The required CommonVU Orientation will begin with Move-In Day on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. Orientation will include sessions and activities to prepare you for your Vanderbilt journey.

Through CommonVU Orientation, you will learn more about your academic program, be introduced to extracurricular opportunities and campus resources, and get to know other members of your class. Additionally, you will meet your student and faculty VUceptors who will serve as guides throughout your first semester at Vanderbilt. More information about the CommonVU Orientation schedule will be shared on this page in early July.

If you or one of your guests require accommodations to participate fully in CommonVU Orientation or Parents & Family Orientation, please contact us at commons@vanderbilt.edu or (615) 322-4948. As much notice as possible is appreciated.

International Student Orientation (ISO) is required for all international first-year undergraduates and begins with international move-in on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. International transfer students and domestic students currently living abroad are also welcome to attend, but it is not required. If you would like to participate, please email commons@vanderbilt.edu by July 14, 2025. New international graduate students should consult with their individual programs and departments for an orientation schedule. After International Student Orientation, first-year international students will also participate in the required CommonVU Orientation.

If you or one of your guests require accommodations to participate fully in International Student Orientation or Parents & Family Orientation, please contact us at commons@vanderbilt.edu or (615) 322-4948. As much notice as possible is appreciated.

Parent and Family Orientation will be offered in the afternoon and evening on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. A specific schedule will be released when the CommonVU Orientation schedule is released in July. Sessions will be livestreamed and recorded for families who need to depart early. Families should plan to depart campus after Parent and Family Orientation has concluded as all sessions beginning on Sunday, Aug. 17 are for students only. If you would like additional information on how to get involved with the Vanderbilt community, please email Parents and Family Programs.

Additional Information

If you require accommodations to participate fully in Parents & Family Orientation, please contact us at commons@vanderbilt.edu or (615) 322-4948. As much notice as possible is appreciated.

View Recording from August 2024 (skip to 35:38 for formal beginning)

Be sure to visit the Parents and Family Programs webpage to stay up to date on upcoming events.

Move-In Day for the Class of 2029 will take place on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. Students will be provided with a specific move-in time between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m. with their room assignment information.

First-year international students should plan to move-in early on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, to participate in International Student Orientation.

Room assignment information will be e-mailed to all incoming first-year students on or around August 1, 2025. Prior to Move-In Day, Housing and Residential Experience will be preparing the halls for your arrival and as a result, will not be able to accommodate early move-in requests. Please plan your travel to Nashville accordingly. For specific details regarding first-year student move-in, visit the Housing and Residential Experience Website.

Watch a recap of Move-In from fall 2024 below.

From bi-weekly emails, summer webinars, and Instagram reels, Residential Colleges wants to make sure all new students and families feel ready to join the Vanderbilt community. Click the link below to view past content and sign up for future webinars.

Summer Communications Page

Every summer Vanderbilt’s incoming first-year students complete a common assignment. This year the programming on The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons will focus on “Stories that Connect Us”.

During your time at Vanderbilt, you will share, listen to, and become a part of many different and powerful stories. In doing so, you will be exposed to a range of perspectives that may inspire your curiosity, conflict with one another and perhaps even challenge your own assumptions. Engaging with these diverse viewpoints helps you to become a discerning scholar and leader—one who is capable of not simply absorbing the ideas of others, but of thoughtfully integrating them into your evolving understanding of the world and of yourself.  Doing this requires listening to others’ stories with an openness to the idea that your own viewpoints can change.

To view full instructions, check out the Summer Assignment webpage.

Vanderbilt Visions allows groups of new students to discover college life together.

All first-year students will be assigned to one of 85 Visions groups. These groups—each of which is made up of about 20 first-year students—meet weekly throughout the first six weeks of the semester. Visions groups help you form strong connections and support networks with classmates across different houses, schools, perspectives, and geographical backgrounds and assist with your transition to becoming a successful college student. Visions also connects you with a faculty member and an upper-division student peer mentor, called faculty and student VUceptors. Visions encourages you and your classmates to express your questions, ideas, and opinions and learn from and with each other.

Click here to view more information on Move-In and Orientation for Mid-Year Enrollees.