Oxford Arrival Information

All of us at BLSE look forward to your arrival and the start of our 2025 session! The following information will help you prepare for the summer. 

Pre-Arrival Must-Do’s

May 1 Deadline 

• Submit your BLSE Student Photo Form in your student enrollment portal. If you don’t have a Bodleian Library card from 2023 or 2024, you must upload a passport-sized, clear resolution photo to get a card. It will give you admission to the Bodleian Library, your major research resource for the summer.

June 1 Deadline 

• Once you have booked your travel, please complete the Oxford Arrival Information Form in your student enrollment portal by June 1.
• You will also need to complete the Travel Registration form using your Middlebury.edu email address. This allows Middlebury to respond effectively in emergency situations.

Before You Arrive 

• You will need to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) from the UK government if you’re not a UK citizen. See their travel requirements for details. The application will take several days to process and requires a fee. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible, and before you book your travel.
• Make sure you have health insurance (required) to cover emergent and non-emergent healthcare.
  • Check with your health insurance company confirm whether the policy applies overseas and covers emergency expenses. Please see the BLSE Student Handbook
  • Middlebury has partnered with Geo-Blue to provide health insurance for students studying abroad (at a cost). The insurance is valid only outside your home country and can be purchased in one-month intervals. Geo-Blue coverage includes access to counseling through Global Wellness Assist.
  • See the BLSE Student Handbook (“Medical and Insurance Information”) for more information.
• Activate your Middlebury email account. Help is are available from the Middlebury Helpdesk (802-443-2200 or helpdesk@middlebury.edu). During the summer session, we will use your middlebury.edu address for all BLSE communications. As part of your account activation, you will need to set up multi-factor authentication (MFA), which requires that you have more than one working method of authentication such as the Authenticator app, a cell phone number, or a personal email address. We strongly recommend that you test this process before traveling. If you need support, we recommend a Zoom session with Helpdesk staff during their open hours: http://go.middlebury.edu/zoom2helpdesk.
• Do as much of the required course reading as possible. Our courses are fast-paced, and familiarity with the material will help you stay on track across the session. The course descriptions list required texts in the order that they will be studied.
• Having an active cell phone while abroad is very useful, especially during travel days. Here are some options to consider:
  • select an international plan with your carrier while in the UK for uninterrupted service
  • change cellular phone settings to use your cell phone only when a wireless connection is available
  • purchase a local SIM card, get a different number, and pay a local carrier

Academic Calendar 

Lincoln College Dining Hall service begins June 30, with lunch at 1:00 pm and dinner at 7:00 pm. Breakfast will be served at 8:00 am starting on July 1. 

Please see the events tab in BreadWeb for a detailed events calendar for the Oxford session.

Passports and Documentation

If you’re not from the UK, you’ll need a passport for entry into England. See the US State Department site on requirements for international travel at travel.state.gov.

• You can obtain a passport application from your post office or town clerk, or by going to travel.state.gov. (Please note that for international travel, some countries now require that a traveler’s passport be valid at least six months beyond the date of the return trip.)
• Starting in January 2025, if you are planning to enter the UK and are not a UK citizen, you will need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) from the UK government; please see their travel requirements for details. The application will take several days to process and requires a £10 fee. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible, and before you book your travel, so that you will be able to make your way to Bread Loaf Oxford without any delay. If you plan to travel in or through Europe this summer, know too that the EU may be implementing a similar travel requirement for non-citizens (ETIAS) some time in 2025.
• Make sure you can access your 2025 BLSE enrollment letter so you can verify your student status if you need to as you come through Immigration.
• US citizens will not need visas if staying in the UK for less than six months.
• Students whose primary citizenship is not the US, however, may need a visa: check this website to determine whether this is the case or not. If you need help acquiring a visa, a UK Embassy may be helpful.

Travel

London’s Heathrow Airport is a little over an hour from Oxford by public transportation. See travel directions for more details.

Packing & Other Preparations

• Bring a full summer’s supply of any medications you require, along with your health insurance cards.
• Check with your cell phone provider to determine options for international service.
• Create a record of your passport number & place of issue, the numbers & expiration dates of any credit cards and the model & serial numbers of any laptops that you intend to bring with you, to be kept apart from the items themselves.
• We suggest that you budget $1,200 for summer spending money.
  
  • VISA and Mastercard are widely accepted in the UK.
  • You will need cash in British currency (not USD) for payments to the Bread Loaf Oxford office. There are ATMs at the airport and in Oxford (use bank-affiliated ATMs only).
• Bring headphones/earbuds for using sound-making devices in the dorms.
• Bring chargers and UK travel adapters.
• Days can be warm (80 F degrees or more), although the average Oxford temperature in July is 63. Bring comfortable, casual clothes and one or two quasi-formal outfits. Rain gear and good walking shoes are musts.

Summer Mail: Address & Forwarding 

(Your name)
Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English
Lincoln College
Oxford OX1 3DR
United Kingdom

If you plan to ship anything ahead by UPS or regular mail before the session begins, allow a minimum of three weeks for delivery. FedEx is faster but may be more expensive. Mark “HOLD FOR ARRIVAL: June 30, 2025” on all packages. Neither Bread Loaf nor Lincoln College can assume any responsibility for items lost either in transit or after arrival at Lincoln College.

If you receive mail during the session, the Tutor’s Assistants will let you know via email and you may pick it up in the BLSE office.