Photo Credit: parentsandcolleges.com

With September approaching as a first semester freshman, you  are bound to be anxiously awaiting college life, packed and ready to move with all the dorm essentials. Before waking up for your very first 8 a.m. class, getting lost on campus, staying up until 3 a.m. to finish a paper and surviving finals exams, you must conquer college move-in. Your first move-in experience can be… well, chaotic! Follow these tips to understand the move-in process and arrive at college panic-free.

• Label your luggage and boxes: One of the best ways to prepare is to label your luggage and boxes with your name, residence hall name and room number. The day will be filled with crowds of bustling college students and nervous parents; it won’t be hard for a box of dorm decor to get mixed up with a box of clothes belonging to the guy parked next to you. Be careful and label.

Photo Credit: etown.edu
Registration at Elizabethtown College

• Check out the schedule and leave early: Because so many students are moving into the same area, universities generally schedule students to move in at certain times to avoid traffic. Check with your university and make sure you leave early.

• Registration: This procedure varies at each university, but generally there is a desk set up by the residence hall where you can sign in and get your room key. You may also receive an orientation schedule.

• Moving into the dorm: Depending on the university, your experience can be very easy with a lot of helpers, elevators and air conditioning, or it can be very difficult with no air conditioning and tiresome on your feet from climbing flights of stairs. CL interns shared what their freshman move-in day was like:

“We checked in and had to get in line for a cart to help move stuff only on the first day of move-in. The rest of move-in, you could check out dollies and move yourself in. The aides don’t do anything except push the carts. But it was a pretty simple procedure. Elevator use was very limited and stopped running at 8p.m. every night. They try to limit elevator use to one time per student but that’s a fail.” -Angela Skane, Lifestyle/ High School Writer, University of Florida

“As freshmen, there was an orientation team that directed you where to go on campus. When you parked they would come to your car with a cart, put your belongings in the cart, take it to your room and unload it. I practically had to do nothing. They also had people working the elevators so that only certain elevators would go to certain floors.” -Teresa Conde, Social Media/PR, Duquesne University

“Freshman year, we carried everything up three flights of stairs in the heat because that was the only way. Yikes! Sophomore year, we had carts, air conditioning and elevators in my new dorm. But I’m so happy I’ll be apartment living from here on out.” – Tiana Blue, Senior Editor/Features Writer, Penn State University

• Meeting your roommate: Chances are you’ll meet your roommate while moving your things to your new room. Be fair about how you arrange it so she can enjoy half of the room, too. Be confident and friendly, and check out CL’s great roommate advice.

Photo Credit: uwalumni.com
College Move-In at University of Wisconsin

• Get involved: After settling in and having said goodbyes to family, get out there and meet new people. This is your new home— get to know it!

Feeling blue? Check out this article to avoid home-sickness.

Emily Lamielle is a junior at Duquesne University.  Follow her on Twitter at @_EmPaige_.  To stay tuned to more articles for classy co-eds be sure to follow College Lifestyles on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.