New International Student Newsletter

By the time you join us at SIUE, the snow will have melted away and the weather will be hot, hot, hot! Make sure you know the appropriate clothing to pack for your arrival to campus. During the summer months, students will be seen around campus wearing shorts, t-shirts and flip flops. The weather will still be hot in August and during the first month of school.  By late September and October, the evenings will cool and you will want to have long pants, closed-toe shoes, sweatshirts, long-sleeved shirts, and a light jacket.

During the winter months, late November through early March, the weather can be very cold. After a recent snow storm, classes were cancelled for a day and students spent their time sledding down the hills on campus and playing in the snow.  Pictured here, SIUE Brazilian student, Priscilla, has some fun making a snow angel. You might notice that she is covered from head to toe in a long coat with a hood, a scarf, gloves, and boots!

Don't worry about packing for all four seasons.  There are plenty of places in the area to shop or you can have family or friends ship items to you. Want to know what the weather is like today? Check out weather.com for our local forecast.

Mascots are popular "figures" usually associated with athletics, spirit, and all things good on campus.  Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's mascot is Eddie the Cougar, pictured above with SIUE Chancellor, Dr. Julie Furst-Bowe.

In 1968, the first SIUe Cougar mascot arrived on campus. Chimega was a LIVE female member of the American Cat family, who was six feet in length and weighed over 100 pounds when fully grown. Chimega means Cougar in American Indian (Apache). You can learn more about Chimega on the SIUE website.

Today, Eddie the Cougar stirs up the spirit at athletic events and poses for photos frequently.  In fact, Eddie will probably make an appearance at International Orientation.  Take the time to have your photo taken with Eddie. It will make a great first picture to post on your Facebook account or send home to family and friends!

One very important decision you will need to make in the coming months is where to live.  We recommend living on campus.  We have five on-campus options from which you can choose. 

Studies show that students who live on campus are more likely to do better in their academic studies, and more likely to adjust to living away from home.

When making your housing selection, make sure you understand which residential halls are open year-round and which ones require you to move out during school closings (hoidays and semester breaks).

The staff in the housing office are very friendly and knowledgable, and are here to help you with all of your housing questions. Please take a look at the housing website by clicking here!

We can't wait to hear that you have decided to study at SIUE! Please take a moment to fill out the Save Your Seat at SIUE form so we can start making plans for your arrival.  For example, did you know we will pick you up at the airport and help you get situated?  We want your first experiences at SIUE to be AWESOME...  So, come on.... SAVE YOUR SEAT AT SIUE!