We are getting so excited to welcome you to campus! If you aren't following us on Instagram, you are missing a lot of good stuff. We are showing lots of student rooms and showcasing our student leaders. Be sure to check it out. 

Fall 2024 Housing Assignments: In early July, you will receive a message from housing@swarthmore.edu with your housing assignment. In that email, you will also receive information about how to connect with your Area Coordinator (AC), a professional staff member assigned to each residence hall, who can assist you with dorm specific questions and move-in inquiries. All first-year students should expect to live in a double room, triple room, or quad room, unless otherwise approved by Student Disability Services. During your time at Swarthmore, you will likely live in doubles/triples during your first 2-3 years, and a single your senior year. Some juniors will have singles. We will assign your roommate(s) based on the information provided in your housing questionnaire submitted in May.

Move-In Day:  New students will arrive on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, between 8:00am and 12:00pm. To make move-in day easier for everyone, we encourage a staggered move-in according to where you will be living. This will allow elevators and stairwells to clear out as upper floors arrive first. 

• Students on floors 3 and 4 between 8am-9am. 
• Students on floor 2 between 9am-10am. 
• Students on floor 1 between 10am-11am. 
• Students moving into ground floors or zero level rooms between 11am-noon.

If you will need to travel more than just a few hours to get to campus, you may wish to arrive on the 26th and stay in off-campus lodging. Some general travel information and local accommodation links can be found here. On Tuesday, August 27, 2024, you will be able to move-in directly to your residence hall, and we will have volunteers who can help assist you with moving your items into your room. 

Early Arrival: Students who are participating in certain pre-orientation programs will be allowed to come to campus prior to new student orientation. Students participating in pre-orientation programs will receive information directly from their program sponsor, the person coordinating their pre-orientation program, about move-in.  

Orientation Schedule: Our Orientation Steering Committee is busy working to prepare a robust and engaging in-person Orientation program for our new students!! Keep your eyes on the online schedule for all the updates about orientation.

Packing Tips: A note about packing: we encourage you to pack light and bring less than you think you may need.  Students often over pack and bring items that they don't end up using once they get here, which can then present storage problems at the end of the spring term. Swarthmore also offers a free store of gently used items called Worthmore. You can get many great things from Worthmore while working to reduce waste. Some general guidance on what to bring can be found here. Information on what not to bring can be found here. If in doubt, please ask and we will be happy to let you know whether certain items are not ideal to bring. Please note that the College runs regular weekly shuttles to local shopping and grocery centers, and that you may want to plan for shopping trips once you get settled and meet your roommate(s).

Mailing Address: You will have the same mailing address all four years at Swarthmore.  All mail and packages are delivered to a central location (Parrish Hall) and students may pick items up from the mailroom during regular business hours. To receive mail or packages please use the following address:

Student Name ’28
Swarthmore College
500 College Ave.
Swarthmore, PA 19081

The College post office can begin accepting mail and packages for students ONE WEEK ahead of your move-in date. Please plan on packages arriving no earlier than Monday, August 19, 2024.  Please note: packages are centrally delivered to Parrish Hall and not delivered directly to residence halls. Students are responsible for transporting packages from Parrish to their assigned residence hall room. 

Future Move-In and Move-Out Dates: For your convenience, we have pulled together the likely move-in and move-out dates for your four years at Swarthmore. These dates are subject to change if the operations of the College change and/or we have changing facilities needs. Please review this page for more information. As a reminder, all residence halls remain OPEN during fall break, Thanksgiving break, and spring break but all residence halls CLOSE during the winter and summer breaks. All students, including international students, are expected to depart campus during the winter and summer break periods. 

We're excited to welcome you later this summer! We are busy preparing campus and the residence halls for your arrival.