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Newly Admitted Students

Welcome to Appalachian! You are joining more than 1000 students taking classes in Boone and 1000 students taking classes at a distance in places throughout northwestern North Carolina and virtually around the world. This page lists pointers to important information regarding getting ready to start your graduate work.

Also be sure to check out the information for current students!

Confirming Your Attendance

The Graduate School needs to receive a response to the offer of admission from you as soon as you decide. This will trigger us to start the process of getting you into the student system and issuing you a Banner ID and an Appalnet account. Even if you notified your department, be sure to also notify us. Your admission letter contained a confirmation form for this purpose, OR you can log into the online application system to accept your offer OR you can email gradadmissions@appstate.edu.

Also included in your admission letter was an information sheet.

Need a new copy? The pdf documents may be downloaded below.

  • Response to Admission Offer (pdf)
  • Information for New On-Campus Students (pdf)
  • Information for New Field-Based (Off-Campus) Students (pdf)

Orientation Information

Registration and Calendars

The Registrar's Office publishes the official academic calendar, including registration dates, semester calendars, and the schedule of classes. If you are taking classes on campus in Boone, you should plan to be here at least four or five days ahead of the first class, and we hope you will attend an orientation session!

  • Summer 2011, please contact the program you are entering to find out the class schedule and start date. Many of our programs schedule their summer classes on dates that are different from the standard term dates and you do not want to miss your first classes!
  • Fall 2011: The first day of classes for Fall 2011 is August 23; there will be a number of open registration periods between May and August. Please check the Registrar's Website for details.
  • Special note for field-based (off-campus) students: You should check with your program contact or the cohort manager (Peri David or Lisa Freeman in Distance Education) to find out the date of your orientation and your first class. Most off-campus cohorts use blended instruction (a mix of face-to-face and on-line), so the first day of classes may not be the first day of the semester! For more information see the distance education site.

Housing

New to Boone? There is no open housing for graduate students on campus. In fact, only 40% of our undergraduates live on campus. The University is surrounded by literally hundreds of housing units on the (free) Appalcart bus route, and you can learn more on our Off-Campus Living website: http://offcampus.appstate.edu/.

We urge you to make housing arrangements early! If you wish to look for a roommate opportunity rather than your own place, we encourage you to join SOGS (the social order of graduate students) and inquire through the listserve: http://www.sogs.appstate.edu.

Housing for International Students: If you are an international student, the Office of International Education and Development will assist you with finding housing: http://www.international.appstate.edu.

Financial Assistance (Assistantships, Fellowships, Scholarships, and Federal Aid)

Assistantships and NC Tuition Scholarships: You should contact your home department for more information. If your home department doesn't have funding for you, you can apply for other assistantships on campus. See the assistantship site for more infomation.

Fellowships: All students who check yes and who meet the criteria will be automatically considered for a fellowship. See the fellowship site for more information.

Federal Financial Aid (Student Loans): To be considered, you need to fill out the FAFSA form. See the financial aid site for more information.

Medical History Forms for On-Campus Students

To minimize the spread of illness to residential students, every graduate student who takes courses on campus in Boone during the usual times for undergraduate courses (weekdays before 5 pm) is required to document immunization, and so will need to fill out the medical history and immunization form. You can access the form from the Health Services Website.

Mandatory Health Insurance Requirements for On-Campus Students

Every student who is enrolled in 9 or more hours on campus in Boone must show that they have Major Medical Health Insurance coverage. There is a website at which you enter the information on your insurance card to prove your coverage. If you don't or can't prove you have insurance before you are billed for tuition and fees, you will be automatically enrolled in a student health insurance policy and billed for the coverage through your student account.

The website to "waive out" of the insurance coverage by proving you already have coverage: http://www.studentinsurance.com. Enter "Appalachian State" into the search box on the main page to begin the process. Be sure to have your insurance card with you! To avoid being enrolled in the student health insurance be sure to waive out as soon as possible, but no later than September 1 each year!

For more information on the coverage provided through the policy you would be automatically enrolled in if you don't "waive out": http://www.studentinsurance.com. The cost is $651 per year (effective August 1 through July 31), payable in two equal installments with your Fall and Spring tuition and fee bills.

Email Accounts and Banner IDs

Every student at Appalachian has an Appalnet account. Appalnet is a campus information system that includes an email account and announcement bulletin board, as well as access to student services such as on-line registration, student accounts, and transcript printing. After you accept your offer of attendance and confirm your term of admission, you will receive a mailer from Academic Computing listing your email address and your initial password unless you were recently a student at Appalachian, in which case your old account will be reactivated. Students who do not get their mailers should contact the Help Desk in the Computing Center (828-262-6266).

We strongly encourage you to check this email account and the announcements on a regular basis. This is how the Graduate School will notify you of important information. Have too many email accounts to check them all? Forwarding your Appalnet email is possible, but then you will miss the announcements. Can't find your Appalnet ID information? Contact the Graduate School, and we will look it up for you!

If you plan to sit out more than one term, your email account will be deleted and then recreated when you return.

Other Information

Check the information for current students. Not yet familiar with the Graduate School, Appalachian, and Boone? The prospective student page contains many useful links.