Move-in to your Residence Hall

For all international students registered for BGRi, move in will be on August 9, 2024.  The Move-in timeslots will be released with student housing assignment notifications on or around July 15th. You change your assigned timeslot if you have a conflict in the Housing Portal. If you don’t get your preferred timeslot you should keep revisiting the Housing Portal, as timeslots are continuously updating. If there is no availability after multiple attempts, you should email your assigned residence hall (not the Housing office) with the requested change. Please include your name and the last four digits of your PUID number.

To avoid the rush at BGRi, we choose to pay $35 for an extra night and moved our child in the day before move-in day. That allowed us to park and offload our car over multiple visits and have a hassle- free move-in. You may want to do the same.

Visit here and choose your dorm from the menu on the left for specific move-in directions for your dorm.

• When boxing/bagging, put like items with like items and label them, i.e., all bedding together, all clothes in one bin/box, hanging clothes put in a garbage bag with the pull handles tied around the top of the hangers, desk items in another box, laundry/cleaning supplies in one box.
• Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. You will be spending a lot of time on your feet.
• Carry a printed copy of your latest move-in pass so that you can display it on your car’s dashboard. You cannot access the Purdue campus without having this pass on the move-in day. 
• Mark all your boxes/bins, fridge, suitcases, bags, etc. with your child’s first and last name, residence hall name, residence hall room number so that they don’t get misplaced by the volunteers who will be helping you offload.
• I would carry a small bag with goodies such as chocolates/cold drinks etc. to give the student volunteers as a ‘Thank you’.
• Download the Purdue Guide App – This app available on all App stores has a detailed BGR/BGRi schedule (for students), the International Parents Welcome Schedule and other useful information.
• Bring a move-in kit (see my post Things to Pack & Buy! with essentials such as:
  • Clorox Wipes
  • Scissors / Knife / Box opener / Victorinox
  • Zip Ties or Velcro Bands
  • Tools / Tool kit- small tool kit tape measure, screwdriver, allen key, etc
  • Rubber mallet (to adjust the bed if you’re not lofting)
  • Duct Tape and Sellotape
  • Rubbing alcohol for putting command hooks
  • Extension Cord
  • Black trash bags for packing disposal
  • Lots of water to drink while unpacking
  • Command Hooks of various sizes.

Leave the tool kit with your student when you are done for use in the rest of the year.

You can watch move in process video here from 2023. You’ll be more-or-less corralled through the check-in process. Road signs and crossing guards at many of the intersections will help direct you to the right residence hall. Don’t sweat it, move-in is a refined process.

• You will check in at your designated spot (ours was the COREC). If you have your own car, then you should drive to the check-in spot, and collect the keys before you drive to your dorm. If you are using an Uber:
  • The cheapest option would be for one of the parents to be dropped off with the bags at the dorm entrance and wait while the child and other parent go to the check-in point with the Uber. Then let the Uber leave, as the check-in process can take time (allow for 30 mins or so). Once you are done and you have the keys, they can walk back to the dorm and move their stuff in. However the Welcome at the BGRi check in has a lot of fun activities that one family member may miss, so you should return here with them later on to take your family memento pics.
  • Another option is to leave your bags at your hotel, check in and collect your keys and then return after collecting your bags from the hotel. This will cost more money and time though.
• Each family will receive a bag from International Student Services that contains important information when you come to the BGRi Check-in and the key to your dorm room.
• At the Welcome stalls around the check-in booths, you will find lots of Purdue branded where you can take cool pics with the family. When we were there, they had a scaled down Boilermaker Special model with which you could click selfies. There are also several stalls which had branded freebies like Purdue branded key-chains, stickers, pens and t-shirts. PFCU was running a treasure hunt where they gave you the first of 3 coupons and you had to find the other two around campus. The first 200 students could win a hamper of Purdue goodies! It makes for a fun activity!
• Then proceed to your dorm. You are allowed to park around 30 minutes while you unload with the help of student helpers. There were be lots of student helpers available with hotel carts, dollies, etc and they should have you done within 10 mins. I would carry any computers & expensive things in myself (just in case, not that anything happened).
• If you have your own car, the child and one parent should proceed to the room while the other parent goes to park the vehicle at a free designated parking lot or a paid metered spot near your Residence Hall (see parking section below)
• The move-in slot is for the time you are allowed to drive up and unload. After you unload, you can be in your room for the whole day. As long as you stayed out of everyone’s way, no one will bother you. Plan to be in the dorm for at least 3-5 hours setting up. I spent a whole day as we carpeted my son’s whole room (see Things to Pack and Buy post)
• If in a dorm with no air conditioning set up your fan first in the window and open the door to get a breeze going.
• You will also get a form that is referred to as a Room Condition Report (RCR) to fill out. That paper is where you will write down if there are any pre-existing damages to your side of the room. You will eventually give that to your RA. Fill in the form which they give you to note down any defects or damage you notice at move-in and return it. Make sure you do it diligently as you will be liable for any pre-existing damages that you did not note down at this time. You may want to wait for your room-mate to do it together. If they are not an International student, they will be moving in the day before BGR starts.
• Meet your room-mate for the first time. You should have been talking with them over the summer, but now is the time to say hi properly. The parents should also get acquainted with one another and exchange contacts.
  
  If you have more questions regarding BGRi – please contact Orientation Programs at studentsuccess@purdue.edu or call (765) 494-9328

Download the parking map (PDF) for Purdue for easy access.

I recommend using the University Garage (291 N University St, West Lafayette, IN 47906) as its free, central and no parking permits are needed during BGRi for any or all the events during the 3-day International Parent Welcome. Parking at University Street Garage is also free on all weekends and after 5 p.m. on weekdays. There will be also other parking places for free during BGR/BGRi and the email you will get will list these. The unmetered COREC parking slots were free when we were there checking in- but avoid the metered parking bays there (which need to be paid for).

When we are at the Stewart Center (STEW), you can use the free parking at University Garage or if you want to park really close, then use the paid Grant Street Parking Garage that is right across from Purdue Memorial Union.

Parking for a few hours: The Grant Street Parking Garage (120 N. Grant Street, West Lafayette, IN 47906)  across from the Purdue Memorial Union, and the Harrison Street Parking Garage located at 719 Clinic Drive. (0-30mins $1; 30-60mins $3; Each additional hour $1 and max per 24 hr consecutive period $10) A pay station is available in the main lobby of the Grant Street Parking Garage that accepts MasterCard, Visa or Discover debit or credit payments only. In addition, a pay-in-lane card option is available at all exits of the Grant Street Parking Garage. No cash payments are accepted for garage parking. Grant and Harrison Street Garage not covered by the $5 daily permit below.

Metered parking: Parking is also available at pay-by-phone areas on campus for short-term visits through the ParkMobile app. To use these parking spaces, download the app, register and create an account including payment information and review available zones. Paid time can be increased through the app. Resources:

• Video: How to Use ParkMobile (01:10)
• Map: ParkMobile spots on campus
• Download ParkMobile app (Google Play / Apple Store)

Daily campus-wide Parking permit: With the purchase of a daily permit ($5.00 per day), visitors may park in any “A”, “B” or “C” space (unless restrictions are posted that indicate otherwise), excluding those in the Grant Street or Harrison Street Parking Garages. These must be purchased online. You will need to create a guest account the first time you use it and also have your car plate details ready when buying the permit. Daily permit parking is valid from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Note you can buy a maximum of 5 consecutive days of visitor $5 parking.

Rules for Parking:Regardless of where and how you chose to park, follow these rules everywhere:

• Avoid any spaces posted as reserved or handicap at all locations.
• Motorists should pull forward into a parking space with the vehicle’s license plate facing the drive lane for enforcement purposes. Individuals who back into a parking space or do not have have the license plate visible are subject to receiving a citation.
• Vehicles may not be stored in any parking lot or garage for longer than 24 hours, unless otherwise indicated.

Parking violations: Do not attempt to overstay or park where you are not supposed to. Purdue Parking is one of the most vigorous departments I have encountered. I parked in a max 30 min slot and paid for it. However, I got lost while away and spend a good 10 minutes looking for my spot. I arrived to find I had been ticketed! Luckily, I was able to successfully appeal it.

This is a step often overlooked by both students and parents. Doing their first laundry is often an issue with international kids- especially those coming from a culture where they have maids at home. Quite a few will have never used a laundry machine before. Also by this time, both the parents and student will have accumulated a few days of clothing that need a wash, so I recommend that the first load be done while the parents are there. So that the student can have a chance to be comfortable with machine loading, washer and dryer settings and folding it.

I have a funny memory that I will never forget from there. My son, who I accompanied for his first wash, decided to insert his Physical ID card into a ATM-like slot on the washer which said “Insert ID”- despite me telling him not to. That slot was a throwback to when an older payment system was being used and the ID was no longer required. The ID dropped fully into the slot and although we could see it, there seemed to be no way to retrieve it! A RA who had been playing with his friends in the adjoining game room told us we will have to register a Fixit request and have a Purdue mechanic open the machine to get the card back. However, after a bit of lateral thinking, I decided to try using a piece of double-sided tape (which I had for carpeting his room) at the end of a tape measure, which I snaked into the slot. After a bit of fishing, the card came out! The RA and his friends who had been watching us were astonished by this piece of ”jugaad’ and found it worthy of a round of applause!😂

To do your laundry, locate the Laundry room in your residence hall. Ask the front desk if you are not sure where it is.

By this time, you should have downloaded the CSCPay Mobile Laundry App on your phone. Load some balance and learn how to use the app for starting a load on the washer and dryer. If you have any issues, again ask the front desk of your hall or visit www.getwashfree.com

The charges for every residence hall differ- you can see them here

I suggest you should use laundry pods as it is simpler to just chuck one in with every load. You should also use wool balls for drying as they remove the dampness from your clothes. They are in my shopping list in Things to Pack & Buy!

Ensure you remove your load from the washer and dryer as soon as the load finishes. You don’t want to leave your clothes in the machines too long as that keeps other students from using it. You might even find that your clothes have been removed from the machine if there are no free machines and your load is occupying one unnecessarily.

Ideally, the student should be doing their laundry at least once every week. Avoid choosing Sunday as that’s the busiest day. My son used to do them on a week night and stay and study there, as laundry room had study tables which you can use.

There is also a paid service available in most residence halls to do your laundry for you. Laundry will be washed, dried, and folded for you, 24/7. Students and parents can pay by load, per semester, or for the whole academic year. To start, go to The Laundry Chutes website and download the app. This service is not available in Cary Quad East, First St. Towers, Hilltop, Aspire, or the UR Boiler Apartments. Further details here

These are pics from the laundry room at Honors North residence hall: