<p>My D moved in to Hagerstown Hall today. The scheduled time was 9=11. we planned to leave home about 7:30, but actually left a little later. There were a lot of emotions this morning. Should have gotten to UMD a little before 9. Naturally, there were accidents on the Beltway, and we didn't arrive till about 9:20. Got to Hagerstown and unloaded the car. It was pretty crowded. I was directed to park in the Stadium. Made my way back. By then my D had checked in and gotten her key. We started taking some of the light stuff up to her room. Her roommate and parents had just gotten there also. I had ordered a rug to be delivered and installed. Well, it was delivered. I unwrapped it and the other Dad and I moved the furniture to get it down in place. That was Fun....,NOT.!. Then we got the rest of the stuff up to the room using a handtruck that I brought and a cart provided by ResLife. That took 3 trips. Then it was the bed risers, mattress cover, etc. I got my D's Mac connected, I did both ethernet cable and WiFI. Then wife and D started putting things away and decorating. Her roommate was doing the same. Fans were set up, but it was Hot! During the decorating, I mostly just stacked trash in the hallway. It all took a couple hours. Around 1:45 we left campus and had lunch at a nearby Denny's. The place was deserted, but we liked our food, Then we went back to Hagerstown for the final goodbye. There were tears. Now we are home again and the dog is wondering where D is.</p>
<p>SoofDad, hang in there 
We moved our son into La Plata today. I miss him already, but I think UMD will be a great place for him. </p>
<p>We moved our son into Hagerstown today also. The move was fairly uneventful when we finally got into the loading zone. We initially drove past Hagerstown (not realizing that the unloading zone area was one-way in the other direction). We turned left into another dorm parking lot to ask one of the “helpers” in yellow t-shirts how to get to the Hagerstown Hall unloading zone. He told us that it was impossible because it was already full and that the police had started detouring traffic away from it an hour ago (our check-in time was 9-11, and we were talking to him at around 9:45). He told us that we would have to park in the garage and carry everything from there. My husband explained to him very calmly that this was not logical, as the whole point behind the unloading zone was for people to quickly unload their belongings and then keep going - students would be checking in all day long, and there was no way that the police would close an unloading zone and make everybody lug their belongings through a parking garage and across the street. The “helper” then told us to “make a U-turn and get out of here. You have no choice other than to park in the garage.” So we turned around and quickly figured out on our own how to access the unloading area from the proper direction. Everything went very smoothly from this point forward. My husband and son got a chance to speak to Dr. Dorland during a break from carrying items from the curb up to the room, which was very nice. All-in-all, a well organized and efficient process. </p>
<p>We moved our D into Centreville yesterday and it went VERY smoothly. I expected a nightmare and was very pleasantly surprised. I was also expecting a flood of emotion, which for some unknown reason, never came. Perhaps that will come in a few weeks. It was one of the hottest days of the summer, so complications like no A/C or broken elevators would’ve created a disaster.</p>
<p>@spidermom03, we had an experience similar to yours, in that there was a difference in what was supposed to happen (according to the online materials provided by the university) and what we were told to do by the kids on the ground running the move-in.</p>
<p>However, in our case, it worked in our favor, since we got to unload in front of our son’s dorm (supposedly we were going to have to unload in front of a neighboring dorm), and then we were directed to a closer parking lot than what was listed in the online materials. So it was all good, and a lot faster than what I had thought! We left Baltimore at 8:30, were pulling into campus at 9:30 (there’s a miracle right there!), and by 10:30 I was taking his empty suitcases back to the car.</p>
<p>Much better experience than expected, even though the weather was much hotter on move-in day than it has been all summer long (which I had predicted would happen, ha ha!).</p>
<p>“the weather was much hotter on move-in day than it has been all summer long”</p>
<p>Actually, that is a move-in tradition that goes back to time immemorial…</p>
<p>The only issue that my D had was the inability of getting anything to stick to the walls in order to hang up pictures. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.</p>
<p>I recently moved my daughter into Wicomico Hall - it’s absolutely horrible and on days like today - it’s overwhelming. The dorm is extremely hot and on days like today when the temps are in the high 80’s - 90’s the walls are sweating and air circulation is even worse. I have called Res Life to discuss options and was told that unless my daughter had a documented medical condition, moving her was only possible if she could find an open room during the room swap activity scheduled for later this month. It’s highly unlikely that a student in an air conditioned room would be willing to switch rooms. Adding insult to injury, I also became aware of the fact that my daughter’s room is categorized as a traditional double and falls into the same pricing category as the traditional double in the brand new Prince Frederick Hall dorm that just opened this Fall and offers air conditioned rooms, free laundry facilities and other amenities not offered in many of the other dorms on campus. This, as I understand it is uncommon at other universities where room charges are determined based on square footage and amenities available. I am quite concerned about the living conditions in the older buildings and the challenge with air circulation, possible dehydration, etc. The administrators in the office of Res Life appear to be unconcerned as my inquiry was met with apathy. I was told that they are considering restructuring the room pricing beginning next year. What about those who are now paying the same rate for rooms that are not equal in size nor accommodations…what provisions are being made this year to correct the problem??</p>
<p>My daughter is having difficulty sleeping and functioning in the room due to the heat and poor circulation…based on documentation that I have located, it appears that Wicomico was supposed to be closed once the new building opened this Fall (2014). For whatever reason that plan has changed and Wicomico continues to remain open. </p>
<p>I was also told that even if I provided medical documentation, and she were to be moved to an air conditioned room…she may be placed in an apt. with 3 Seniors - if that is the first available air conditioned space (I supposed that statement was supposed to bring me comfort and encourage me to feel better about the situation).</p>
<p>Is this normal? Has anyone else had this experience? I am totally disappointed by the housing and the response to my inquiry. Also - my conversation about the situation was not with a student but the second in command in the Office of Res Life.</p>