New Student’s Guide

• Preparing and Arriving in Lawrence
• Housing
• Airport and Transport from Airport
• Commuting and Transportation in Lawrence
• Hotels and Motels
• Shopping Groceries and More
• Health and Hospitals
• Pharmacies
• Banking
• Postal and Parcel Services
• Public Parks
• Public and University Libraries

If you are an international student coming to USA for the first time and if you plan to live in Lawrence to go to University of Kansas (KU) we recommend that you arrive here at least a month before the start of the college semester. This will give you some time to find accomodation, get to know the people, the university and the sorroundings, and settle in.

Secondly, International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) organizes a week of comprehensive orientation events in early August especially for new international students which although optional are highly recommended and beneficial for new international students. The purpose of this program is to process all the legal and enrollment documents and forms of the new student, and to provide a crash course in maintaining your legal status and general important information on wide ranging topics. For details please visit the ISSS Orientation page here.

You can arrange your housing even before arriving here and we recommend that as you may not get what you want and may end up paying higher if you wait until the end to look for housing. Start planning about two months before your move in date if you want to live off-camus and at least 2-4 months in advance if you plan to live on-campus. Although it seems far fetched to be able to find housing being in another continent, actually it is not. You can easily locate the housing you want in your price range by going to websites that advertise the housing. We have listed popular websites and university’ own housing website that serve lawrence area below. You can see the location of properties, their maps, photos, read about the amenities and contact the owners about pricing, avalability and reservations in advance from the website. If you like any property you can contact us to arrange a showing with a member of MSA, we would be happy to guide you and help you in this regard.

Many new students might want to live on campus as you are at arm’s length of your classrooms that way and you also get to interact with college community. To find housing on campus you can visit the KU Housing website here to learn about various options for accomodations and their pricing.

A unique feature of KU’s student housing is that it offers exclusive accomodation and prices for married students who plan to bring their spouse and family along to KU, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and visiting scholars. These housings are set apart from regular housing building and offer great living environment and neighborhood catering to your particular needs. look for Stouffer Place and Sunflower Apartments on KU Housing website here.

Normally you are required to sign a one year lease for off campus housing and the owner may require references in USA. occasionaly, you may be able to find shorter leases as well. Please locate at least two references in USA which are not necessarily your family or relatives. It could be your friends as well, someone with whom you share mutual trust.

http://www.housing.ku.edu

www.apartments.lawrence.com

http://mobile.ljworld.com/classifieds/rentals/apartments-unfurnished

http://www.gagemgmt.com

http://www.firstmanagementinc.com/

When you get your apartment and sign the lease, you will need to do the following:

Call the electricity company (Westar) to get electricity connected in your place. Their phone number is (800) 794-6101.

If the availability of running water is not included in the monthly rent, call the Lawrence Utility company to get your water service running in your home. Their phone number is: (785) 832-7878.

Call the Gas company (Westar) to get Gas connected in your place. Their phone number is (800) 794-6101.

For TV cable, call Sunflower Broadband at: (785) 841 -2100

Kansas City International Airport is about 52 miles north-east of Lawrence. You can use either airport shuttle or taxi to get to Lawrence however the latter will be very expensive. You may want to request a Muslim brother or someone you already know to pick you up which would save you time and money. In case you do need to find your own transport to Lawrence then you can get familiar with the following shuttle services. Be aware that they might only run during day time. Their fare ranges between $30-$40 one way and you can also carry on large luggage.

KCI Roadrunner

http://www.kciroadrunner.com/

Call (785) 272-9995

Clark Express

http://www.clarkexpresskciairporttaxi.com/

Call 24hrs (816) 359-7635

KTS Airport Shuttle

Call (785) 841-7364

For most students who live off-campus they take the university run Blue KU Buses. The information about their schedule and routes is available on the “KU on Wheels” website, go here. Locate the route that is closest to your accomodation with the aid of the map provided on the website. You can download the schedule from the website or get it on the bus. These Blue KU Buses are free for students and staff of KU but you need to show your KU ID at the door, without it you will not get the free ride and must pay $ 1.00.

City of Lawrence operates bus service for all residents of Lawrence known around here as T Bus. The routes and schedules of this service are available on there website, here. The T Bus mave provide coverage to some area where the KU Blue Buses don’t go. this city bus service is also free for KU students upon their showing of the KU ID. However the KU Blue Buses are popular choice among students as they drop you off at the heart f KU unlike the T Bus.

SafeRide is a free taxi service for KU students that operates from 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. seven days a week when school is in session. SafeRide provides students with safe transportation from school to home in late hours when bus service has stopped. To summon the saferide just call (785) 864-SAFE i.e. (785) 864-7233

parking passes can be purchased at KU Parking and Transit Dept. in case you want to drive everyday to KU. Information about parking passes and parking areas is available on Parking and Transit website, go here. If you just need to drive to campus for a short while or a day or two, there are designated parking garages and meter spots for that. Meters are generally for quick few minutes trip to any building and are located cose to entrances. If you need to spend more than 30 minutes than you will need to park in one of the two parking garages located on North and South side of campus, namely Mississippi Street Parking Garage and Allen Fieldhouse Parking Garage. The charge you pay depends on hours of use and time of use.

They can be called by phone only (785) 842-TAXI or (785) 843-TAXI at any time for urgent commute

You will always find a place to sleep in Lawrence. If you are looking for fancy hotel, then go to places like Eldrige Hotel, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, or Best Western. In case you want to put restrictions in your wallet then head to accommodations like Super 8 Motel or Jayhawk Motel.

Grocery Stores The ISL board sells grocery gift coupons (which are used the same as cash) for some of the stores. Please buy those coupons as they generate good income for the Islamic Center. Here is a list of some of the grocery stores in town:

Aldi

Location: 3025 Iowa St. It’s known to be one of the cheapest stores in Lawrence.

Checkers

There is only one branch of this huge store in Lawrence Location: Louisiana & 23rd. ISL Coupons available.

Dillons

there are a couple of branches of this store; two are located close to the university: 6th Street; and 23rd street and east of Naismith street. There is also one on Mass street. ISL Coupons available.

HyVee

There are two branches; one on 6th street and the other one on 23rd street and Kasold street. ISL Coupons available.

Target

Location: 3300 Iowa St.

Middle Eastern and Arabic Stores Mediterranean Market & Cafe

Location: 3300 W 15th St # B5. ISL Coupons available

Aladdin Cafe

Location: 1021 Massachusetts St.

Departmental Stores There are a number of famous departmental stores in Lawrence, including the following three large stores that carry almost all items of daily need:

Wallmart

This store opens 24/7 and sells almost everything including clothes, located at 3300 Iowa St.

Target

Location: 3300 Iowa St.

Clothes and Electronics: JCPenny:

One of the fancy and expensive stores in Lawrence. Location: 31st & Iowa. You can find clothes, antiques, gifts, perfumes, accessories, beds . etc.

Sears

One of the big stores in Lawrence. Location: 27th & Iowa. It’s considered one of the best stores in this city and it’s almost like a mall since it sells electronics (TV’s, videos, refrigerators, AC’s, etc.). It also sells paints, construction products, clothes, jewelry, and sports products.

Kohl’s

Location: 3240 Iowa St.

Best Buy

is one of the North America’s specialty retailer of consumer electronics, personal computers, entertainment software and appliances. Location: 2020 West 31st St.

All KU students are required to have a health insurance either through a private party, or through KU. There are many private hospitals and clinics in Lawrence but you need to make sure if they accept the health insurance you have. Students who have health coverage from University need to visit Watkins Health Center of KU first before making an appointment with a private clinic or hospital.The following is a list of some clinics and hospitals that are available in

Watkins Health Center

This is the KU health center that provides health services for minimum cost and should be your first stop in case of any medical issue.

Location: 1200 Schwegler Drive.

Phone: 785-864-9507

Lawrence Memorial Hospital

The only hospital in Lawrence

Location: 325 Maine St.

Phone: 785-749-6100

FirstMed

Location: 2323 Ridge Ct.

Phone: 785-865-5300.

There are two types of medicines, the first one is for minor illnesses such as headaches, fever, minor pain, etc. This type of medicine can be bought off the shelf without any prescription in most of grocery and convenience stores (Dillons, Checkers, Walmart, etc). The second type of medicines is the one that requires a doctor’s prescription to buy. You can get these from Watkins Health Center pharmacy or many other pharmacies located inside the grocery stores. Refer to grocery store sections for their names and addresses.Walgreens is a local pharmacy that is open 24 hrs.

There are several banks in Lawrence. Choosing one of them depends on your needs. You should consider the following while planning to open a new account:

• Some banks have extended operating hours, and they may open on weekends too.
• Some banks have suitable locations for their ATM.
• Some of them offer a Debit Card which is juts like the Visa credit card and does the same job. However, it is not a credit card. Hence, when you use it, your account will be charged for the amount used. This is important for new comers due to the difficulty obtaining a credit card.
• Some of them don’t charge maintenance fee.
• Some of them require no minimum amount of money to maintain your account.If the Debit Card is important to you and you are looking for extended operating hours, then you should choose either Commerce Bank or US Bank.

USPS Post Office (Main branch)

645 Vermont St. (843-1681)

United Parcel Services (UPS)

2040 W 31st St # G, Lawrence

(785) 856-7860

FedEx

911 Massachusetts St # D, Lawrence

(785) 843-8019

Lawrence is a very beautiful city. Many parks were made in different locations of the city to give people a place for relaxation. Most of them include: group picnic shelters, play area, tennis and volleyball courts, picnic tables, grills, kids play facilities, and restrooms.

It is located just 4 miles from Lawrence. It provides 7,000 surface acres for boating, swimming, and fishing. The lake is fully equipped with all what is needed for recreation. There are several camping areas with shelters, restrooms, Bar-Be-Que grills, and water. Clinton Marina offers boat rentals and fishing facilities.

Good for fishing, camping, and picnics.

Anyone who lives in Lawrence or its surroundings is eligible for free library services, such as renting books, audio, and video cassettes. Library membership can be obtained by bringing a driver’s license to the library.

Location: 707 Vermont Street, map

Work Hours: Monday thru Friday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Saturday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. and Sunday from 2 p.m. until 6

p.m.

Check KU Libraries’ website for present timings and locations, here, timings vary from location to location.