a prescription.
1.
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3.
4.
5.
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7.
8.
9.
10.
Cold, Fever – Crocin
Body Pain - Crocin, Combiflam
Indigestion, Gastric Problems - Gelucil, Zinetac
Throat Infection – Erythromycin
Allergies - Avil .25
Vomiting – Avomine
Tooth Ache – Combiflam
Cold, Head Ache – Amurtanjan
Vicks Inhaler - 1
Amrutanjan - 1
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Stomach Pain – Cyclopam
Diarrhea – Lopomide
Dizziness – Diziron
Sprain – Esgypyrin
Common Cold - Coldact, Vicks Vaporub
Books
Textbooks are very expensive in the US, so you might want to look at what text books the professors
prescribe for the particular courses as well talk to your seniors in the university, and get the important
textbooks from India. Only get those books you won't be able to live without, since they might take much of
your luggage allowance. Rest, you can download online or borrow from the library. Also, get those
fundamental books for revision of concepts.
Packing
Don't postpone packing till the last moment as you won't find time later, and in the tension you may miss
out on some important things. Start packing early. Make sure you make a list of all stuff you are carrying.
Label all the suitcases both inside and outside with both your home address in India and your university
address. Include the phone numbers also. Make sure you are within the luggage allowance, though it can
exceed up to 1-2 kgs.