• Checklist of Things to Do Before You Return Home
• Readjusting to Your Home Country
• Making Travel Arrangements
• Shipping Information
• Diplomas, Transcripts, and Additional Course Materials
• Required Departure Date
• Sharing the Fulbright Experience at Home and Abroad
• Communication with Program Sponsors After Your Return

CHECKLIST OF THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU RETURN HOME

Below you will find a checklist of things you will need to do before you return home. To print the entire list, you will need to print pages 1-2 of this web page. Underneath the checklist, you will find more information and instructions about topics from this list, such as validating diplomas and transcripts and shipping your belongings, as well as helpful articles on readjusting to your home country.

	Send an email to your LASPAU advisor with your program completion date (different from graduation date) and the date that you are traveling to your home country. Your advisor can be sure you have fulfilled all of your obligations, as well as find out how to be in contact with you in the future (address, phone number, email). We value your work as a grantee and hope to continue our collaboration with you as an alumnus.
	Prior to the completion of your program, contact your home institution to confirm their plans for your reincorporation.
	Complete the Confirmation of Program Completion Survey online.
	Make arrangements for your return travel.
	Be sure to obtain a copy of your diploma and transcript for yourself and get them validated. Since the requirements for this process are subject to change, be sure to check directly with your country's consulate.
	Request that a final cumulative transcript verifying completion of your degree be sent to your LASPAU program advisor upon your graduation. If you cannot complete this process before you leave, ask a friend to handle it for you. LASPAU cannot complete the process on your behalf.
	Make arrangements to transport your belongings home. Be sure to check with your country's consulate or embassy about shipping and customs regulations. It is also a good idea to check with the airline for specific regulations on the weight and size of suitcases, excess baggage, air freight, and cost.
	Settle all of your university and personal accounts before leaving the United States. Your Bank of America debit card will be canceled 30 days after your program end date, so please remove all funds from the card before then.
	Contact the phone company to disconnect your phone. Call the long distance carrier to be sure that all charges are paid before you leave.
	Close your bank account and purchase traveler’s checks if necessary.
	Submit any pending medical claim forms before you go and pay any balance that you owe.
	Let the international office, alumni office, and members of your department at your university know that you are leaving. You have developed a new network of friends and colleagues during your academic program. Many of these individuals will want to stay in touch and may serve as important resources to you upon your return home.
	Once you have returned home, contact the Fulbright Commission or Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy to report on your progress.

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Returning to your home country may be more challenging than you imagine, and you will most likely have some difficulties readapting to your own culture. Your country and your perceptions of it will have changed. You will also have changed through the experiences you have had in your host country. You may experience reverse culture shock upon your return home. Because most people expect the transition home to be an easy and natural one, the unexpected experience of reverse culture shock can be even more difficult to handle than the initial adjustment to your host country.

We strongly urge you to read the articles on reentry listed below. To open and print these documents, you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. If your computer does not have a copy of the program, you may download a free copy by clicking on the "Get Acrobat Reader" icon below:

Since some of the articles describe steps you can take throughout your program to lessen the effect of reverse culture shock, we suggest that you read them at both the start and end of your program.

• "The Top Ten Immediate Reentry Challenges" (PDF)
  
  
• "Preparing to Return Home: Quick Tips" (PDF)
  
  
• "Re-entry shock: Torn between two cultures" (PDF)
  
  
• "Why should I be worried about going home? It is not a foreign country?" (PDF)
  
  
• "Reentry" issue of The Advising Quarterly for Professionals in International Education (PDF)

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Travel expenses for grantees and dependents, either to or from the United States or within the country, are not covered by the grant. It is your responsibility to pay these costs.

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When preparing to leave, you will probably find that you need to send some of your belongings home using an international shipping service. Check with the international student office at your host institution to see if they have any information about reliable shipping companies, or take visit the United States Postal Service website.

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Final Transcripts

1. Please request that a final cumulative transcript, including verification of the degree you have been awarded, be sent to LASPAU upon your graduation.
   
   
2. If your degree will not be posted on your transcript until after your scheduled departure, request that your department send an official letter to LASPAU, verifying that you have completed all requirements for graduation.
   
   
3. You will also want to make sure that you obtain an official copy of your final cumulative transcript for yourself.

Validating Diplomas and Transcripts

Some Latin American and Caribbean countries will not accept a foreign diploma unless it is validated by that country's consulate in the host country. Check with both your home institution (if applicable) and your consulate to find out whether or not you need consular validation. Start checking early because, if you are unable to validate your diploma or transcript before leaving your host country, you must make logistical and financial arrangements for someone else to obtain this validation for you. LASPAU is unable to assist with this process but will be pleased to forward your notarized diploma to your program sponsor.

When validating diplomas and transcripts:

• Make sure all relevant names are legible.
  
  
• If you need a translation of your transcript, validate the translation as well.
  
  
• Keep extra copies of all documents for your records.
  
  
• Include a self-addressed, prepaid (stamped) envelope in your mailing to the consulate.
  
  
• Send a check or money order for the exact amount of all fees.
  
  
• Always use registered or certified mail.
  
  
• If you have any questions, contact the consulate directly.
  
  
• If you have to leave your host country before you have finished the process:
  
  
  • Leave someone in charge of carrying out the steps for you. LASPAU does not carry out the certification process.
    
    
  • Be ready to make the appropriate payment for the validation expenses. Many places will not accept a personal check, so it is your responsibility to find out this information and leave other forms of payment if necessary.
    
    
  • Provide the registrar at your university with the address of the person you have placed in charge. (Otherwise, the documents might be mailed directly to you without validation.)

Additional Course Materials

It is important to be able to clarify any doubts your institution, a ministry, or a review board may have about the courses you took during your exchange program. Your verbal statement about a course's contents will almost never suffice. The basic rule for facilitating credit and degree transfer from one country to another is: You can never take too much information with you.

In addition to your validated degree and certified transcript, you may find it useful to bring home a complete and updated copy of your university's catalog, including:

• Course numbers and an explanation of your university's course number system
  
  
• Credits awarded for each course and an explanation of your university's course credit system
  
  
• Descriptions of your major and minor programs, including all required courses

You should also keep the syllabus for each course you have taken. This should include subjects covered, number of papers, and exams.

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REQUIRED DEPARTURE DATE

Please remember that, regardless of your employment situation, your immigration status in your host country most likely requires you to return to your home country as soon as you finish your studies. Please consult the international student advisor at your host institution for the exact date on which you will be required to leave your host country.

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When you accepted your Fulbright grant, you agreed to engage in efforts to "foster mutual understanding" both in the United States and after returning home. This is one of the Fulbright Program's primary objectives. There are many ways to enhance your personal Fulbright experience while broadening the international understanding of others. Below are some suggestions to increase the benefits of your Fulbright experience.

Share your Fulbright experience…

...with your students or fellow classmates:

• Speak to your class
  
• Introduce new teaching techniques in your classroom
  
• Revise course content and develop new course work

...with your department, school, and/or university:

• Speak to other classes or student interest groups
  
• Discuss the different educational practices and new teaching techniques which you learned abroad with faculty and staff

...with teaching and/or professional colleagues:

• Conduct joint research with colleagues at home or abroad
  
• Join professional associations
  
• Participate in conferences at local, regional, and national levels
  
• Publish articles in journals and newsletters

...within your home community:

• Speak to students, faculty, and staff at neighboring schools and universities
  
• Speak to civic groups
  
• Get involved with ethnic/cultural organizations or other special interest groups
  
• Volunteer with international visitor organizations

...within your host community:

• Exchange materials with your host institution or organization
  
• Remain in contact with your host institution or organization, as well as your friends and colleagues after returning home

...with the United States Department of State, Public Affairs Sections of U.S. Embassies, Fulbright Commissions, and Fulbright cooperating agencies:

• Disseminate information about Fulbright grant opportunities
  
• Remain in contact with Fulbright staff in the United States and abroad
  
• Assist with application reviews and candidate interviews
  
• Participate in orientation programs and enrichment seminars

Other suggestions for sharing your Fulbright experience:

• Join your local Fulbright Alumni Association (Contact the Fulbright Commission or Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy.)
  
• Form an informal alumni group on campus or in your community
  
• Develop other exchange programs, such as a student exchange program between your home and host communities

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COMMUNICATION WITH PROGRAM SPONSORS AFTER YOUR RETURN

You are required to contact COLCIENCIAS upon return to Colombia in order to make arrangements to close your financial file.

It is also important to maintain contact with the Colombian Fulbright Commission; they will be very interested in your progress. Providing them with your current home and work addresses will enable them to contact you for any alumni/ae activities

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