Before Arrival - Check List
Laptop - Note-taking
For your University, you need a good laptop that meets your needs. You could figure out the memory, RAM and other things as per your preference and budget but remember this,
Having a laptop on which you could use a stylus to write is very useful. In University most of the time, professors will give a partially filled PDF and you just have to fill the PDF during lectures. Being able to fill the pdf by just writing on your computer screen is a huge life saver.
For Window Users: Look into Microsoft Surface Pro.
or. reMarkable Note-taking tablet
For Mac Users: Look into getting an IPad Air along with a Mac Book.
Note: ISA does not promote or take funding from any of the aforementioned companies. We are just giving examples so you could do more research and buy what works best for your and your budget.
Compare prices. Find the laptop that you want to buy and then just compare the prices in your home country and Canada. In Canada, you could either check the company website, Best Buy, Amazon.ca. Also, remember to account for the shipping or tax, so got to check out the screen to see shipping along with tax.
Dean of Students offers a laptop lending program, so you could lend laptops depending on their availability. University Libraries has a lot of computers for you to use, so you could study at UofA Libraries until you get a laptop.
Get your gaming laptop and look into note-taking tablets.
You could use Microsoft OneNote or any other platform that works for you.
Shopping
This depends on the flight weight limit as per your travel ticket and if you are living on-campus or off-campus/
Caption: University of Alberta Residence
On-Campus Shopping
What to bring along?
- Bedsheet and blanket (could buy in lister also)
- Some basic kitchen pans, plates, glasses, etc (If you want to cook in a shared kitchen)
- Dry fruits or ethnic non-perishable snacks
- A shower pouch with all bathroom supplies (as you will be sharing washrooms few times)
- Gadgets: Get all your chargers, power banks and gadgets to support you. Get good earphones so you don't get bored during bus travels in Edmonton and all.
- Canada Power Outlet Adapters: You might run into issues in charging your gadgets if you don't have a power outlet adapter.
- Do not buy winter clothes or winter shoes. Just buy basic clothes for a bit chilly weather as per your arrival month. For winter you must buy clothes and shoes from Edmonton only. However feel free to bring few body warmers, hoodies or jackets.
Off-Campus Shopping
What to bring along?
- Bedsheet and blanket.
- Some basic kitchen pans, plates, glasses, etc, (Compare the prices on Canada's IKEA and Walmart's websites).
- Dry fruits or ethnic non-perishable snacks
- Bathroom supplies.
- Gadgets: Get all your chargers, power banks and gadgets to support you. Get good earphones so you don't get bored during bus travels in Edmonton and all.
- Canada Power Outlet Adapters: You might run into issues in charging your gadgets if you don't have a power outlet adapter.
- Do not buy winter clothes or winter shoes. Just buy basic clothes for a bit chilly weather as per your arrival month. For winter you must buy clothes and shoes from Edmonton only. However feel free to bring few body warmers, hoodies or jackets.
Check Out
We have more pages made to assist you, such as the welcome program, welcome booklet, post-arrival.