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July 29 Weekly Update: Get to Know Winston-Salem

Bottom Line, Up Front

  • Upcoming key dates or action items for families
  • Get to know Winston-Salem
  • Recommendations from WFU families
  • Visit our beautiful beaches, mountains, and/or golf courses

Dear parents and families of incoming students,

We’re coming down to the finish line with our weekly emails sharing FYIs, due dates, and other important information for you as your student gets ever closer to Move-In. (In case you missed last week’s message, it is archived here).

Today we are going to talk about how to get to know Winston-Salem, your students’ new home!

Upcoming key dates or action items for families 

Here’s what you should know this week.

  • If your student plans to bring a car to campus, first-year student vehicle registration will begin Friday, August 1 at 9:00 a.m. EST. For your student to register a vehicle, they will need to visit the WFU Parking Portal. This website is also a great place to find information about parking during certain events like Thanksgiving, Winter Break, and Spring Break as well as details about airport shuttle service. PLEASE NOTE: To access the parking portal, your Deac must specifically select their WFU Google account to login. Otherwise, they will not be able to access the portal. All other Google users must be logged out completely.
  • Tuition is due August 1: Fall tuition and fees are visible in Workday on the Student Financials App. See this helpful job aid for Workday student financials.
    • Important: if your Deac has not made you a Third Party User yet, strongly encourage them to do so. It’s to their benefit to have someone else see when tuition is due! This is also what allows us to speak with you about your student’s billing details.
  • Log into the QuikPay portal to make a payment for your student’s tuition and you will be prompted to enroll in or decline GradGuard tuition insurance. The GradGuard tuition insurance plan ensures up to a 100% tuition refund throughout the semester for tuition, fees, meal plan, and housing (up to $50,000.00) in case of withdrawal due to accident, illness, mental health, death of a payer, or loss of employment of a payer. The deadline to enroll in tuition insurance for the Fall is 8/24.
  • Is your Deac interested in Club Sports? There will be a Club Sports webinar tonight (July 29) at 6:00 p.m. Eastern. How to join the webinar (Passcode: 241862). The webinar will be recorded and posted on the Club Sports website in the coming days.
  • Many families have been asking for details about their move-in day. We thank you for your patience as we gather final details, which will be shared in the August 12 Weekly Message, which will provide comprehensive support about all aspects of move in. In the meantime, here is a high-level look for you:
    • Check in times vary by move-in day:
      • Thursday, August 14 (Marching Band only): 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
      • Friday, August 15 (Wilderness to Wake only): 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
      • Saturday, August 16 (all other Pre-Orientation programs): 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Note that there will be a coffee truck for those who wish to purchase a beverage; cash and cards accepted. They will be at the LJVM from 8:30-11:30 a.m.
      • Tuesday, August 19 (all new international students not participating in a Pre-Orientation program) 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
      • Wednesday, August 20 (all students not doing Pre-Orientation): 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Note that there will be a coffee truck for those who wish to purchase a beverage; cash and cards accepted.
    • Move In Assistance (i.e., volunteers to help carry belongings to your student’s room) will be available at the following days/times:
      • Saturday, August 16 from 9 a.m. to noon
      • Tuesday, August 19 (all new international students not participating in a Pre-Orientation program) 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Assistance for international students will be available for move-in to help you arrive at your residence hall from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Staff will not be available to carry your luggage or belongings into the residence hall. 
      • Wednesday, August 20 from 8 a.m. to noon
      • When all belongings are unloaded, Move-In Assistance volunteers will help carry your student’s things to their room, and you will be instructed to drive to one of our parking lots and walk back to your student’s residence hall.
      • NOTE: If your family arrives after the posted Move-In Assistance hours with volunteer movers (or when Move-In Assistance is unavailable), the family will need to move in all belongings. You may wish to bring foldable wagons or other carts with you in this case.

Get to know Winston-Salem

  • I am admittedly biased because I have lived here for 30+ years, but Winston-Salem is a great small city. Generally speaking, it is friendly, it is inexpensive (relative to a lot of the places our students come from), and it is also a pretty safe city relative to a lot of bigger cities. So how can you get to know Winston-Salem, your student’s home for the next four years?
  • If you have not already checked out the Beyond Campus page of the New Students website, spend some time digging in at your leisure.
  • This article from June 25 in Garden and Gun magazine is all about some of the historic areas and homes in Winston-Salem and how many have become thriving dining and entertainment destinations.
  • There are also some great local resources that you can subscribe to. W-S Today is a relatively new e-newsletter but it is one I follow and I always find something in it that is worthwhile. You can sign up for their emails, which have lots of info on local activities, dining, day trips, and more.

Recommendations from WFU families

  • Every other year or so, we ask our current parents and families to share their best recommendations for local restaurants, hotels, and other places of interest. You can see what other families recommend and have a head start on finding local favorites.
  • Winston-Salem has a surprisingly good food scene for a small city, so I hope you will try out a good many of our dining options in town and see which ones appeal to you. I have eaten at a lot of the places our current WFU families recommended, and in my opinion they are spot on with their recommendations 🙂

Visit our beautiful beaches, mountains, and/or golf courses

  • Whether you are coming to drop off your student for Pre-Orientation (and need something to do for a couple of days before Family Orientation), or you want to spend a little extra time around Family Weekend – or any other time – North Carolina is a gem of a state. You can enjoy:
    • Mountains – Western NC is known for its beautiful mountain towns. In the Western NC high country, towns like Blowing Rock, Linville, and Boone are around 1.5-2 hours drive from Winston-Salem. Asheville and the foothills are just over 2 hours away. (Asheville is a favorite of mine – it is a terrific town for good food, breweries, and art). And the Western NC mountain towns are trying to recover their normal tourism after Hurricane Helene and would surely appreciate your business!
    • Beaches – Eastern NC has over 300 miles of beachfront. The Outer Banks are around 5.5 hours drive from Winston-Salem; the Crystal Coast is around 4-4.5 hours away; and Wilmington is about 3.5 hours away.
    • Golf – our wonderful NC climate allows golfing for much of the year. Whether you want to play at Pinehurst, or the beach, mountains, or anywhere in between, there are many great golf courses to explore.
    • Other things to do – see a comprehensive list of all NC has to offer.

Parting thoughts

We have only a couple more Weekly Updates coming to you, including a Move-In Guide (August 12th) with all the info you will need for move-in. Please know that we can’t wait to see you and your Deacs on campus very soon!

Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. (‘92, MA ‘94)
Executive Director of Family Communications

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