Bloomington 101
Sitting in my room, as I prepare to move from Bloomington, the place which became my home away from home for two amazing years of grad school, I am compiling this parting note, rather a guide to living/studying/working in Bloomington, and about the things I’ve learnt here (some, the hard way), which might be handy for incoming graduate students, especially to those from the Indian subcontinent.
- Arrival: The most convenient port of entry would be Chicago, followed by a connecting flight to Indianapolis. Bloomington is about an hour south of the Indy airport. BISM organizes pick-ups from the airport for international students every year. You can also find Go Express shuttles which drop you off to specific locations in Bloomington. However, with all your luggage, it’s better to stick to BISM or have a friend pick you up.
- Living: Bloomington has some good apartment complexes to choose from. Generally, the living expense in University towns is significantly lesser than big cities, and its not too hard to afford a room for yourself while working part-time at the University. I stayed at Fountain Park and would definitely recommend this place. Some of the other options generally considered are Woodbridge, Crescent Park, Hoosier Court and Hunter Ridge. It’s safe to book the apartments beforehand. Expect to be greeted by empty apartments without a piece of furniture, and to sleep on the carpeted floors for the first few days. BISM organizes a furniture give away (sponsored by a local church) after a few weeks to help you furnish your apartment. You can also buy mattresses off IKEA or Amazon. You wouldn’t find many grad students choosing University housing. It does help to live around desi folks; there would always be someone who cooks delicious biriyani, brews the best chai or knows how to prepare chaat.
- Essentials: A phone connection would be the first thing you would need. Unless you are already in a family plan, going for one with 4–5 friends would be an economical idea. AT&T have good service in the region. Chase (if you’re younger than 25) and IU Credit Union (25+) are the preferred banking options. Generally, power is from Duke Energy and you will need to get the electricity connection transferred to your name. For internet, Xfinity generally has good student offers, and often setup a tent sale outside Best Buy or near your apartment’s leasing office during the start of the academic year. Kroger and 10th Street market (Indian store) would be your go to options for groceries. BISM also organizes a trip to a Burlington outlet in Indy for winter clothes shopping sometime in October. Expect it to get pretty cold between late November and early March.
- Part-time jobs: The ideal situation is to be able to get yourself an assistantship. You can work either as a Research Assistant, helping a faculty with research work in their labs, or as a Graduate Assistant, which involves more development (if you’re in Computer Science), than research. These positions pay your tuition fee, a good stipend and insurance, but are pretty hard to come by. Having previous work experience in the same domain in which a particular Professor is offering an assistantship helps greatly. For RA positions, it’s always a good idea to write to the faculty well in advance. You can find more information about graduate assistantships on the Student Academic Appointment Vacancies page. The next option is being an Associate Instructor (IU’s version of TA). Get in touch early with the department’s faculty coordinators who are responsible for allotting Associate Instructor positions. While this doesn’t pay for your tuition or insurance, it does pay a decent hourly wage. Else, you can also find hourly positions within the library, with other departments or with the University’s I.T. services. You can browse open positions on the Jobs @ IU site. There are also many students who work with the Student Recreation Center and Dining Services. I strongly encourage working part-time during school as it not only supports your expenses, but more importantly helps you learn how to manage time, handle personal finances and network with people.
- Social Security Number: This is the first thing to do once you get a part-time job. SSN is a magic number everyone needs to have in order to get paid. You will need a letter of employment signed by your supervisor at work. Plan to visit the local Social Security office early in the day as it can get crowded pretty soon. Register your SSN with your bank once you get it. You can apply for a credit card only after you have an SSN. I can’t stress enough about the importance of maintaining a good credit score. IU also provides free filing of tax returns though the VITA program by the Maurer School of Law every year. You can also do it yourself using SprintTax. (Do not use TurboTax if you’re an international student).
- Transport: A car is not an absolute necessity here in Bloomington. As an IU student, you can use the Bloomington Transit service for free (you pay transportation charges as a part of your tuition fee). For those road trips during long weekends, or for dropping a friend to the airport, you can always rent a car with Enterprise, Budget or ZipCar. The Indian driving license is valid for one year from your date of entry into the U.S. You can get yourself a state driver’s license from the local BMV once you have your SSN. There would be a relatively easy written test (study chapters 4 & 5 here), followed by a driving test. If you’ve driven before in India, you can cruise through this test. (Pun not intended).
- Study spots: IU has a host of beautiful spots where you can settle down with your book/laptop, or even pull an all nighter before deadlines.
Some of my favorites are —
West Tower at the Herman B. Wells Library: This is a great place to meet up with your team mates and brainstorm. You can book the rooms beforehand. This is also a good location to take your phone/video interviews. They have a pretty good eatery too in the basement.
William Lowe Bryan Room: Not many people know of this place. You need to take the elevator/staircase beside Starbucks at the Memorial Union, (elevator can only take you up to the 7th floor) and then climb up the last flight of stairs, at the end of the hall you would see the W.L.B. room. This room in reminiscent of Hogwarts in many ways, and is an excellent place to get into the zone with assignments, projects or before finals.
Coffee Shops around campus: Bloomington has some great local, community driven coffee shops. Some of my favorites are: Soma, Hopscoth, Pourhouse and Cup & Kettle Tea (they have the best masala chai in town). The Pearson correlation coefficient between coffee and quality of code tends to 1.0, especially once it starts getting colder outside.
Beck Chapel: The most tranquil place on campus. Amidst the bustling campus, you can find the chapel - almost always deserted. The woodwork, glass paintings, and the silence is charming. I’ve spent many countless afternoons finishing my assignments here.
South Lounge at IMU: The lounge is at the heart of the campus, complete with the most comfortable couches, Starbucks and a fireplace. This is also a good place if you want to take a quick power nap before your next class.
- Recreation: Grad courses can get very demanding with your time (and energy) and it’s important to take time off to do something outside school/work.
IU has a host of options to choose from —
Student Recreational Sports Center: A great place to workout, play (name your sport), swim and more. It’s a good opportunity to pick up a new sport. While you’re at it, you can participate in the intramural league to compete against other students or faculty.
Woodlawn: If you enjoy playing football (not football), Woodlawn is the place to be. You would invariably meet fellow football enthusiasts from around the world. Futsal is also played at the SRSC.
There are also a host of clubs, associations (the Indian Student Association is mostly run by undergrads) and workshops which are active all through the academic year, which one can be a part of; such as — the IU Student Entrepreneur Club, IUDM (IU Dance Marathon that benefits Riley Children’s Hospital), IQ Wall workshops, IU’s chapter of Toastmasters, Photography groups who plan a photowalk around campus, and the Astronomy Club, to name a few. The coursework, internships and job search would leave you with just enough time for a couple of such activities, so choose rationally.
Before you know it, it would be time to bid goodbye to Bloomington, in search of greener pastures, and you can’t help but feel nostalgic in the final few weeks. You will definitely be leaving Bloomington as a different person, leaving behind a part of yourself and taking a part of it with you.
