freshman move in date class 2016

college_query
Mon, 09 Apr 2012 20:43:28 +0000

Hi - my D will be returning for her fourth year next year (doing study abroad right now), so my memory is a little foggy, but here’s what I can remember.

In July, I think, she received information on her dorm assignment and roommate information. They are given a box number for their mailing address which is good for all four years, so it works no matter where they live each year.

They have a special arrangement with UPS where you can mail boxes directly to the dorm in a limited time frame at the beginning of the year. The boxes can’t arrive too early. They send special UPS address labels each year for the beginning of the year for this time frame. Otherwise, they have to pick up boxes at the Wang, the student center, then carry them to their dorms.

D was in a triple her first year, and even though we arrived right when we were supposed to, she was the last one there. That’s because 1) international students move in earlier; and 2) her second roommate, who wasn’t international, had a family conflict with a sibling who was also starting school, so she got permission to move in early. It worked out fine (they got along great) but she had no choice about her bed. Also, her triple had two closets, and each girl had already put their stuff in each one, so D had to split her stuff between the two closets.

There is a very specific new student move-in schedule, with activities for the new students, and activities for the parents, and some activities are together. They had a very nice event in the chapel for parents, and a reception outside following where parents were instructed to say good bye and leave. I’m thinking this was around 4:30 pm?

They have a ton of activities during the first few days to keep them busy and get them oriented, and put them in little break-out groups so they can bond with a smaller group, and they also have freshmen trips they can sign up for in advance.

We had never been to Wellesley before - any of us. We ended up driving, even though it was almost 2000 miles, for various reasons (combined business trip and a vacation). If you fly, you may want to rent a car, since Wellesley is pretty remote. D does not have a car and manages via public transportation, and I flew out to visit her in December and just used public transportation. When we took her out, my H did the driving; the drivers in Boston are VERY aggressive and an out-of-state license plate doesn’t win you any sympathy!

If you do drive, when you move in, you will pull in front of the dorm (may have to wait first), unload the car, and then the car has to be moved immediately to a different area for parking. For us it was helpful that there were 3 of us - H drove the car, and D and I carried all her stuff from where we unloaded it on the curb into her room.

They have orientation helpers everywhere in color-coded t-shirts, helping students move in, check in, get ID cards, find their way around, etc.

We took pretty much everything for the year (winter clothes, etc.) but they don’t have a ton of space, so think about what you bring ahead of time. D uses risers for her bed and has storage boxes under her bed for out of season clothes and other items.

I found last year’s information on move-in and orientation; it may be helpful (and more current and accurate than my memory):

[Parents&#039; Handbook | Wellesley College - Wellesley College](http://new.wellesley.edu/esp/family/handbook)