Making Miami moves: What to expect during new-student move-in

Lakeside Village on Feb. 11, 2022. Photo credit: Jared Lennon
Lakeside Village on Feb. 11, 2022.
Lakeside Village on Feb. 11, 2022. Photo credit: Jared Lennon

Moving-in can be hectic with cardboard boxes flung across the room, daunting piles of clothes spread across the floor and one too many trips to the nearest Target. However, the endless treks up-and-down Stanford’s painfully slow elevators will all be worth it, because this a move to the home of sunshine, Pitbull and palm trees. This is your “Move to Miami.”

In preparation for new student move-in, here are few things to note as you make your way down to the University of Miami:

New student and transfer move-in will be on Aug. 15-16.

Before getting to the dorms, all new students must first check in at their assigned date and time at the Lakeside Village Expo Center. At check-in students will receive their ‘Cane Card, which will give you access to your dorm and university buildings, and register for ‘Cane Kickoff, UM’s orientation program. Only one family member is permitted to join each student for check-in.

A map of the Coral Gables campus and parking with the check-in location, the Lakeside Village Expo center, circled in red.
A map of the Coral Gables campus and parking with the check-in location, the Lakeside Village Expo center, circled in red. Photo credit: University of Miami

It is essential that you keep your ‘Cane Card on you at all times as it provides access to the buildings and dorms around campus. If it is lost or stolen, it will cost $25.00 to replace.

Once the check-in process is complete, students will make their way to their assigned residential areas. At the Mahoney, Pearson and Stanford residential colleges, students will be able to utilize Cruise Ship Move-In, in which the student’s belongings will be brought up to their dorm.

As belongings are unpacked and goodbyes are said, new students will have the opportunity to meet one another on their floor and in their building. Jamie Moses, a junior at UM studying advertising management and political science, said that during her first-year move-in, making an active effort to meet others on her floor of Stanford Residential College made her acclimation to UM much smoother.

“My roommate and I met up with some friends and delivered cookies around,” Moses said. “I’m still close with some of the people I met that day.”

Anna Ceccarelli, a sophomore majoring in neuroscience, had a similar experience.

“My favorite part is when people down the hall just came to say hi,” Ceccarelli said.

In conjunction with meeting others in the dorms, news students will have numerous opportunities to meet their peers during orientation. The Office of Orientation and Commuter Student Involvement (OCSI) organizes a week-long orientation program to give new students the chance to learn about their new home and life at UM.

“Go to orientation because you don’t want to be that person, who is two weeks into school, who still knows like one person,” Ceccarelli said.