How to Prepare for Move-In Day

Whether your student is moving onto campus this summer for the first time or the fourth, there are always ways to make the process run more smoothly. Joe Totman (Residential Education & Housing) quizzed his team about move-in day, and they came up with the following tips.

Before arriving on campus, have your student ...
Call their roommate. Make sure your student speaks with their roommate and confirms what each person is bringing. “There is no need for two of everything, like TVs or microwaves,” Totman says. In addition, limit the items they bring, like a TV or Keurig coffeemaker, until they have lived on campus for a while and can determine what they really want or need.

Pack seasonally. Students tend to bring clothes for all four seasons, which takes up a lot of space. Instead, have them pack just what they’ll need for the first semester. Or, even better, what they’ll need until they next see you, which may be as early as Family Weekend/SNC Day in mid-September. It’s more efficient to swap out clothes and accessories throughout the year, especially if your home is reasonably close to campus.

Grab a fan and comfy shoes. Burke, the Carriage House, Gries, Hugh, Michels, Prémontré, St. Joseph, the 14 townhouses and Xanten have air-conditioned rooms. But the other residence halls do not, and a fan can be helpful in these other living environments.

Comfy footwear for everyone is a must on Move-In Day, as Mary Minahan McCormick (3M) is the only first-year student residence hall with an elevator. And carts are reserved for those moving into Sensenbrenner, as its drop-off location isn’t right in front of the residence hall. 

Once on campus ...
Encourage your student to take the lead on the check-in process, which for most first-years begins at the Donald J. Schneider Stadium. This will help them to be better prepared for future years, and to start taking ownership of their adult life on campus. (Students should watch their SNC email over the summer for specific instructions.)

Follow this parking plan: Parking can be tight, and our compact campus can be a little challenging to navigate on Move-in Day. Totman recommends unloading everything in front of your student’s residence first, moving your car, then returning to the residence. But before you move everything into the room …

Check the room for any repairs to be requested. SNC hosts various overnight conferences during the summer. When the conferences are over, staff members go through the rooms and fix any damaged items before students move in. But sometimes things may get missed.

Totman says students should jot down any needed repairs they spot before moving their belongings into the room – things like holes in the wall, paint damage, a ripped mattress or screen or floor damage. Later on, once your student has settled in, they should note any repairs needed on their Room Condition Report (RCR), which is available online on the student portal.

“If damaged items are not marked within one week after check-in, we will need to bill the student for them at the end of the year,” Totman says, as SNC will have to assume the damage came from the room’s current residents. Plus, the facilities department will want to take care of anything that needs to be remedied so students are comfortable in their new homes.

Updated July 2023