Standing outside Spruce Hall on Wednesday morning, Tristan Jones said he was both excited and anxious.
“I’m a little nervous coming to a gigantic school and meeting a ton of people all at once,” he said.
Jones was one of about 3,000 students moving into residence halls during Indiana University’s official move-in day. More than 4,000 students opted to move in early
Combined, those students are expected to set a record for the largest beginner class at IU-Bloomington. The term “beginner” refers to any student who is new to campus and seeking a degree. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors and even seniors can be included in the beginner class. However, some students who are not new to campus are still considered freshmen because they have earned fewer than 30 credit hours.
While numbers aren’t official until IU’s census is conducted Aug. 28, preliminary estimates show a class of 7,995. That’s about 100 more than the record set in 2015.
Most of the students in this year’s class — about 55 percent — are expected to be Indiana residents. Leesa Harris’ son J.P. Harris was one of them. They left Crown Point in northern Indiana at about 5 a.m. Central Daylight Time and got to Bloomington at about 9:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
“It was an early morning,” Leesa Harris said.
She had a full crew of helpers, which included her mom, daughter and best friend. Her son didn’t necessarily have that much stuff to move, but it was an emotional time for everyone involved.