The 5 Best Kept Secrets for College Move-in Day

Are you headed to college orientation soon? Colleges and universities design this mid-summer event to help you settle in and make memories. By allowing you to ask questions and meet new people, it acts as a gentle on-ramp for college. But what happens in the downtime between orientation and move-in day? What is the best advice for meeting the “found family” we see in movies and sitcoms or hear about when people reference colleges as “the best years of their lives?” Get advice from higher education experts and students like you for starting college friendships off on the right foot. Make college move-in easier by sticking with these five tips in the weeks beforehand.

1. Leverage Social Media

Congrats! Imagine you have made it through the icebreakers and the name-games of orientation, and you have hit it off with a few people. Berry College senior and Student Director of New Student Orientation, Memphis Embrick, says that the moment right after orientation is a vital one. Keeping in touch with a few people you met at orientation can make a world of difference when you come back to school.

Although social media often gets a bad rap, Memphis encourages students that if there’s ever a time to use social media, it is now.

“There's a lot of time between orientation and freshman move-in, so staying in touch digitally or in-person creates a sense of familiarity or connection on move-in day. Social media is probably the most convenient way to do this today, but at least using something like it is important for remembering faces and names after orientation. You meet a lot of people,” says Memphis.

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2. Meet In-person Too

“If possible, I encourage people to try to hang out with people you met at orientation in some way,” says Memphis. “Several people I met at orientation came back and met up in our college town and just explored the area together. It seems simple, but if you can hang out and figure out the lay of the land before school starts, you will feel more connected while also learning more about your peers. Try local restaurants or coffee shops. Go find your favorite grocery store. Not everyone can travel beyond orientation, hence social media connections, but my suggestion would be to do something similar even if you hang out with people from your hometown going to the same college.”

3. Turn Connection Into Friendship

Memphis’ advice gets to the heart of building community and friendships in college. Strong relationships require continuity. They can be built through significant time with people, physical proximity and engagement in a variety of settings. In other words, you should not expect deep friendship from a 30-minute interaction or a few DMs. Real community is built over time through multiple interactions, and many social scientists attest to this fact.

Adam Smiley Poswolsky, author of Friendship in the Age of Loneliness: An Optimist's Guide to Connection, argues that a key to friendship is putting it on the calendar. David Kim, author of Made to Belong: Five Practices for Cultivating Community in a Disconnected World, says, “To cultivate meaningful community, we must confront our commitment issues head-on. This means making intentional choices to invest time and energy into our relationships.”

The point here is to get rid of expectations of immediacy. Friendship may include digital interactions, but we should not fool ourselves into thinking a few online chats or texts are the same as doing daily life together. When asked how to make social media connections more meaningful, Memphis agrees, strongly encouraging students to get to know peers beyond what they see online.

He says, “My biggest piece of advice would be to be very careful about your reservations. Don’t assume how people might act or think based on minimal or brief interactions over the internet. It is very easy to do, but I can clearly remember meeting people that I had reservations about online, and they’re now some of my best friends! It isn’t worth it to cut off a potential friendship before it happens.”

Still, Memphis said that social media is a common space for students on his campus to learn more about what's going on. Berry College has lots of Instagram accounts associated with campus organizations, departments and clubs, and Memphis says the accounts do a good job of representing the different sides and perspectives on campus. In particular, he appreciates the page dedicated to each graduating class.

“Our class Instagram page was a great way to see and meet people in my year that I didn’t meet at my orientation session,” says Memphis. “Even incoming freshmen who are international students can see what’s going on at Berry this way.”

4. Consider On-campus Perks

When move-in day does arrive, it does not mean every awkward, lonely feeling will disappear, but having a place to start does make it easier.

Many higher education experts argue that on-campus living lends itself to stronger relationships because it allows students more time and proximity in which to grow together. And generally, it just takes less effort! You will always find someone to eat with, study with or hang out with. Living on campus allows for more opportunities for touchpoints with people beyond class that you might not meet otherwise. It also increases your exposure to different cultures, perspectives and experiences.

Lindsay Norman, associate dean of Berry College students, notes, “When students live on campus, college learning becomes a framework, a whole life experience. You are not just taking classes at your school, but your school is also where you eat, sleep, work and play, and you learn to take ownership of campus. Learning and maturing together doesn't stop when you leave the classroom.”

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5. Avoid These At All Costs

The real trick is remembering you are not the only one who feels alone. Memphis gets at this topic, too:

“My suggestion is to do your best not to be afraid of reaching out and asking others to hang out. Don’t isolate yourself. Talk to people you’ll be going to school with in the fall. Moving from high school to college is a big life change, and going through that with others in the same boat can provide some real solace!”

Beyond “don’t isolate yourself,” Memphis encourages avoiding a few other things, too:

Don’t rush to leave your hometown. Be sentimental and enjoy the time in between high school and college. Those two months in between are really hard to replicate in the future.
Don’t procrastinate packing. Get ready little by little, week by week. The last thing you want is to panic the two nights before you leave about having everything, while also feeling emotional about entering the new chapter of your life.

Ultimately, the period between college orientation and move-in day is a unique and valuable time to start reaching out to new friends, and it has the potential to enhance your college experience. By being intentional about turning initial connections into consistent friendships, you can create a supportive community before classes even begin. Embrace the opportunities to engage with your peers, explore your new environment, and prepare for the exciting journey ahead. With these five strategies, you will be well on your way to making the most of your college years and building your “found family.”