That would be great but not the case at Harvard…4 rooms all identical size and 5 roommates so 2 will be doubling?!? Also they were assigned roommates so yeah will be interesting how this works out! No info regarding room size or layout is available before move-in…So DS waiting til then to choose rooms unless they communicate before (they are group chatting but no talk yet about room assignments, not sure what they are waiting for). Rotating through the year maybe an option?
I’ll just note that my DD, as a (quiet) frosh at Yale, was in a quad (two rooms, each with bunk beds, plus a common room). The “discussion” among the 4 led to her ending up “rooming” with (in her opinion) the least compatriot of the four.
Sophomore year, she roomed by choice with that non-compatriot kid.
But true, the process should seem balanced and fair to all concerned. No grabbsies. Sure, if it can be figured out beforehand, that’s great. But no first come, first served.
So how long would you wait if roommate was not there when you arrived? An hour? 2? 3?
I’d suggest they talk before, especially if it’s just two. Understanding works both ways. As said above, the H kids can see who wants the double. If someone has a special need, that’s his chance to pipe up.
“So how long would you wait if roommate was not there when you arrived? An hour? 2? 3?”
All or the above or longer. Drop the stuff off in the room. Go do whatever family orientation activities are on the schedule. Honestly, as much as moms like to leave seeing their kids’ rooms set up, the kids are completely capable of doing it themselves without help if needed. They can always send you a video/photos when they are done.
These kids are going to Harvard and they cannot figure out how to do this on their own?
Harvard would not give this kind of instruction unless it has been a problem in the past. The spirit of this policy is for the roommates to work together to accommodate everybody. Nobody gets the advantage of deciding simply because they arrive first. There are all sorts of “what if” scenarios - what if one student arrives early and is allowed into the room a day early because of some special event? They unpack minimal items, and are prepared to switch rooms if necessary. The can communicate in advance, but if they don’t know the room layout, and come to a tentative agreement. But it’s not like they can say "A gets room 1, B gets room 2, C and D share room 3, and E gets room 4 - because they have no way of assigning those designations ahead of time. It’s not rocket science, but sometimes someone will do their best to take advantage.
Of course it is possible to do it ahead of time. My daughter’s school did. She was “D” and thus had room D, cabinet D. If Harvard wanted to avoid conflict, it could just assign each person a bed and then if they wanted to switch they could. Harvard seems to like conflict.
IIRC, Harvard “suggests” that students make arrangements so that they will be able to arrive on campus by 3 p.m., but OP can confirm what they say for this year. There is plenty for the student that arrives before that to do in lieu of unpacking.
There is nothing to preclude the OP’s DS from calling/texting his roommates to say, “Dude, what time r u getting here?” and then planning accordingly.
I know there’s a joke in there somewhere.
“Four Harvard freshman walk into a dorm room…”
My D was lucky (I guess, depending how you look at it) in that move in times were controlled by floor so all of her roommates had to show up within a two hour window, at least for the initial drop off of stuff. On top of that each bed in her quad was assigned so they knew exactly which bed was theirs when they showed up. I suppose they could have changed them if they all agreed, but they all kept the same beds for the entire year (two lofted beds and a set of bunk beds).
Curious though with the OP- if there are five people and only three singles, and a double, do those in the singles have to pay more? I think I’d be annoyed if all were paying the same price yet two got stuck in a double room the entire year. My D was supposed to be in a triple but due to overenrollment, they flexed it into a quad. As a result, they gave each kid in the room a 25% discount on her housing. That was a pleasant surprise. Thankfully they all got along so having the extra roommate ended up not being too much of an issue.
Glad my kid is going to Iu. They have made it pretty easy. Come when you can. If before Tuesday, there will be a nominal charge. “Official” move in is over two days. As for who gets what bunk, I guess it’s feats of strength. Not a big issue apparently.
"Curious though with the OP- if there are five people and only three singles, and a double, do those in the singles have to pay more? "
To my knowledge, Harvard charges a flat fee for board regardless of the dorm or room setup. That’s not unusual for a lot of private colleges. It’s kind of luck of the draw but in a benefit, IMO, is it is more equitable and doesn’t divide students up by parental net worth.
It’s really a math problem: 5 students and only 3 singles. Should probably walk down Mass Ave and ask an MIT student to help them solve it.
Seriously; If the instructions from Harvard were “clearly” stated to wait until all the students arrived, what is unclear?
I am inclined to suspect that the “doubles” used to be single rooms for the young gentlemen at Harvard, and the the “singles” used to be the rooms for their valets. This might mean that the doubles have some desirable features that the singles lack.
Also, while I understand the idea that the freshmen are semi-grown-up now, and can set up their own rooms, I wish people would stop being judgmental if a mother wants to make her offsprings’s bed one last time–and very probably the last time the bed is ever made, if the student is not naturally neat.
And BTW it was DH that HAD to make the bed. Mom was standing to the side handing out tools, drinks, snacks, etc that smart people on CC recommend she bring and have accessible. 
:-?
Let your child figure this out on their own. Parents should not be involved!
No, as @doschicos correctly points out.
Which is, as I mentioned earlier, the kids often rotate rooms throughout the year to be equitable.
Harvard Parent here – My D graduated in May. Freshman year 4 room suite for 6 girls. 2 double bedrooms and 2 singles. Harvard is clear in their instruction about not choosing rooms until all students arrive. When we arrived some girls were already there and all unloaded their items in different rooms and common room. But no one had unpacked. When all students arrived, we parents left for a coffee and girls decided on the rooms – assigning #s to rooms and everyone picking a number from the hat. Our daughter got one of the doubles. Double rooms were not that much bigger than the single.
Winter break my daughter and her roommate decided to stay in the double – didn’t want to move again. The other 2 in the double and the two singles swapped for the winter term. Four of these 6 girls stayed together for 4 years and picked rooms that evened out eventually.
The reason you can’t pick and settle in before all arrive is the rooms are different sizes and furniture are all over. So the girls in the doubles moved the furniture around before unpacking.
Yes, everyone pays the same for rooms & meals. In fact some may be on FA and others may be Full pay. It didn’t bother us or our daughter. Same with food – Some will eat a lot others not so much but all pay the same – That’s life.
Our daughter felt that there is lot more to college experience than having equal Sq-Ft of room space and we completely agree.
My D15 and D16 both moved in a couple of days apart from their roommate freshman year. For D15, her roommate did the orientation session just before school starts for people coming from far away. For D16, she was the one from far away.
For D15, when she arrived almost the first thing the roommate said was something along the lines of "I choose this bed/closet/desk but I’m happy to move my stuff if you would rather have this side of the room.
For D16, she was the one saying the same thing. “I chose these shelves but it would be really easy to switch if you want to.” She thought very carefully about not choosing the best of everything but trying to keep things even.
If you are considerate and flexible you will be fine. D15 is rooming with that same person for the fourth year in a row this year. D16 roomed with her freshman roommate for sophomore year as well.