The Journey Leader team and I are so excited to welcome you to campus in August! If you’re living on-campus, I have a few tips to help your transition into the residence halls. Before you arrive on campus, I recommend exploring what items your residence hall will provide, what you need to bring and what you should leave at home.
Once you arrive on campus, there will be volunteers to help you find your hall and unload your belongings. After you’re done unpacking and saying goodbyes, there are a ton of Fall Welcome events to help you make friends and enjoy the beginning of the semester! Be sure to download the CU Boulder Life app to see the full Fall Welcome schedule.
When unpacking, I found some things in particular to be quite helpful. Lofting your bed can allow you to have storage space under your bed, which is where I put my laundry and other bins. I also loved getting hangers for my closet so that I could have more clothes in there as well. If you have a community bathroom, it’s a great idea to bring a robe and shower caddy. When I moved everything into my dorm, I realized I didn’t have a couple things and ran to the local store to buy what I had forgotten.
During the evening of your move-in slot, you’ll have a floor meeting with your Residential Assistant (RA). Your RA is a great resource with a plethora of knowledge. The role of your RA is to support you and check-in on you to see how you are doing and if you need anything. They can help direct you to resources around the school that might be quite useful to you. I remember my RA helped me figure out what a degree audit was and how it is useful for determining class schedules. Your residence hall will also have evening events so you can meet other students in your hall.
If you are living with a roommate, you’ll both fill out a roommate agreement form. I encourage you to think about what’s important to you when living with another person. For me, it was important for my roommate and I to stay clean and keep our things on our side of the room. It is always courteous to allow your roommate to have some of their own space, and in return they will be happier to allow you some of your own space. After chatting through the roommate agreement form, I had a better understanding of my roommate and I felt less stressed.
While move-in is busy and sometimes overwhelming, it’s also filled with fun and exciting new experiences that will make your time at CU truly memorable!
Brooke is a rising senior double majoring in Music and Communication with a minor in Business. Brooke is originally from Boulder and continues to love exploring this beautiful place she calls home. Brooke enjoys skiing, hiking, surfing, painting, singing, dancing, drinking chai, meeting new people and hanging out with friends and family.