New Cal Poly students arrive for move-in — with the most living on campus ever
The rumble of the big, green carts returned to the streets and sidewalks at Cal Poly as thousands of students arrived to move into campus dorms ahead of Week of Welcome and the first day of classes on Sept. 21.
Thursday was the first wave of several days of arrivals, with first-year and transfer students hauling in the backpacks, laptops, clothes and conglomeration of miscellaneous items they brought to make college life a success.
More first-year and transfer students were set to move in on Friday, while continuing students were scheduled to bring their belongings on Monday and Tuesday.
“This is an exciting week for Cal Poly, as we welcome our newest Mustangs and prepare for the return of our continuing students,” said Keith Humphrey, Cal Poly’s vice president for student affairs, in a statement. “We hope the community joins us in welcoming all students back as we dive into another productive year.”
A total of 8,801 students are expected to move into on-campus housing at Cal Poly — a new record high for the university, according to spokesman Matt Lazier.
The university is at full capacity and has figured out how to fit more students into on-campus housing than ever before.
The yakʔitʸutʸu four-person rooms have been configured as five-person rooms for the 2023-24 academic year, Lazier said.
About two-thirds of Cal Poly’s first-year students are expected to live in three-person rooms, 28.8% in doubles and 5.5% in quintuples, according to Lazier.
As of Aug. 26, the university had about 22,114 students enrolled for fall 2023, however that number won’t be final until November. That’s up about 2.8% from 21,503 students enrolled during fall 2022, according to university data.
Exciting day for new Cal Poly students and families
One student moving into the dorms on Thursday, Aidan Fitzpatrick from Arroyo Grande, said it was essential to have a television in his room so he and his roommates could watch football.
During his first year at Cal Poly, the construction management major said he hopes to “keep my academics up, meet a lot of people and have fun” as well as “experience a new chapter.”
Hollie Downs, mother of Christian, a first-year student studying English, said she was excited to send her son to Cal Poly.
“This is an amazing accomplishment, and we’re going to miss him so much,” she said, noting she was from Palos Verdes near Long Beach. “But I can’t help but be just so happy for him and proud of him.”
