Housing Assignments Released

In this Issue: Info on Housing Assignments for ’30s

A note for all the P’30s and ’30s in the Daily Deacdom: housing assignments were released today. Our Residence Life and Housing team completed the process early and wanted students to receive their room assignments as soon as they were final.

For many students and their families, this is an exciting milestone. It can also bring questions, surprises, and perhaps a little worry: Is this the hall my student hoped for? Will they connect with their roommate? What if they are assigned a single?

My very wise late P’92 mother had a phrase for moments like this: “Don’t borrow trouble.” By that, she meant “Don’t worry in advance about problems that may never happen.” 

Wherever your new Deac lands, their residence hall assignment is the beginning of their Wake Forest story, not a predictor of how well they will belong, connect, or thrive.

First-year students live across several residence halls, each with its own character, location, and community. While some students may have hoped for one of the newest halls, every first-year residence hall offers opportunities to meet people, settle in, and begin building a home in The Forest. 

Personally, I lived in Bostwick — unairconditioned during my time, I might add — Collins and Babcock (back in my day, women lived on South Campus and men on the Quad). What I remember most about each place is not the room itself, but the people and experiences connected to it. Each residence hall has its own character, but students can find friendship and belonging in all of them. [As a matter of fact, today’s Daily Deac is a pre-post because I am on a girls’ weekend with my best Wake friends, all of whom I met during my first week in Bostwick Hall!!!]

Students who were hoping for a roommate may initially be disappointed to receive a single. Still, a single can offer a wonderful home base while students build friendships through their hall, classes, Orientation activities, and campus involvement. Living in a single does not mean being alone, just as having a roommate does not guarantee a student finds community right away. Whether your Deac is in a single or has a roommate, they will need to take opportunities to meet people and become part of their new community.

Students may also feel uncertain if their assigned roommate seems very different from them. That is normal. Roommates do not have to become best friends to share a space well. Kindness, honest communication, flexibility, and respect go a long way toward creating a comfortable home for both students.

A few housing reminders:

• Students will receive a Roomie link with their assignment to view their room in 3D and begin planning their space. This can be a great opportunity for roommates to start discussing how they will share and arrange their new space.
• Residence Life and Housing cannot provide individual room measurements or furniture dimensions, and cannot provide access to view their rooms should you find yourself on campus. Thank you in advance for not asking.
• Please talk to your student about their comfort level with you sharing personal details – such as building assignment – before posting that info on social media or parent message boards. In this case, ask permission, not forgiveness 🙂 (See more recommendations to help families maintain their students’ privacy)
• Housing assignments will not be changed based on building or roommate preferences; students are encouraged to begin connecting with their roommate (and suitemates) and to prepare for their new community. Again, thank you in advance for not asking.

No matter where students live, the first weeks of college will invite patience, flexibility, and a willingness to try new things. Families can help by resisting the urge to solve every uncertainty in advance and instead encouraging students to approach their new community with openness and confidence.

So today, celebrate this next milestone. Encourage your students as they begin to imagine their new space, connect with roommates or hallmates, and prepare for move-in.And, as my mother would remind me: don’t borrow trouble. There is a great deal of good ahead for your Deac.