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Cornell University

Housing & Residential Life

Moving in on Campus

Fall 2026

All undergraduate students moving in for Fall 2026 must select a timeslot for moving in via the Housing and Dining Portal. Instructions will be included in housing assignment/confirmation emails, which will be sent out mid-June 2026. 

  • First-year student move-in - Monday, August 17  
  • Transfer student move-in - Tuesday, August 18
  • Upper-level student move-in - Friday, August 21 through Saturday, August 22.  

More information, including arrival routes, will be added to this page through the summer as additional details become available. 

Move-in Process Overview 

The move-in process will vary slightly depending on which building or area of campus you are moving-in to. For detailed instructions for your building, please check back in late July. 

  • Check in: Arrive on campus and report to your designated check-in location to receive your keys and other move-in materials during your self-selected timeslot.
  • Unload your belongings: Unload your belongings into carts to easily move your items to your room.
  • Move your vehicle: Once unloaded, you’ll be instructed to move your vehicle to short-term parking for up to three hours so that other students and families may have building access and can begin their move-in process too. Once parked in a short-term parking area, you can return to your building and take your time settling into your new space. Shuttles or the TCAT bus can help you return to your residential building from the short-term parking lots.
  • Unpack your belongings: Get settled in your new space and unpack your belongings.    

Move-in Information 

Move-in Timeslot: All students are required to reserve a move-in timeslot. Correspondence about this process will be sent via email throughout the summer.   

Room Condition: When moving in, students should inspect their room and report any damage to the room by submitting a maintenance request. Reporting any damage will ensure that you are not billed for that damage when you move out. Additionally, submitting a maintenance request will let the facilities staff know about any problems so they can work to fix the damage.     

Dining: Meal plans start at lunch on Monday, August 17, 2026. Visit the Cornell Dining website for detailed information.  

Orientation: Visit the Orientation website for information on first-year student and transfer student programming.   

Planning Ahead 

Order Room Essentials from DormCo  

The Cornell Store and Cornell Housing and Residential Life are collaborating with DormCo to provide a convenient solution for ordering room essentials. DormCo offers high-quality bedding and over 5,000 budget-friendly products to help make your room or apartment one of a kind. On-campus students: let us do the heavy lifting! Starting in June, order online and we’ll put your order in your room before you arrive! View details and order.  

Packing Tips     

All items should be labeled with your full name (at least first and last name), NetID, residence hall, and room number. Please pack for easy transport, and box all small items. You and your guests will be responsible for moving your belongings to your residence hall and room.     

For a list of suggested items to pack, as well as prohibited items to leave at home, please visit What to Pack and What Not to Bring.  

Vehicle Limitations    

Students/families may bring only one vehicle onto campus on move-in days. You must be able to carry your own personal belongings. Vehicles over 14 feet in length are not permitted, except for SUVs, pick-up trucks, or standard passenger vans/minivans. U-Hauls, moving vans/trucks, and trailers are NOT permitted on campus.    

Moving & Storage   

Too much stuff for your car or the plane? Consider shipping your items ahead of time with Big Red Shipping and Storage!  

Big Red Shipping and Storage (BRSS) is Student and Campus Life’s preferred shipping and storage vendor, and they offer pre-arrival services to ease the busy trip to Ithaca. They receive your items, place them in storage, and then put them into your room before you arrive on campus! Big Red Shipping and Storage will not accept packages before July 15 and cannot ensure on-time delivery for packages arriving after August 7. Packages will be delivered to on-campus rooms before the August 17 move-in date. Big Red Shipping and Storage offers move-in, move-out and summer storage services to Cornell University students. Learn more about storage and shipping options or contact Big Red Shipping and Storage to sign up. 

You may also send mail and packages to the Student Service Centers for you to pick up when you arrive to campus. Mail for the Fall 2026 semester will start being accepted on August 10, 2026, so avoid sending packages too early. When you arrive on campus, you can pick up your mail and packages at your designated Student Service Center. Be sure to allow extra time for packages to be sorted upon receipt at the Service Centers at the beginning of the semester. 

To make package pickup easier, please ship items to campus in as few boxes as possible (each under 50 lbs.) rather than sending many small boxes with individual items.  

Please visit the Student Service Centers website for details on when packages will begin being accepted for the fall semester and for instructions on how to properly address mail and packages., which must include the student’s NetID.  

Orientation 

We are excited to share that the Fall 2026 Move-In and New Student Orientation activities are scheduled for August 18-23, and Family Orientation will be August 18. If you are a new student, learn more about what you can expect during Orientation.