First Year Move-in will be on Friday, August 15 and Saturday, August 16.

First year students living in Residential Life will move-in on the dates below between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. unless you are a part of international first-year student move-in.

Fall varsity athletes and student leaders supporting Fall Welcome may have a different arrival date. Please confirm your arrival date with your coach or program leader.

Timeslot selection

All incoming first-year students can select their move-in date and timeslot beginning on July 7, 2025 at 1PM Central Time through the WashU Housing Portal.

ONLY first-year students who are moving in on Friday, August 15 or Saturday, August 16 need to select a move-in date and time.

Instructions for selecting a date and time

  1. Log into the WashU Housing Portal
  2. Select Move-In Time Slots at the top of the page
  3. Click on Fall 2025 Check-in
  4. Select between the 2 move-in dates
  5. Select from available times
  6. Confirm date and time by clicking Confirm

Getting to campus

If you are being dropped off via rideshare (Lyft/Uber) use “Danforth University Center” as your destination. After checking-in, you will proceed to your unloading zone as listed on the parking placard you receive at check-in.

Check-in location

Students will check-in at the Danforth University Center (DUC). The address for the DUC is 6475 Forsyth Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63105.

Move-In Steps

  1. Arrive to our check-in location on your move-in date and time. Volunteers will direct you to park. Students will exit their vehicle at the check-in location, go inside, and receive their room keys. All other individuals will stay inside the vehicle.
  2. Once students have returned to their vehicle with their room keys and Parking Placard, ensure that the placard is on the dashboard. Drive to the unloading zone for your building by following the designated path.
  3. Once you arrive at your unloading zone, unload your vehicle. Drivers should never exit their vehicle and should relocate their vehicle to long-term parking as soon as all belongings are unloaded. Students should stay with their belongings, have their one-time moving ticket ready, and wait for our team of professional movers to assist you with moving their items into their room. Our professional movers will only move your items to your room one time. They will not make multiple trips.
  4. You did it! Unpack, get comfortable, eat, meet the students on your floor, and be present for your required residential community floor meeting at 8:00 p.m.

Your residential community

To view information about your assigned building and community click the button below.

Residential Life facilities

Additional information

Staff from Student Transitions & Engagement will be available to answer questions on Friday, August 15 and Saturday, August 16 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. CT. Student Transitions & Engagement is located in the lower level of Umrath House on the South 40 (across from the Bear’s Den entrance).

If you have any questions or need directions, please stop by
for assistance. Refer to the Bear Beginnings: Fall Welcome
schedule for more details.

Parents and Families:


To learn more about move-in day, you can visit
Parent & Family Engagement. There you will find more
information about:

  • Traveling to campus
  • Planning your visit
  • Parent & Family Orientation
  • Additional resources

Vaccination and Immunization Records

Upload Your Vaccination Records to Student Health Center — Danforth Campus‘ Portal
See information here about how to upload your records and what is required of you prior to coming to campus.

For more information about preparing for move-in, please review the Health and Well-being Guide.

Health and Well-being Guide

Renter’s Insurance through Gradguard

WashU has partnered with GradGuard to offer renter’s insurance to students. You can obtain renter’s insurance through GradGuard via the Request Forms tab on the Housing Portal.

The Office of Residential Life strongly recommends that all students obtain renter’s insurance prior to their scheduled move-in date and time either through GradGuard or another provider of their choice to be covered in the event of theft, destruction, or loss of money, valuables, or other personal property belonging to, or in the custody of a student.

Bike registration

For students who bring bikes on campus, WashU provides free bike registration. If you are a Danforth Campus student, faculty or staff member who will park your bike on campus, it’s mandatory to register your bike with WashU and clearly display the registration shield on your bike.

Displaying a registration shield helps protect your bike from theft and facilitates the recovery of lost or stolen bikes. It also allows WashU to contact the owners of bikes that were impounded due to improper parking, (blocking pedestrian access, for example).

If you aren’t sure about bringing a bike, consider renting a bike from a student-owned business, WashU Bear Bikes. Bears Bikes exist today to help the WashU community move sustainably. No need to bring one with you, it’s already here!