10 months ago I received my acceptance letter into Iowa. Two months ago I went to Orientation. Fast forward to now and it is finally time to move in. I feel like I have been planning for this day all summer. Going to Bed, Bath & Beyond to register, ordering coffee makers and coffee pods online and packing boxes and boxes of things to put in the back of my car for the 26 hour drive and now it is finally here. I am finally moving in to my dorm room.

Because I had to be at Iowa early for the honors program I chose to do early move in on the 16^th. Being able to choose a time to move in made the whole process a lot easier and less stressful. With the car loaded and five people squished in we headed towards campus at 10am. With cars lined up all the way past the presidents house incoming students and parents waited to move in.  Once I was able to unload everything onto a cart the rest was pretty easy-except for getting an elevator- that was kind of difficult due to the amount of people arriving at the same time.

I am living in Burge with two other roommates. I was quite worried about how small that space was going to be and whether or not we would have enough room for everything but the room is actually quite large for a dorm room, especially when Burge isn’t a brand new hall. Doing early move in had its negatives and its positives so I thought I would share some with you.

Positives:

1. Having an entire room to yourself to move in. Being able to spread everything out and not having to worry about getting in your roommates way is really nice, especially when move in is already stressful.
2. You get to pick which bed you want. First come first serve. Right?
3. More time to get to know people who have also done early move in.
4. Not as hectic as regular move in. Because there are less people during early move in I think it was a lot less hectic than the regular move in days.

Negatives:

1. Having to wait for your roommate to arrive to set up the entire room. Although you have more space to move in and get first pick of beds, you can’t actually set up the entire room because half of it is for your roommate and you need to make sure they are ok with the layout as well.
2. You are alone in your room at night. Although you meet people from around campus you don’t get to hang out with anyone in your dorm so you are alone at night, which can be kind of boring. (Some people may enjoy this aspect).
3. You have to pay extra to move in. Although it is only $45 dollars a night that adds up quickly when you are moving in three days before your scheduled move in time-just something to think about.