How long is winter?
Americans have a folk story about a small animal called a groundhog. The groundhog sleeps underground all winter. On February 2 the groundhog wakes up and goes outside. If the groundhog sees his shadow it means there will be six more weeks of winter.
Ideas to fight the winter blues
If your student is tired of the cold winter weather, here are some ideas you can suggest:
- Visit the Gilcrease Museum or Philbrook Museum. Free entrance with a TU student ID!
- Attend a TU basketball game. TU students can get into all TU athletic events on campus for free with their student IDs!
- Participate in Hurricane Thursday, a weekly event sponsored by the TU housing and dining office.
- Watch a movie at the historic Circle Cinema.
Send your love
Lunar New Year is a time when some students feel homesick as they miss traditional celebrations with family. This is a great time to send your student a care package filled with treats from home. Or perhaps in your family a Valentine’s Day package would remind your student that you’re thinking about him or her. Mailing addresses for residence halls can be found here.
Housing selection
Your student should sign up for next year’s campus housing in mid-February. Remind your student to watch for information from the campus housing office about deadlines, roommate matching and room selection process. Students who complete the housing license by the deadline will be assigned a selection date and can pick out their room from the spaces available at that time. The University of Tulsa housing policy requires students to live on campus for four regular semesters (students who will be 21 years old before the fall semester are excused from the housing policy).
Tax Forms
International students are required to submit a federal tax form to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) every year. The International Student Services office provides free access to an online federal tax preparation program for TU international students. The tax preparation program will guide students to complete the proper forms. Remind your student to visit the ISS office in February to pick up login information to use the tax software. Even if your student
did not have a job, a tax form must be submitted. This does not necessarily mean that your student owes any money. The tax program will let your student know whether money is due. Tax laws are different for students from different countries, and different for U.S. citizens. Please let your student know he or she should not get tax advice from friends as they may not have the correct information for your student’s situation. Tax forms must be submitted to the IRS by April 15; however, encourage your student to submit the tax forms as early as possible.