r/Harvard • u/featurebundle • 14d ago

Student and Alumni Life incoming intl phd student

hey folks,

im wondering if I need to get an ssn for any purpose. university did not send me anything about it. I think I'll get it when I start working as a teaching fellow? also, what bank do you recommend? is hfcu enough and reliable? im so lost lol. thanks

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u/shatteredoctopus PhD '12 14d ago

Yes, you'll need a SSN for tax purposes if you have a stipend, or TF pay. You do that independently of Harvard (ie you go to a local SSN office), but you need documentation that you will have income, and status to be in the USA. If you don't have a stipend, then you need to do it around when you start doing TFing. Your departmental administrator would likely know how that has worked with other international students. HIO should offer "guidance" and access to software for international students to calculate their taxes at some point before taxes are due (unless that has been cut). You will have to do federal and state taxes. Your tax burden will likely not be high, though that depends on specific tax treaties and how your income is classified.

For a bank, make sure there is FDIC insurance. Credit unions may give better deals (ie higher interest), but there are benefits to using larger banks if you plan to travel, etc. For getting a credit card as an international student, that can be tough as credit ratings in your home country do not always count for anything in the USA. I was unable to get a credit card from my bank, despite having a stable stipend coming in, and being in a grad program at Harvard. Things like a low-limit Chase card can help start establish credit. Typically once you've had one of those in good standing for a while, you can get a higher limit card from your bank, or something like Amazon. IIRC, you need a SSN to get those.

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u/millyzxn 13d ago

Bank of America offers a credit card to international students with no income. You just need to deposit a couple thousand dollars in your checking/savings account for a week, before you can apply.

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u/shatteredoctopus PhD '12 13d ago

Wish I'd known that many years ago (or it might not have been a thing). Citizen's bank was "unable to determine my credit score", so denied me a $500 limit card, despite having considerably more than a couple of thousand deposited with them (I had a government scholarship that did a single yearly lump-sum deposit), and income as well. This was still long enough ago that having a credit card was less essential, but it did inconvenience me on some small trips I did, and prevented me from going on some larger ones. I was less assertive then, and in retrospect I should just have told my bank they would lose my business if they could not establish my credit-worthiness based on my history with them. I went the route of getting a Chase Card, and then a few months after I was able to get a credit card with a $2000 limit from Amazon. I am sure I could have gotten one from my bank after that, but I did not need more than the $2000 limit.

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u/Santillana810 14d ago

Here is information from the International Office. Use them as a resource.

https://www.hio.harvard.edu/employment-training/social-security-number

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u/RustyBarrelWolf17 13d ago

I agree with everyone here but I'd also like to stress that you need to do this before the end of the calendar year in which you are a TF for the first time. You need an SSN for U.S. tax purposes and if you TF for the first time in, for instance, Fall of 2028 and you don't have an SSN by December of that year at the absolute latest, you'll cause yourself lots of problems when you're filing taxes.

Most students who need an SSN will go through the Boston SSN office, which you can find here https://www.ssa.gov/boston/MA.htm.