Post Arrival Resources - Gordon Conwell
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Post Arrival Resources

Post Arrival Guide

A guide containing helpful information has been prepared to assist you and your family with the transition from your home country to the United States. While it is not comprehensive, it should provide a useful guide to adjusting to student life at Gordon-Conwell, American culture, and life in New England.

Click here to view the Post-Arrival Information Handbook. Please note that you can refer to the table of contents on pages 2-4 to locate various topics. You can click each link in the table of contents to go directly to each section, and easily search for relevant topics such as “clothing,” “food,” or “shopping” using the search feature of your PDF file reader.

Post-Arrival Guide


Drivers License

If you own a car, or plan to purchase a car at any time during your time at Gordon-Conwell, you need to acquire a valid Massachusetts drivers license. To receive a drivers license, you must go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) and take a written test, a vision test, and a road test.

Click here for maps and directions to local RMV branch offices. Please note that the former RMV office in Beverly, MA has closed. Also, please note that the RMV branch in Danvers, MA does not offer written or road tests. If you need to take a written and/or road text, you will need to visit an RMV that offer written and road tests (Click here to locate a branch that offers these services). The RMV branches that may be most convenient to you are the following

  • Revere: located at 9c Everett Street in Revere, MA.
  • Wilmington: 355 Middlesex Avenue in Wilmington, MA

The written test can be taken on a walk-in basis without scheduling an appointment. Other tests, however, may require you to make an appointment. Before you begin this process, make sure you have a reasonable knowledge of Massachusetts driving regulations. Click here to obtain a copy of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Driver’s Manual. This manual includes Massachusetts driving regulations, as well as information about taking tests in a foreign language. Please note that traffic laws and driver licensing regulations vary from state to state in the U.S.

To receive a new Massachusetts driver’s license, you will need four original documents to prove your identity. These documents include:

  • Social Security Card or valid, current passport. If you do not have a Social Security Card, see below.
  • Document proving your date of birth
  • Document proving your signature
  • Document proving Massachusetts residency (e.g., a bill sent to you at your Massachusetts address, copy of your lease, or a letter of verification from the Housing Office)
  • Official letter confirming your F-1 visa status and address. Please contact the International Student Advisor to receive this letter.

Out of items 2, 3 and 4, at least one must be a primary document. Your non-U.S. driver license (along with a legally acceptable translation or International Driving Permit if it is not in English) is a valid secondary document.

For students and dependents who do not have a Social Security Card, you must receive a denial letter from the Social Security Office at 10 Federal St. in Salem, MA to present to the RMV at the time of your application. Please contact the International Student Advisor for more information about receiving the denial letter.  Once you receive your denial letter, you must present this letter to the RMV within 30 days of the date the letter was issued to you by the Social Security Office.

Post Arrival Guide

The following guide was prepared primarily for our Hamilton campus, but many of the resources will be useful for our international students at the Boston campus, as well

Click here to view the Post-Arrival Information Handbook. Please note that you can refer to the table of contents on pages 2-4 to locate various topics. You can click each link in the table of contents to go directly to each section, and easily search for relevant topics such as “clothing,” “food,” or “shopping” using the search feature of your PDF file reader.

Post-Arrival Guide


Drivers License

If you own a car, or plan to purchase a car at any time during your time at Gordon-Conwell, you need to acquire a valid Massachusetts drivers license. To receive a drivers license, you must go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) and take a written test, a vision test, and a road test.

Click here for maps and directions to local RMV branch offices. Please note that the former RMV office in Beverly, MA has closed. Also, please note that the RMV branch in Danvers, MA does not offer written or road tests. If you need to take a written and/or road text, you will need to visit an RMV that offer written and road tests (Click here to locate a branch that offers these services). The RMV branches that may be most convenient to you are the following

  • Revere: located at 9c Everett Street in Revere, MA.
  • Wilmington: 355 Middlesex Avenue in Wilmington, MA

The written test can be taken on a walk-in basis without scheduling an appointment. Other tests, however, may require you to make an appointment. Before you begin this process, make sure you have a reasonable knowledge of Massachusetts driving regulations. Click here to obtain a copy of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Driver?s Manual. This manual includes Massachusetts driving regulations, as well as information about taking tests in a foreign language. Please note that traffic laws and driver licensing regulations vary from state to state in the U.S.

To receive a new Massachusetts driver?s license, you will need four original documents to prove your identity. These documents include:

  • Social Security Card or valid, current passport. If you do not have a Social Security Card, see below.
  • Document proving your date of birth
  • Document proving your signature
  • Document proving Massachusetts residency (e.g., a bill sent to you at your Massachusetts address, copy of your lease, or a letter of verification from the Housing Office)
  • Official letter confirming your F-1 visa status and address. Please see the Office of Student Life Services to receive this letter.

Out of items 2, 3 and 4, at least one must be a ?primary document.? Your non-U.S. driver license (along with a legally acceptable translation or International Driving Permit if it is not in English) is a valid ?secondary document.?

For students and dependents who do not have a Social Security Card, you must receive a denial letter from the Social Security Office at 10 Federal St. in Salem, MA to present to the RMV at the time of your application. Please see Student Life Services for more information about receiving the denial letter.Once you receive your denial letter, you must present this letter to the RMV within 30 days of the date the letter was issued to you by the Social Security Office.

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