Hi. Any advice for parents who are sending their kids away in the fall a plane ride or two away from those of you who have been through it before? What was most helpful in terms of move in, taking care of things from afar if needed, getting them acclimated, dealing with holidays, etc.
Following!
Move in: Most colleges have a warehouse where items can be shipped in advance and picked up at move in. Bedding, etc. can be purchased at Bed, Bath & Beyond in your town and picked up in college town. We rented a minivan when we arrived and made several trips to BBB and Target to buy dorm stuff for our daughters (as opposed to the one foot locker of belongings I had when I moved into college). Hope it’s not too sexist to say that girls’ move in will be probably be more involved than boys. 
Return to home flights can be difficult to book in advance since the students typically don’t know their pre holiday schedules and frequently classes are cancelled right before the holidays. However, back to school flights on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, for example, are very pricey and should be booked well in advance.
Just off the top of my head as D17 finishes up her sophomore year across the country:
1). Utilize the “pack and hold” deals that Bed Bath and Beyond, Target, etc have. We walked around our local BBB with a scan gun, picked out the things we thought D17 needed. When we got to her college, the local BBB had her stuff in a big rolling cart. We put back anything we no longer wanted/needed then purchased everything with our 20% coupon for college kids (takes it off total sale rather than one item).
Do not bring too much stuff with you - wait and see the size of the room. Remember whatever you take with you needs a place to go at the end of the year. D17 shared a small storage unit with her roommate last summer. Cost us $125 I think for the whole summer.
- We purchased the blue IKEA Frakta zippered duffel bags for things she was flying to school with. They are large and sturdy and fold up easily to be stored in dorm room (suitcases are harder to store in small dorm room). She checked those on her flight and brought a carry on suitcase on plane with her and that was what she used for any in between trips home. https://m2.ikea.com/us/en/p/frakta-storage-bag-for-cart-blue-90149148/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwn8_mBRCLARIsAKxi0GKwGg8E-glQEqsFjkFG_P6SZx7ysUYjAmIP-2LvwqjxaG0vhdGQmhgaAsyLEALw_wcB
3). If possible, book direct flights. You don’t want your kid stranded at Thanksgiving or Christmas in a random connecting city b/c a connecting flight was missed due to delays or worse, canceled due to weather, etc.
- watch flights to figure out what is considered a good fare. Purchase any holiday tickets well in advance before the cheaper seats are sold out. Find out as soon as possible when final exams are so you know the last possible day student will be there. Exams are typically listed on class syllabus.
5). If you are flying out to visit for a university event and the area doesn’t have many hotels, make sure to book immediately. I just spent this morning reserving hotels for all of S19’s home games this fall. Some hotels are already booked solid and others have already raised their prices.
6). Find out ahead of time the nearest ER/clinic that takes your insurance for any medical issues the campus clinic cannot deal with
7). Make sure to get medical power of attorney, etc handled. Some states require them to be notarized in the state where the student goes to school (we had to notarize D’s in her state when we got there -fortunately our hotel had a FEDEX store in the lobby with a notary on site which we knew ahead of time)
8). Set up an Uber/Lyft account if needed (D uses Uber to get to airport and occasionally to run errands)
That’s my quick list but I might think of others
Thanksgiving. If your student will fly home for Thanksgiving, tru to understand the schedule now. Some colleges have the entire week off. Some have half a day on Wednesday. Some have class all day and evening on Wednesday but professors may choose to cancel on a class by class basis. A good question to ask on the first day of class.
End of semester travel. Another good question to ask on the first day is when the final for each class is scheduled.
Book those Thanksgiving fares now. They will not get any cheaper.
For move in, Southwest’s two free checked bags is a godsend. 
Get a credit card that gives you a lot of bonus points on whatever airline is most helpful, then stock up on those miles, so that you always have 25k (Or whatever you need) for a last minute urgent trip home.
If you have a friend or family member within a short driving distance, consider having them be the emergency contact (our kids asked us if they could do this instead of listing us who are a long plane ride away).
If other family members will be coming to move in, consider asking them to have all their things in a small personal item like a small backpack so the student can use their larger carry on for his/her things. Remember, less is more–they do have perfectly fine stores in most parts of the US and if you’re going to have a car, you can help your student get around and round up the things that s/he needs without having to shlep it to the dorm and then back home again. Pretty much anything else that’s nonurgent can be ordered online for delivery on campus later.
Our kids just planned on one trip home for Christmas and one for the summer each year. It worked for us. For the other breaks, they spent it with their new classmates and their various friends.
Get their roommate contact info. We got a call from S’s firstyear suitemate when he had an accidental injury, letting us know that he was ok but was at the emergency room. It was nice to have an on-the-ground report. (The story - consistent with both of them - was that he fell out of bed and hit his head on the edge of a table. I’m choosing to believe that.)
Agree with the above, great tips! Especially about Thanksgiving, and when they will truly be able to come home…it may make sense to book changeable flights on that one in the highly likely case that the last classes get cancelled. I will add…investigate shipping costs before deciding what you are going to ship for the move in. We shipped some pillows, thinking they were light, and well, it cost more to ship them than it would have to buy them new (or add them to the Bed Bath and Beyond pack and hold list). USPS Priority mail flat rate boxes are great for smaller stuff if you are shipping long distances.
If Southwest flies where they are going, it is hard to beat no change fees and 2 bags free. My kids didn’t mind the plane changes. The sandwich lover has scoped out the best sandwiches at every Southwest hub. ?
We did this…across country. Flew Southwest…two of us. Each had two large checked bags, a backpack carryon, and a personal item (instrument case and computer case).
Suitcase 1 had linens…comforter, one set of sheets, towels.
Suitcase 2 had kid’s clothing, shoes, etc.
Suitcase 3 had the rest of the clothing and shoes.
Suitcase 4 had desk supplies and things needed like a surge protector. It also had my clothes.
Backpacks had all our toiletries and personal items.
We rented a car.
We ordered more bulky things at BBB near our home for pick up near the college. This included mattress pad, bed pillows, chair cushion for desk chair, desk lamp, stuff like that.
We made a Target run for shampoo, soaps, cleaning supplies, and a small TV (our contribution). Fridge was rented from the school.
Went to Office Depot for a cheap printer.
Free additional advice…pick an airline and sign up for their frequent flyer program.
Make sure your kid has all the airline contact info on their phone.
TSA precheck is well worth it
Yes, to TSA pre-check! Also, consider rolling items to pack them. You can fit a lot more in a smaller area. You can use space bags as well, but honestly kids don’t NEED all that much. If the student needs more, it can be mailed, brought up at Parents Weekend, brought back at Thanksgiving, purchased online.
If I recall correctly, our S took two suitcases of clothing, one suitcase 1/2 bedding, 1/2 school supplies & misc., with one suitcase with other things we thought he might need. There were 4 of us flying, and we each were allowed 2 suitcases (old United plan), so we didn’t even use our entire allotment. We did go to Costco, Target, Office Depot, and Frye’s Electronics for a few odds and ends. When D moved up, she only used her suitcase and her backpack, if I recall, maybe also my suitcase & I put my clothing in H’s suitcase. S gave D a ton of the things he didn’t want or need and helped her acquire anything else she needed.
If you have a close friend or relative living near the college, see if you can mail packages to her. My daughter’s school was within 100 miles to my aunt’s house and we washed all the new linens etc sent to her house. During summers, we also stored a few items in her garage.
Yes to booking nonstop direct flights home. My son who was 3000 miles away came home every break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring. Now he lives close to where he went to school, I was happy we saw him so often. Save your miles/points for award flight booking.
Re holiday travel, both my opposite-coast-undergrad sons preferred we use the dates dorms opened and closed to book their travel at the beginning and end of semester. It was nice having the lead time rather than waiting for exam schedules to come out.
Adding…for the move in, we actually bought four very cheap big suitcases at Goodwill…and we only kept one after move in. The rest got tossed.
Four years later for graduation, we borrowed suitcases from our neighbors. There were three of us flying…so we borrowed 5 suitcases (one was still in the college town from move in). We made it very clear to DD that anything that didn’t fit in the five suitcases was not coming back to our house. She did ship a box of box…but everything she wanted to keep fit in the six suitcases.
If space might be tight, have your child bring a bag that will fold flat, like a duffel. It will fit just about anywhere without taking up space but can hold a lot and is durable. Take the larger suitcases that are bulky home.
@HouseChatte that’s great advice but unfortunately wouldn’t work for D17. D17’s university starts after Labor Day so they don’t finish their final exams until days before Christmas. This past Christmas, her last exam was the last day of exams on the Friday before Christmas. She had to take the red eye home, got back Saturday morning and had just those three days to finish up her Christmas shopping. If she had finished her exams even one or two days earlier, not only would her flight have been cheaper but she also would have had a few extra days to unwind/shop before the holiday onslaught. For her finals this semester, I needed to know ASAP when her last exam was because her finals are the same week as S19’s graduation. When she got her syllabus, of course her last exam is scheduled for the same day as his graduation! She was able to ask her professor if she could take it with a different section, but the only flight I could get her that worked still has her arriving at 6:30am the morning of graduation, less than 3 hrs before we need to be at S19’s baccalaureate Mass and graduation.
Both kids went cross country…non-stop flights were not an option. 
1- Book not only your hotels for move in/move out/graduation/football/parents weekends as soon as you can, but also
your rental cars (especially for move in and out)…suv’s or vans are helpful!
2- Make sure kids have credit cards for traveling. Where are the ATM’s/banking options.
3- Investigate options for them to get to and from airports, especially first year. Again, my kids were not in a city with
airport, so ymmv. They tend to figure out for themselves after the first year.
4- If they have to connect on flights…have Plan B! Have had to arrange hotel rooms when the second flight was
cancelled due to weather…and some hotels reluctant to give room to 18 year olds…
5- Check university policies wrt what can and can’t be in dorms. We had one that did not allow certain appliances in
the rooms. Some do not allow egg carton foam mattresses. There may be restrictions wrt lofting beds.
6- Check U policies wrt sending packages. One of ours did not accept packages until after the first week of classes.
Also, get the mailing address…and make sure your kid knows where the mailroom is. One had right in the dorm…
the other had to go to main facility two blocks away–which did not happen often.
7- Personal printers saved a lot of stress for mine…good investment.
8- If space, a two drawer locking filing cabinet was quite useful. Held the printer on top. Lock up laptops, passports,
sensitive stuff when gone for weekend.
9- Make sure your kid knows where Urgent Care and Hospital are. On campus clinics are not usually 24 hours and
rarely does one get sick/need care between 8-5. Locate nearest pharmacy. Give kid your insurance card.
10- Make doctor/dentist/dermatologist/hair appointments now for when home at holidays or break.
11- Have a copy of kid’s credit card/bank card/DL, front and back, so when they lose, easier to cancel, replace.
Make sure they have hard copy of phone numbers–in case they lose their phones. Mine had no clue what
phone numbers were because they just hit “MOM” or “Dad - office” on their phone.
12- Pile everything they think they need to take–and leave half home.
13- BBB/Target/Walmart near move in days will test the patience of the best. Make sure you have food and water
for that day…people get hangry early and often.