Hi Blog Readers! In my summer recap post two weeks ago, I mentioned at the end that I moved back to campus early to be here for orientation and training for my job as an Academic Success Coach. Being around for orientation this year and seeing first-year students move into their dorms made me nostalgic and reminisce about my own experience moving into Wellesley when I was a first-year back in August 2022 (over three years ago 😱). Thus, I decided to dedicate this blog post to explaining my experience moving in and to giving some move-in advice to future first-years!
I live in Illinois, and my parents and I drove to Massachusetts with our car and my belongings for college. I was incredibly fortunate to have both my parents with me to help me move into Wellesley and have them stay in the area for a few days.
If you are in a similar situation as me, I would recommend coming to Wellesley and assessing what you really need and the size of your dorm room before buying things like a fan, minifridge, a beanbag, etc. Wellesley dorm rooms come with basic furniture like a twin XL bed with a mattress (most students purchase a mattress topper), a desk, chair, and some bookshelf/dresser/mirror combination depending on whether you are in an east side or west side dorm. When I have lived in the west side dorms in the Quint, my rooms came with a bookshelf and a dresser that I could move around. When I lived in the east side dorms in Freeman Hall, my rooms had small bookshelves built into the ceiling and a dresser built into the wall.
I would also wait until coming here to buy simple things like shampoo and laundry detergent because those can be bought anywhere and could take up space in your car or suitcase. There are great stores in the area that my family and I have been to, like a Target in Framingham and a Costco in Waltham.
Move-in starts the morning of the first day of orientation, and then the first events of orientation begin around the afternoon. This leaves a few hours for you to move in and start setting up your room. I know moving in can be stressful, especially with your family or loved ones there and being in a small space with your roommate. I would recommend a few things here: firstly, coordinate with your roommate for when they will arrive so you know when to expect them.
Secondly, prepare to move around and lift a lot. It will likely be warm since it is August, there is no air conditioning in dorm rooms, and you are carrying around boxes. Dress comfortably and for warm weather.
Thirdly, bring some water with you and stay calm. It is very easy to get stressed out and snap at whoever is helping you move in. Step back, sit down, take a deep breath, have some water, and remember that you will have time later on to get your room set up.
Fourthly and a more logistical step, but bring a pair of scissors with you. If you purchased a lot of new stuff, that likely means opening a lot of packaging, so have scissors to make that easier for you.
The New Student Orientation team and your Orientation Mentor will be a great resource for more detailed specifics when you move-in, but these are my general advice and insights. I hope this helps and thank you for reading!