The first is the International Academic Relations office at PUC. They handle student services, although the Facultad de CC Economicas is the direct partner of the School of Business. If you have detailed questions that the website does not answer, contact PUC directly.

PUC International Office

Contact: Ms. Paulina Court Email: pcourt@uc.cl Phone 011 562 354 2406

or Miss Rocio Serrano Email: rserranc@uc.cl Phone 011 562 354 2810

Incoming Exchange Coordinators

Alameda 340 Oficina 13

Santiago CHILE

FAX: 011 562 222 3116

The Business Faculty is the Facultad de CC Economicas

Contact: Monica Ruiz, Academic Director

Email: mruiz@faceapuc.cl

Avenida Vicuna Mackenna #4680

Santiago CHILE

Website

We have an additional contact arranged through UW-Madison’s Office of International Academic Programs (IAP) in Bascom Hall. UW-Madison’s IAP, College of Engineering, and School of Business all operate separate exchanges with PUC. As a service to all UW students, IAP arranges a language class (which begins approximately three weeks before PUC’s semester begins) and social activities for UW-Madison students. This program carries a fee and is mandatory. IAP’s program manager in Santiago is an excellent resource.

Ms. Montserrat Cadiz

Email: mcadizs@uc.cl

Phone and Fax: 011 562 686 5703

PUC Programa Wisconsin-Michigan

Biblioteca Central Campus

San Joaquin

Avenida Vicuna MacKenna 4860

Santiago, CHILE

IAP’s Santiago, Chile, handbook, found online at IAP’s website, www.studyabroad.wisc.edu contains useful information about PUC and arrival and living in Santiago. You may also want to visit IAP’s Resource Room, 250 Bascom Hall. All academic and financial policies, as well as some administrative policies, differ between IAP and the School of Business, and the IAP specifics do not apply. If after reading IAP’s information you are confused, please make an appointment with the School of Business International Programs.

Applying to the Host University

Because you have been accepted by UW-Madison for the exchange program, you are accepted at PUC. However, you must still submit application materials to PUC:

The application is on-line under "International Students" with instructions and a list of other materials to be submitted. (This includes transcripts - available at ordertranscript.wisc.edu , 2 copies of the UW-Madison letter of admission to our program and 2 copies of the memo on Spanish porficiency, both found in your acceptance packet) Please print your application after you submit it as it needs a signature from International Programs.

You must return application materials directly to PUC. The deadlines are May 1^st (fall) and December 1^st (spring), although you are encouraged to submit the forms as early as possible. You are responsible for submitting forms and supporting materials to PUC on time! Be sure to retain a copy for your files. Send materials via express/certified mail. Due to the high cost of express mail, UW's International Programs will mail the forms to PUC on your behalf if you submit them to us in a timely manner.

Calendar

The School of Business’ International Programs will receive semester dates from PUC and language course dates from IAP, and will email them to you. The Spanish class and IAP orientation begin approximately three weeks prior to the first day of PUC classes.

PUC will send you an information packet in May (fall participants) and mid-December (spring participants), which includes a student handbook and an admission letter that you will need to submit with your visa application.

Exam dates are not announced until after the semester begins. Book your return flight after the last day of PUC’s exam period or book a ticket that carries only a small penalty for changing dates. Past participants recommend purchasing tickets at STA Travel for this purpose.

Our spring, their first semester, 2010

February 15 Program Orientation

February 15 - 25 Spanish Language Class

March 1-2 PUC Orientation and Information Day

March 3 First Day of Classes

March 8-12 Registration Period

March TBA probable Deadline for Registration Card

March TBA probable Confirm Courses

June 25 Last Day of Classes

July 12 Exams end

Mid-August Official transcripts sent to home schools

Visa

A visa is required of all U.S. citizens. The Consulate of Chile lists visa requirements on its website: www.consuladoschile.org. Be sure to apply for the visa from the consulate that has jurisdiction over your state of residence. The consulate in Chicago has jurisdiction over Wisconsin, Minnesota and many other Midwestern states. A new requirement is for an FBI background check. Visit the FBI background information website: http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/fprequest.htm Scroll down to how to request a copy of record.

Consulado General de Chile en Chicago

875 North Michigan Avenue Suite 3352

Chicago, IL 60611

Phone: (312)654-8780

Fax: (312)654-8948

Email: cgchicus@ameritech.net

The application requires a letter of acceptance from UW, which is included in your acceptance packet. It also requires a letter from PUC, which will be included in the mailing from PUC in May or December.

If you have questions, contact the Chilean Consulate directly. Remember that it is your responsibility to obtain a visa in a timely manner. This can be a complicated process, so be sure to start early.

Payments

As this is no longer an exchange program, your tuition bill from the Bursar’s office will be zero. PUC will invoice you directly for their registration fee and tuition costs of approximately $1000 per course, not including the langauge course through IAP.

International Programs will collect the payment for CISI insurance and IAP’s fee for the language course/activity fee. Fall participants receive an invoice in their acceptance packets; payment is due April 15^th. Spring participants receive an invoice in October; payment is due November 15^th.

Academics

PUC provides UW a timetable prior to the semester, but you do not enroll in classes until you arrive in Santiago. Course lists can found online. Refer to UW’s online course equivalency database to determine how courses will count at UW. If a course has not been equated, obtain the syllabus from PUC, translate it into English, and send it to International Programs.

The Spanish course coordinated by IAP begins before PUC’s semester begins, and continues through the semester. It is worth 3 UW credits. During the semester, students are required to attend a minimum of 12 credits in addition to the Spanish course. Thus, all students will receive a minimum of 15 credits.

You will be graded on a variety of measures, including presentations, projects, papers, and exams. Like UW, PUC consists of many different schools and colleges. You may attend business and non-business courses.

Past students report that quantitative courses (including finance and economics courses) at PUC are much more difficult than at UW, so may want to avoid taking them. In fact, in the past students have failed these classes.

UW’s International Programs has established a grade and credit equivalency scale between PUC and UW.

Campus

PUC is divided into four separate campuses spread throughout the city of Santiago: Casa Central (which houses the campus-wide office for international students), Campus Oriente, a new arts campus and San Joaquin (which houses the business school). Take care to note at what campus your class is held when scheduling classes.

Housing

PUC does not provide housing. Don’t let this worry you! Past participants have lived in apartments or with a Chilean family. For tips on housing, read reports from past participants, and talk with past participants.

You will find signs posted on the campus walls advertising apartments that you can share with Chilean or other international students. If you prefer to live with Chilean students, past participants recommend waiting until Chilean students are back on campus before you commit to finding housing; more fliers appear once more Chilean students appear. Many students on this program have also found housing by asking past participants where they lived, and living there.

Past students recommend living in Providencia because it is “relatively safe and close to almost everything;” it is a 5-10 minute walk to the metro stop Tobalaba and a 30-40 minute commute to the San Joaquin campus. “Nuñoa and Las Condes are also good alternatives. It´s more important with whom you live in some circumstances, than where you live.”

The International Office at PUC provides a list of temporary and semester-long housing alternatives. Rental agencies are also available, although the quality of such agencies varies; working with an agency is not necessarily your best bet.

UW’s IAP handbook (online at www.studyabroad.wisc.edu) lists contact information for family housing and an international hostel for temporary housing. You will need to arrange a hostel or hotel for the first several days, when you are searching for an apartment. Refer to a guidebook for recommendations.

What to Bring

In addition to what is listed on the packing list on the predeparture website, past participants recommend:

A good dictionary (Oxford) and 501 Spanish Verbs
Lonely Planet Chile & Easter Island Travel Guide
Culture Shock: Chile
Gifts if you will be staying with a Chilean family
Plenty of all types of clothes: work out, lounging, dressy, casual, summer, winter, as some people have had hard times finding their size.
Most Chilean wear pants, capris, dresses or skirts
Warm winter coat and sweaters, don´t think you´re not going to get cold!
A fleece or in-between weather jacket
Prescription anti-diarrhea medicine for travel outside Chile
A suit if you plan on making connections or trying to find an internship or job

Health Insurance

PUC does not require that you show proof of insurance. However, you are required to show proof of insurance in order to obtain the tarjeta de estudiantes from the local police, which is the renewal of your visa shortly after you arrive in Spain. Be sure to take your CISI card and a copy of the CISI glossy flyer and any family insurance you have.

Safety

Past participants (both male and female) report feeling safe in Santiago, but recommend taking precautions when traveling alone or at night, or in certain neighborhoods. Exercise the same caution you would in any major city. Carry purses and backpacks in front of you to avoid being robbed. For information from the U.S. State Department, refer to http://travel.state.gov. We recommend that you register your trip with the U.S. Department of State online. This allows you to record information about your upcoming trip abroad that the Department of State can use to assist you in case of an emergency.

Banking

Past participants recommend using credit cards and an ATM card from home for daily life, and having traveler’s cheques for vacation travel. They do not recommend opening a bank account in Santiago, as it is easy to access money from home.

Meeting Students from PUC

As PUC and UW have an exchange agreement, there will probably be students at PUC who have studied or will study in Madison. Try to meet them in Madison prior to your semester abroad and ask PUC’s International Office for help locating students with UW connections. We welcome your publicizing the benefits of study here at UW Madison, too.

Life in Santiago

Refer to reports from past participants for tips about everyday life in Santiago, including public transit, shopping and what to do in your free time.

Additional Information

For general information about preparing to study abroad, visit the Pre-departure Resources website.

Upcoming

China Study Trip Info Session: November 12, 2009, 4:30 to 5:30 Room 3070

International Reception: January 20, 2010, 3:30 to 4:30 5120 Grainger Hall

Predeparture Information: Santiago

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