Duke Senior taking questions - Page 4

SBR · 07-23-2009, 12:03 PM

it depends on who you need to call

adrivit · 07-23-2009, 12:45 PM

Well, I certainly won't be calling my parents back home in India(I'll use gtalk or something). I don't have a girlfriend and even if someday I do, I'll just send her an email to meet me in the gardens rather than pay Verizon. What I thought I needed a phone for was if somebody tried to contact me. I have an iPod touch, so I can check email pretty conveniently. How bad will it be if people can't contact me on phone?

Another thing, Offering XL twin sheets,college dorm bedding, dorm linens, storage, bath essentials How's this for a deal? I will be coming to the US for the first time from India, so yes, convenience regarding getting to sleep after a 30 hour journey is big for me. What say?

SBR · 07-23-2009, 01:05 PM

If you are not going to be using your phone all that much, I'd suggest getting a prepaid phone or something. All the major carriers have such no-contract pay-as-you-go plans (though I hear verizon's is pretty bad). Other MVNOs also offer such services.

As for that dorm room bedding package, it's on the expensive side, but if it's convenience you are after, the set has pretty much everything you'll need. Another thing is how will you get the stuff to school? The website says they ship to home not the school and I know that Duke doesn't accept packages until move in. If you are just gonna bring it with you, might as well buy the stuff at home or when you get to school.

adrivit · 07-23-2009, 11:05 PM

Thanks!

They do infact ship straight to my dorm, it's part of the Blue Devil's Delivery, this was actually the convenience factor that I was weighing in, I get everything right when I arrive on campus. How much more expensive are we talking here? $20-30, any idea?

HiWei · 07-23-2009, 11:57 PM

I remember getting the complete bedding package when I first got onto campus (back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth). If you do decide to go this route, you would definitely be paying a premium for the convenience. Depending on which package you get (I think there are 2 or 3), I'd say you can expect to be paying at least 25 to 40% more than if you were to go to Target and buy the stuff yourself. I definitely haven't done the appropriate research to be throwing numbers out like that, but that would be my best educated guess based on other things that Duke tries to sell to you.

The package itself is pretty satisfactory in that its not the best material you can find, but you probably also won't need to worry about anything included in that package again for the rest of your college life.

My best advice to you would be to look for really good deals that exist even now for bedding and shower stuff. I especially like fatwallet.com or slickdeals.net forums myself. A simple search like,
Macy's bedding sale
can save you quite a bit of money. Also the a lot of these sites have free shipping and if you time it pretty well (might take a little experience with shopping and shipping), it'll be the same as Blue Devil Delivery... if not, you live a day or two without sheets (oh, no...)

Hmm... having typed all this, I just realized you're an international student. Everything I typed above may or may not apply to you because you may value convenience even more. For everyone else, I believe buying outside-of-Duke is usually the way to go.

loveduke22 · 07-24-2009, 12:14 AM

My advice is to talk to your roommate, and see what their move-in plans are. Target is PACKED with students those first few days, and chances are they or someone else will be headed there within like, 3 hours of moving in.

Best case scenario is that your roommate has a car and you can slip over there that night or something and pick up things you need. Or just ask a hallmate if you can bum a ride. It will be a great way to meet some people. You always realize you're missing things/need things for your room during move-in, so plenty of people will be headed in that direction multiple times (no move-in for me was complete without about 6 trips to Target.)

But then again, if you're most concerned with convenience, BDD is ok. The quality is not that great for the price, in my opinion, but if that's what works best than go for it.

adrivit · 07-24-2009, 03:02 AM

Thanks everybody! I guess I'll talk to my roommate, thing is, I haven't ever shopped before and in a store full of people eying the same stuff, chances are I may not land with the best deal and being international complicates matter more for me. For people who have used it, how bad is the quality? Could anybody explain via a comparison?

Shrinkrap · 07-24-2009, 03:18 AM

^Try Amazon, which has stuff from target. I ship my daughter stuff from Amazon all the time. I thought last year you could ship a day or two before move in, and you can time it around there. Amazon tells you how long it will take. I think Bed Bath and Beyond lets you preorder and ship later or pick up locally.

singersmom · 07-24-2009, 02:37 PM

adrivit - re: Telephone. Use Skype to contact your friends in India - you can download the app to your laptop. If you don't think you would use a telephone much you can buy a prepaid one - they are available in many of the stores like Target.

Since you are an International student you have resources through the International House. I assume you signed up for the International Student Orientation on August 17 and 18th? See this link:

International House :: Services :: Undergraduate

The International House also has a loan closet where you can borrow linens, blankets, etc. They also have shopping trips and will have on in August.

See the resources on this page - look at the list to the right:

International House :: Resources

Here is the info on shopping trips:

International House :: Services :: Shopping trips (bi-monthly)

Here is information on the loan closet:

International House :: Services :: Loan Closet

adrivit · 07-25-2009, 01:20 AM

^ Thanks!!!

adrivit · 07-25-2009, 09:56 PM

Everyone, I decided in favor of Walmart/Target. I'll be arriving there on the 15th, so I may get time to shop before everybody else. Thanks for all the help!!

loveduke22 · 07-25-2009, 10:42 PM

The amazing thing about Target is they never run out of things (dorm things...) during back to school season. Literally. The dorm necessities are just stockpiled around the store. So you needn't worry

noobcake · 07-26-2009, 01:21 AM

Lies, they ran out of every kind of desk lamp last year. Had to go to KMart

SBR · 07-26-2009, 02:58 AM

eh, lamps can be found everywhere, craigslist, Office depot, staples, target, kmart, walmart, costco, etc.

HiWei · 07-27-2009, 08:51 PM

Yea, I agree with noobcake. While Target is quite well supplied, they are not perfect. The Target on 15-501 will (I say this with like... 75% certainty) run out of the most important things because so many people from multiple colleges go there for their school needs around the same week.

If you can't find anything, don't worry because there are plenty of other options like SBR graciously provided above. I recommend trying to find stuff online because there are usually pretty good deals. Good luck.