No, don’t ship it home. First off, you will be taking finals, writing last papers and studying at the same time you would have to pack/ship.
The student is required to be out of the dorm within 24 hours of their last exam, so the logistics of getting your items to the postal service would just be an additional thing to do. Then of course, there would be the cost of shipping, insurance and possible breakage etc. In addition, you would have to do the same all over again for the following year.
You will have made tons of friends, many with cars, so just ask around and form a group to store stuff with. Rent a climate controlled unit and get the smallest you can all use. They are like small rooms, so plan on stacking and stuffing. A good size unit could easily hold 2 to four peron’s items depending on the amount of stuff. Estimate your items boxed up and then visualize it stacked up (get the picture?). All the boxes and everthing you need can be purchased at the storage unit or you could purchase a set of boxes online and have them shipped to the post office on campus. This is much cheaper if you split the box order with others. Be aware that boxes when folded down and shipped in groups of ten (usually) are fairly heavy.
Here’s a tip, I left a small folding handcart (like the ones you used to carry luggage on) in my student’s dorm to move stuff and pick up large packages. I know it came in handy at move-out/ move-in time. Fold it, put it in a closet or under a bed and it’s there when you need it.
The cost if divided by 4 or even 2 students should not exceed $150-200, again depending on the size of the unit. However, you will and should pay more for a climate controlled storage unit.
You can box all non-essentials early, weed out what you will never need again, and seperately what you will be taking home. You can start this at least a few weeks early and then be all set to make a storage run with your friends.
Sometimes parents come down and move the student out.