Move-In & Check-In

All new residential students

For all new residential students, checking in at move-in is the first step to moving to campus. This process begins in the First Year Village. Here, students pick up their fall orientation materials, resolve any holds on their records, pick up their OneCard student ID, obtain their keys to their residence hall, and swipe their OneCard to officially check-in to Goucher.

First-year, gap-year, & transferring residential students

New first-year, gap-year, and transferring residential students (who are not arriving early for a specific program) should plan to arrive at the for move-in on Saturday, August 17. Arrival times are determined by residence hall assignment. Each residential student will receive an email from the Office of Residential Life, sent to their Goucher email address, indicating their housing assignment. Once they receive the email, the student should select their move-in time. It's imperative that students (and their families/friends) arrive only during the time assigned. If a student arrives before their scheduled time, they will be asked to wait.

If students plan to shop at nearby stores and needs to unload right outside of their residence hall for a second time, please plan to arrive after 12:45 p.m. If, after shopping off campus, students can carry items from the Dorsey parking lot to their residence halls they can return to campus at any time.

Commuter Students

Commuter Students should plan to arrive after 1 p.m. on August 17 at the lobby of Mary Fisher Hall (outside the Student Market). Those commuting to campus will also pick up fall orientation materials, resolve any holds on accounts/records, pick up their One Card, and swipe to officially check into Goucher.

Early Arrival Move-In

Students who arrive early on campus (as required by their specific programs etc.) are assigned separate move-in times. Each early arriving program will have specific details for their participants, and students must have permission to move to campus earlier than August 17. For early arrival move-in, more details are communicated with the students by each program's director.

Early arrival dates

LAUNCH Program - August 3

Exchange & International Students - August 14

Fall Student Athletes - August 15

New Student Fall Orientation 

Fall orientation is August 17, 2024!

All new students are required to attend fall orientation. For new first-year students, transfer students, gap year students, and exchange students, Fall Orientation begins with meeting your Goucher Guide at 2 p.m. for our class photo.

Find more information in one of the schedules below:

First-Year Students Orientation Schedule (PDF)

Transfer & Exchange Students Orientation Schedule (PDF)

Orientation Schedule for Families (PDF)

Opening Celebration

Mark your calendar for 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, August 21!

At the close of New Student Fall Orientation, students, faculty, and staff are invited to Opening Celebration.

Beginning in the center of the campus, ALL students are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED to wear their class color and join in the processional, followed by a cheer contest, games, food trucks, and more! We're excited to announce that Coach Javin Dodd will serve as our official emcee. 

Classes begin on Thursday, August 22. View other important dates for students.

For questions or additional information, feel free to email welcome@goucher.edu, residentiallife@goucher.edu, or firstyear@goucher.edu.