Returning Home

CONTENTS

• 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
• Communication with LASPAU After Your Return
  

	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 tied all loose ends, 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.
	Complete the Confirmation of Program Completion Form and return it to LASPAU.
	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 with your country's consulate directly.
	Request that a final cumulative transcript verifying completion of your degree be sent to LASPAU upon your graduation. If you cannot complete this process before leaving, 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 your host country.
	Remember to fill out a forwarding address form at the post office so that bills or other mail may be sent on to you after you return home. Please do not give LASPAU as your forwarding address, since we cannot handle your debts or an increased volume of mail. The post office can also provide you with change-of-address cards.
	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 the 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 new networks of friends and colleagues during your academic program. Many of these individuals are anxious to stay in touch and may serve as important resources to you upon your return home.

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READJUSTING TO YOUR HOME COUNTRY

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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MAKING TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS

Some contracts include funding for your return travel. In other cases, it is your responsibility. Please see the Financial Terms section for more information.

Please see the Frequently Requested Information section for useful contacts for shipping belongings or fowarding your mail.

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DIPLOMAS, TRANSCRIPTS, AND ADDITIONAL COURSE MATERIALS

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.

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.)

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