<p>So my family and I are a little bit confused about when to arrive for Orientation. I know that it begins on Monday, August 22nd. However, does this mean that I should arrive a few days early to buy everything I need for the school year? Or do I arrive just on the day Orientation starts? (Will I have time during so to buy supplies like clothes, dorm stuff, etc..?)</p>
<p>Thanks!!!</p>
<p>The dorms won’t be open to you until that Monday. (I believe orientation starts a bit earlier for international students). I thought it was nice to visit Boston with my family a few days before orientation, but not everyone does this. I was a transfer student, so my orientation was a bit different, but I do believe that there was some time for “back to school shopping.” I wouldn’t make any major dorm room purchases until you see your room though.</p>
<p>Now that I have thought about it some more, I am pretty sure that orientation started in the afternoon. So I had time after unloading the car (in the morning) to get a few things before orientation began (in the afternoon).</p>
<p>Assuming not all that much has really changed since 2004, you should show up Monday morning. If it makes sense for you to purchase new things in Massachusetts and not 1. bring them from home or 2. purchase them at home and bring them with you, because you are traveling with limited luggage, you could come earlier by 24 hours than you otherwise would have if you were just planning to go directly to Wellesley I would limit the items on for Mass pre-orientation purchase to toiletries and bedding. You are really not supposed to do much more than carry your stuff from the car before your roommate shows up, because dibsing beds and drawers if you are the first one there is Rude. Then when you see your stuff, you can figure out the obvious things that are missing (extension cord, ethernet wire) and send a parent (better yet, all of them) to buy the missing stuff so you can be alone with your roommates.</p>
<p>Every store that sells clothes starts selling winter coats in the fall. Seriously.</p>
<p>You will have plenty of time to go shopping, not necessarily right away, but when you need to. There is a mall shuttle and it’s not too hard to figure out how to use the MIT shuttle to take you within walking distance of lots and lots of stores (Cambridgeside galleria is near Kendall and Newbury St. is near the Comm Ave stop).</p>
<p>Last year, the dorms opened at 9:00 or something (you get a really specific letter closer to orientation about this sort of thing), so you could get there in the morning and unload all your stuff. I had already gotten a bunch of my things like sheets and towels and all that jazz before hand, and we drove up the day before and stayed in a hotel. I would definitely hold off on buying legit items such as a fridge or a tv or a futon (you’ll almost definitely not have room for one of those) until you see your room.</p>
<p>But, yeah, you can move in pretty early, and then orientation events start prolly around noonish. The first day is really used to get your IDs, meet your First-Year Mentors, make sure your parents are chill, eat a bunch of food (there is soooo much food during orientation), and all that jazz. Again, you get a really legit schedule closer to orientation, so don’t worry~</p>