| Random Thoughts
First - I want to thank the OP and everyone else with positive contributions. It was all incredibly helpful. My daughter started in a tiny double at a college 3 hrs. away, then in a suite (private bedroom, shared bathroom, small shared common room), and then transferred to a college over 6 hrs. away with a 2 bedroom on-campus apartment (private bedroom & bathroom, living room & full kitchen). Now my son is getting ready to go 6 hrs. away and will probably be in a double or triple. So - random thoughts:
1) take the good advice offered - copy everything and then edit to your taste. Everyone's needs, room, and situation differ.
2) it is not my intent to be sexist, but common sense will tell you that lists for female students will differ from male students, just as the list for art students will differ from engineering students.
3) take into account car vs. plane. If you're driving in, bring as much as you can to avoid shopping near school. Shopping might take more time than you've allotted for your trip. If you leave the shopping to the student, it might not get done before the items are needed. Unlike high school, college classes tend to hit the ground running and the student also needs to find their way around, meet people, buy books, etc. Not all schools offer free shopping busses or access to shopping and your student might not have their own car. If you're flying in, allow enough time to shop. Also take into account the dorm room itself. There is very little space in a typical double or triple, whereas apartments or suites will allow for more kitchen/bathroom/decor
4) Amazon prime rocks! Amazon carries everything and their prices are really good. Invest in a one-year membership in Amazon prime (I think it's about $74) and parent or student can order what they need on-line and have it delivered for free in 2 days. If you're flying this is especially helpful since you can time the deliveries to arrive as needed. Also, many colleges have "deals" with various services or shops that you can take advantage of. For example Syracuse has a deal with bed bath & beyond that allows you to order in advance and pick up at school for no extra charge, and many colleges have arrangements with rhl.org or similar sites that provide free shipping for college essentials like bedding
5) again, not intending to be sexist but my son never hangs up anything but coats. I'm getting him some stackable milk crates or cubes to put in his closet for jeans and shorts, etc.
6) a small set of drawers (3 or more) that can either be used as a nightstand or tucked into a closet will be really useful. This is where you can store meds, tools, flashlight, school supplies, etc.
7) most dorm rooms have one thing in common - limited "surface space". There is very little space to just drop stuff so you might want to limit things that aren't going into a drawer or closet if you're dealing with a typical dorm room (as opposed to an apartment or house)
8) Heavy duty command strip hooks come in really handy for hanging up robes and wet jackets in dorm rooms too small for a coat tree
9) pack in collapsible boxes and bags if you can. They take up less space in your car going up and aren't as much work carrying back to the car
Again - many thanks to all the contributors who made my packing lists so easy for the past 3 years!
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