somethingzceltic

What does one pack when one goes off to a Northeastern school? We live in MD, but The School is all the way up in Providence, RI...

For example: are any summer clothes necessary, or does Fall begin with school? What sort of boots are good for snowy weather?

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated!

galwaymom

Well, the weather in Providence is not that drastically different from MD's weather, actually, unless you are really far south.
Summers can be very, very warm, so summer clothes are a must even into early fall. In the winter, Uggs are still the fashion for girls- boys wear anything and everything on their feet! Providence is on the coast, of course, so less intense snowfall than more interior and northern New England areas.

mathmom

There's very little difference between MD and RI weather. Depending on when school starts you'll need pretty summery clothes at the beginning of the year. If she doesn't have boots now, I'd probably just let her buy them when she's up there and knows what her friends are wearing. I didn't wear boots except when there was actually snow on the ground. My boys, who walk to school, wear sneakers all the time.

jym626

My boys wear these kind of things Sorel Hood River Boots - 6-½", Water Resistant (For Men) - Save 36% or these Sorel -25ºF Snow Boots - Crestwynd, Water-Resistant (For Women) - Save 37% (oops, that picture is for women, but you get my drift) when they go skiing, but don't know if they'd wear them on a college campus, except to play in the snow. Schools usually clear paths to walk pretty quickly, and if you wear really warm boots to class, ones feet may sweat. Eww.

Dont know if you have a s. or a d., but most seem to like North Face jackets. I agree with those above who indicate that MD and RI weather isn't very different. It iwll get warm and sunny in the mid/late spring. They will wear shorts then, but they can bring them back to school with them from spring break.

Consolation

Right now this "What to Pack" thread is appearing right under the thread entitled "US Air Flight XXXX Lands on Hudson River."

One is tempted to respond "a wet suit!"

VeryHappy

While MD and RI get the same weather, RI of course is more north, so it gets longer falls and winters. Maybe MD gets warm two or three weeks sooner in the spring and colder two or three weeks later in the fall. Other than that, not much different.

jym626

Consolation-
LOL! I'd add a parachute. And those waterproof boots seem like a good idea now that you mention it.

BCEagle91

"all the way up in Providence..."

Chuckle. I spent a few hours getting about 6 inches of ice (up to a foot in some places) along with a foot of snow off a roof. That includes a lot of hammering the ice to break it up into chunks that could be shoveled or thrown off the roof. No gloves, just picked up the ice with my hands and heaved it over.

Providence is pretty close to the water so you shouldn't get the bitter cold temperatures in northern New England. Even up here, the weather isn't that bad in the fall (most of the time) and it can be summerish even into December. Coat, boots, gloves, scarfs are probably good to have along with a range of stuff that can be used from the 80s to the 40s.

NewHope33

"all the way up in Providence..."

Chuckle. Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle. Current temps:
Baltimore ............ 23 degrees
Providence .......... 30 degrees
Caribou, Maine ..... 8 degrees (-4 windchill)

(Kinda warm in Maine today.)

ghostfire13

All of you crack me up. My kid went from Southern California to the Midwest. The same Midwest that was in the single digits last week. Her only comment was, "It's not that bad."

VeryHappy

You get used to it. You deal with it. Life goes on.

And, as I've said before, There's no bad weather; there's only bad clothes.

Dress for it and you'll be fine.

somethingzceltic

Thanks, all! I'll remember the wetsuit. Doesn't sound like it'll be too big of an adjustment : )

stuytechmom

I have twin sons -- one going to Ithaca, NY next fall and the other to St. Paul, Minnesota. My question really is how much clothing does a guy take to college -- especially since they will need warm clothes? Is there anything like a sleepaway camp packing list with numbers of socks, etc that make sense considering the limited storage space in a college dorm room?

Also, I assume we have to wait for roommate assignments to make decisions on things like refrigerators and TVs.

We plan to buy each boy a laptop. Do students consult with the college before buying computers? How about printers?

As you can see, I have a lot of packing questions. I'd like to take advantage of any sales that I see in the end of the winter.

BCEagle91

Colleges should have a web page explaining the IT environment. Some colleges require you to buy one of their laptops along with the software and services that they provide. You (or your kids) should look for information from their colleges. It might also be a good idea to contact students at their colleges to get any tips about their IT environment.