Agree to make sure they have airport savvy. Not just in case of flight changes, but for them. They need to know how to read the status boards, get to gates, general rules (not leaving bags unattended, ) a lot of the little things. And what to do if they leave something behind or have to ask a question.
Then, how to get from the airport to the school and those what-ifs. Will there be a school van or they need to make their own way? How?
Agree, reconsider how much they truly need to schlep around the airport or from baggage, when they land.
There were no nonstops from my son’s college town. For any winter flights, I made sure to route my son’s change of plane as southern as was available, and especially avoided Chicago and Denver.
My D went to college about an hour away by plane or 8ish hours by car. We always drove her out at the beginning and end of each school year to help with move in/out. And she flew home other times…worked well for us.
If your student will be somewhere that snow days are possible, be careful about booking end of semester flights. My son had so many snow days one year, the semester was extended several days.
Oh, our experience renting cars under 25 was it varies by franchise, is their discretion. One home area Enterprise would not, no matter that the booking seemed ok with it. A 2nd lication would.
One of mine used the campus Zipcars. Any arrangements may be described on the school web.
Regarding summer storage, I plan to get small units for my two, rather than sharing, so that we have the key. Last year’s key holder to shared storage did not attend school this year! We were lucky the student was still in the area so we could get DS stuff back.
Regarding BBB - They have a college event during the summer and give 20% off all items purchased through October. Two options: You can do purchase and remote pick up. I prefer the second options - Pack (select) and pay upon remote pickup. With DS, there were things that we had found cheaper, were gifted, or just decided against by the time college started. We reviewed the physical cart they had wrapped for him and made the final decisions on what to buy at the store near his college. So easy.
@HouseChatte@calgal I agree…that being said, mine has spent night in DC, due to snow in SC and also Houston, due to thunderstorms there… so depending on your luck, it can happen with any connecting flight.
“We visited and witnessed how casual the students dress on campus, but my fashion-loving D is still insisting on needing her entire wardrobe of heels, dresses, and fashion-forward accessories. She’s crazy! (In a wonderful way, of course ) Any advice from those parents that have dealt with this?”
Yes! My girls were not “ put back half the stuff” kind of kids. . They brought THIRTY pairs of shoes, lots of costumes for parties. So many clothes. Just tons of stuff DH would grumble about it every year but after the first year where he had repeatedly warned that “ All that stuff will never fit” he had to eat his words. Here were some of our tips and tricks.
We used every available inch. Coats which could have taken up allot of space were hung on command hooks on the back of the door. We also used command hooks to hang back packs and purses. We stored a lot under the bed. Costumes for parties, extra toiletries and shoes often went there.
we we got the thinnest hangers possible. Made a big difference.
We waited until fall parents weekend to bring the real cold weather clothes. And we brought home summer clothes on that visit.
we used a small ottoman that was used as a step stool but also stored sweatshirts inside
we used Marie Kondo folding techniques in drawers. Again makes a big difference.
Holidays and school breaks were hardest for my D. She felt lonely and unsupported while many around her were giddy over being able to go home, hang with old friends, etc. my best friend and I went to visit (NYC) from So Cal and he noticed how happy she was to have familiar faces to hang out with. He made a suggestion to me that perhaps I could go to her 2x a year and she could make a trip home 2x a year. It wasn’t a cheap idea for certain (especially when I went…but over time I had friends join me to share costs) but it may have been a saving grace, as she got to look forward to seeing me (lifetime single parent) and hanging out with me and my friends (my friends have known her since birth, so more like family) a couple times a year and at home/her friends a couple times a year. Now she’s all grown up and we see one another only once or twice a year, and several times it’s been with my friends and she’ll join us on a Hawaii trip or some other cool adventure. It works for us even though I miss her. Thankful for texting (her preferred communication method) and occasional lengthy phone calls (initiated by her!).
No matter how much you’re taking with you/buying at BBB/shipping ahead, be sure your DC has a ceramic pineapple (the dorm decor item that launched a thousand posts).
I think having my kids attend college so far away was an important part of their education. They had to learn how to take care of many things on their own.
For a girl that wants to take a lot of stuff, I would second the under-the-bed plastic storage bins.
In five years in Maine, mine were never snowbound. The heavy stuff comes after Dec break. True in much of New England, along the coast. One year, everything was closed in NE in early March. They’re good about clearing the highway.
Some kids, when given a choice of sections for a class, may choose one with earlier finals.
Frankly, in life, I’ve had more issues flying through Chicago.
Here is a tip. If you have an AAA membership, include your child in the membership, even without a car. AAA benefits run to the person, not the car, so if your child is a passenger in a car that has a flat or whatever, the child can call AAA and they will come to the rescue. With college road trips and such, it provided peace of mind.
They just don’t need much to have a great year at college. Leave stuff home! Dorms are small. They’ll have to get it to storage over the summer. We bought D1a desk lamp. Paid a lot for it because everything at Target was sold out. She never used it and ditched it on a giveaway table at end of year. Amazon is great for what you actually do need and didn’t bring.
Southwest Southwest Southwest. No change fees is wonderful. Get the credit card. They are generous with points.
Most expensive plane tickets have been thanksgiving and spring break (we live in a spring break destination). Biggest regret is not getting freshman D2 a ticket home for thanksgiving. It was $700. She had thanksgiving with roommates family but was miserable. We paid it after that even though she was home for Christmas 2 weeks later. D1 had family nearby and was always fine.
Biggest surprise was that they didn’t come home for summers. We’ve gotten half a summer between the two kids.
Also we planned an extra day in college town after move in. DH and I planned something to do by ourselvesx-Museum or something. . Just so we were around if D needed anything but not hovering.wed swing by one more time before we headed home and say bye.
If you think your kid might be at all homesick, and if you can afford it, get the Thanksgiving ticket home. Though I never expected D17 to be homesick as she had spent plenty of time away from home and was fairly independent, she did struggle a little bit socially her first semester. In addition to that, she was the only one of her friends to go across country. Most of her friends stayed relatively local. Even tho I didn’t anticipate that, I did plan ahead and bought a ticket home for her for Thanksgiving when I saw an incredibly inexpensive ticket. I was so thankful I had planned ahead, because she really needed that trip home. This last year she didn’t come home for Thanksgiving-she went to BIL’s house but didn’t enjoy it (she had been sick and was hoping for lots of rest/sleep and for a variety of reasons that didn’t happen). Don’t have to worry about the Thanksgiving tix for her this year as she is studying abroad-instead I’ll be spending way more to go visit her ?
) Any advice from those parents that have dealt with this?”