<p>What is the best way for a freshman to prepare/purchase/pack for college when moving from the West (AZ) to the East Coast (NY)?</p>
<p>She needs clothes for fall and winter as well as things for her dorm room. The problem is how to purchase and get it all there. How have others handled the logistics of this type of move?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>You can order online from Bed Bath & Beyond and they will ship it to her dorm address so it will be waiting there for her. Sheet sets, comforter, pillow, waste-basket, lamp etc.</p>
<p>Winter coat, gloves etc., can also be done online and shipped…LLBean, REI, Northface etc.</p>
<p>Shampoos, detergents etc. can be purchased locally.</p>
<p>If she is flying alone, she can have 1 hand luggage and 2 larger suitcases. Check allowances as some airlines have changed. Laptop, IPod, important documents in your backpack.</p>
<p>Make sure she applies for/renews her passport before leaving, as its just easier to take care of this stuff from home. And then they suddenly decide they want to study abroad, or do a Spring service project…</p>
<p>Other items for pre-ordering/shipping:
alarm clock, bed raisers, extension cords, multi-plugs, hangers, laundry pop-up hamper, towels, </p>
<p>Back-pack:
cellphone, charger, camera, important meds., bank-stuff, calculator,</p>
<p>Suitcase
Toiletries, general meds., hair-dryer, clothes, shoes, stapler, pens, tape, light jacket (as it can get cold in October), rain gear, flipflops.</p>
<p>There are shopping lists in the College Life Thread, but those are over-kill. Another important thing to do if she is flying alone, is to set her up with a debit/ATM card from a bank that is on her campus.</p>
<p>Your child is lucky to be coming to NYC! It is a wonderful city-- I have lived here all my life and have reared a daughter here who is also going to be a freshman this September (though not in NYC 
). My best advice for weather related clothing is that it can get very wet and rather cold during the winter. Arizona is so dry… If you have good warm waterproof clothing and shoes you will be fine as far as the weather goes. Winter is not really terribly cold all the time. Sometimes, but layers will work. Of course it will be very cold compared to desert weather! </p>
<p>There is nothing you can’t buy in NYC. So, don’t worry about that, but I would agree that having big things shipped to the dorm is a great idea because traveling with bulky packages on the subway or bus is awkward and hard.</p>
<p>Have a great time!</p>
<p>Check the college’s Web site and the information sent by the housing department before shipping anything. There may be restrictions on when your packages can arrive.</p>
<p>At the college my daughter will be attending (also in New York, but not in the city), ordinary mailed or UPS packages must not arrive until move-in day or later. However, there is a local company that will (for a fee, of course) accept packages that are shipped in advance and deliver them (with the college’s cooperation) so that they will be waiting in the student’s dorm room on move-in day. This has to be arranged a couple of weeks ahead of time to allow time for shipping and time for delivery in the college community.</p>
<p>You may want to see what sorts of arrangements are available in your child’s college community before you make decisions about shipping.</p>
<p>For what it is worth…NY is warm in the fall…so winter coat, booths, gloves, hats etc are definitely items that can come back with your daughter after thanksgiving…a lot of kids have NorthFace type fleece jackets…and a raincoat that can go over a fleece jacket is a nice layering option too… </p>
<p>I know I made a mistake in “gearing” up for my son’s move to college… girls potentially are able to communicate more readily than guys… conceiveably they can share some first aid stuff… some college washers can automatically dispense soap as part of the cost of the cycle…you can bring more “supplies” during a fall visit, if that is in the cards…but, honestly, it can be fun to procure some things after the fact… spend the upfront $$ on a few key wardrobe items and a great pillow…stuff they will use every day because it will eventually become evident what they really need vs what we all want them to have “in case”… </p>
<p>I know a gal who brought 23 pairs of shoes/mostly sandels in Aug/Sept to freshman year… most dorm rooms just cannot accomodate that many pairs of shoes…</p>
<p>And hopefully she can order things via the web as needed shortly after arriving… that will give her some things to do during the early days when one wants to be a bit busy…</p>
<p>in my opinion…of course, one of my son’s roommates “threw away/left for recycling” all his linens at the end of this year…cause he couldn’t take them home… mattress cover, sheets, comforter, pillows…too much stuff really can be a burden…</p>