<p>I’m quite sure I am the most horrible parent on the planet. Our kids went linen shopping in our linen closet first. They took towels, blankets, sheets (we had jersey knit twins that fit their xlong twin beds just fine). They were perfectly fine with taking these things and in fact wanted to take the comforters from their bedrooms. My rationale was that if anyone was going to get new linens, it was going to be the parents. The kids didn’t need new linens for college.</p>
<p>thumper–when I left for college, we had no sheets that would fit a twin or twin xl bed. I do always take towels from home…no point in buying new ones when I can get 4 or 5 from home for free!</p>
<p>In planning to move to grad school this fall, if I have the same size bed there as I do at home, I will take the sheets I currently have…unless I can find some I like better at a really good price! We’ll see (haven’t gotten my apartment assignment yet, so I’m not sure which bed I’ll have).</p>
<p>thumper1, I also think that it is sort of feels familiar to have stuff from home.</p>
<p>My son would have been fine with taking his toddler linens to college. They had cute barnyard animals on them and were falling apart. We still use them at home on one bunk bed, but I thought it would be ok to have a second set for college and his other bunk at home.</p>
<p>In reading this thread I needed to respond in reference to Residence Hall Linens. I spoke to one of the residence hall directors at Penn State University in reference to RHL. They explained to me that they do NOT sell names of freshman, or contact information. They explained to me that they have work with Residence Hall Linens (for many years) to develop a bedding and supplies program that will be well suited to incoming freshman. I would think that based upon their “Good Til Graduation” Guarantee [Guarantee[/url</a>] this would provide anyone questioning the quality or fit of their bedding to rest. That being said, I am sure you can buy exceptionally high quality sheets from [url=<a href=“http://www.saksfifthavenue.com%5DWomen’s”>http://www.saksfifthavenue.com]Women’s</a> & Men’s Designer Apparel, Shoes, Handbags & More | Gucci, Prada, Burberry, Diane von Furstenberg, more - Saks.com](<a href=“http://www.rhl.org/psu/Help/Guarantee]Guarantee[/url”>http://www.rhl.org/psu/Help/Guarantee) if that’s what your looking for, but for generally good quality products at great prices RHL is a best bet.</p>
<p>Depending on your kid’s U, many switch beds & bed types between freshman year & graduation. Our kids started on XL singles (university housing) & then when they lived in apartments, had double/full beds. This would have had them switch bedding anyway.</p>
<p>Our kids REALLY prefer cotton. RHL does NOT have 100% cotton but a poly/cotton blend. Our kids find these blends hot & uncomfortable. Of course, YMMV.</p>
<p>
Puh–leeeze. I don’t believe a word of this. Someone is not being truthful, whether it’s the PSU residence hall director or the poster who apparently registered just to talk about RHL. RHL sells the same mediocre quality stuff at every college, so it’s absurd to suggest they work individually with each school. And I’d bet my bottom dollar they pay the schools for their mailing lists. And why snottily suggest Saks as an alternative? Many other sources for decent, reasonably priced linens, including XL size, have been suggested on this thread. And those vendors will ship directly to the school, while RHL will not. Sheets are not an exotic item that have to be purchased through a special vendor.</p>
<p>We NEVER requested to be put on RHL’s mailing list but got mail from them for both D & S, so not sure where they will get the info if it’s not from the Us. Have never purchased it myself, but know that the RHL folks DO make a comforter with the logo of each U that participates–some of the students love having the logo comforter–our kids sneered at it & were happy buying quality 100% cotton sheets at a small fraction of the price. We got them mailed to HI so that we could pre-wash the bedding before we got to campus, even tho we had to pack it in our luggage that we flew with to get to campus.</p>
<p>Well, like i said before my kids were happy with their rhl stuff. I thought that we had it sent directly to school but the wife thought that was funny-because she would not have sent sons to school with new bedding that she hadn’t washed yet. </p>
<p>She was happy with quality and the boys never complained, so that was enough for me to think they worked great. The kids were happy to have the mattress pad that came with the pack that we got. It made sleeping on a strange bed a little easier I gather.</p>
<p>It is true that there are plenty of other places to get those xtra long sheets. We would not go to some of those stores for the kids stuff though. BBB for bedding, I would think that would be just too costly. Searching through TJMaxx for bargains can be fun but not when you need something specific, and right then.</p>
<p>[Residence</a> Hall Linens Program for International Students - New International Student Orientation](<a href=“http://blog.global.psu.edu/orientation/2011/05/residence-halls-linens-program-for-international-students.html]Residence”>http://blog.global.psu.edu/orientation/2011/05/residence-halls-linens-program-for-international-students.html)</p>
<p>Clearly PSU is fully supporting RHL from top to bottom including clearly supporting RHL and their programs. This relationship is far from selling lists of students.</p>
<p>I quote directly from PSU.edu "please know that we do have specially sized beds on campus, and for several years through our Residence Hall Linens Program, we have arranged a reasonably priced and convenient solution providing brand new, first quality, custom bed sheets priced under $20. Everything is guaranteed to fit and to last until graduation. "</p>
<p>“Specially sized”=twin XL. RHL is not a quality product, you can get better linens for cheaper at Target/BBB/LNT. RHL makes it seem like if you don’t buy their products your linens won’t fit…they take advantage of people who haven’t sent kids to college before/don’t know about the wide availability of Twin XL bedding.</p>
<p>The quoted material just reflects a commercial relationship between the Association of Residence Hall Students (whatever that is–is it PSU or an independent student organization?) and RHL. If I offer them more money than RHL pays, they’ll be happy to endorse MommaJ’s linens as the ultimate solution for incoming students. My D’s college does something similar with (overpriced) pre-exam goodie packages. The mailing to parents uses the school logo and implies a connection to the school, but the sender is just a company that bought the mailing list and permission to use the school’s name. I don’t blame the colleges (or the student organizations, as the case may be) for wanting to make a quick buck from this sort of thing, but I do resent the blurring of boundaries that makes for deceptive sales pitches. If PSU wanted to act in the best interest of students, international or otherwise, it would supply a list of vendors that ship XL sheets, not shill for a particular supplier nor suggest that the supplier offers something that can’t be easily obtained elsewhere. It’s just tacky.</p>
<p>I think it’s pretty funny the whole issue that some posters have about “colleges making a quick buck” by teaming up with other organizations, such as rhl. Consider the idea that running a college or university is similar to the organization of a small town. There is an endless list of needs and requirements for the people that live and work there. They have to feed, house, entertain, and not to mention teach a whole slew of people. I would imagine that over the years most colleges have done what they can to make their organizations run smoothly and efficiently. One way is to team up with other companies that they know that they can trust and rely on. The linen company-rhl is just one of the multitude of companies that partner with PSU and others. Thinking that it is all about money is a mistake. It is also about having dependable companies to connect with. Just look at all of the other industry within the schools system. How many of these colleges have teamed up with large chain restaurants, and stores? The main reason behind this is making sure the students and staff will have a dependable, reliable, and cost effective choice when it comes to food as well as many other things.</p>
<p>Nonsense. Establishing a restaurant, caterer, or book store on campus is one thing, and colleges no doubt put some effort into selecting the right one, since their students have to live with that choice for years. There is absolutely no need for any college to “team up” with a vendor of linens, commodities that can be purchased anywhere with great ease. The college won’t run any more or less efficiently based on where kids buy their sheets and towels, and the university administration is not going to be responsible or responsive when an RHL purchase turns out to be disappointing. They won’t know and they won’t care. As I said, if the schools want to be helpful in the matter of bedding, they can supply a list of vendors that sell/ship XL sizes. But even that isn’t necessary. Somehow we adults all manage to equip our beds and bathrooms without the intervention of large institutions assisting us in finding “a dependable, reliable and cost-effective choice”. It is indeed about money, not about assisting those poor helpless undergrads with the overwhelming challenge of buying decent sheets and towels!</p>
<p>Totally agree with you MommaJ. The colleges were approached by these Linen companies and the linen companies are giving some type of commission back to the school for every student that uses them. </p>
<p>Think of the easy money the school can make by doing nothing. The linen company does all the work. A basic business technique.</p>
<p>Disagree. When life is easier for students then it is going to be easier for the college in general. I believe that if enough students complain about anything-it will be looked at more closely and evaluated. That could be about anything from bedding, to the food vendor that supplies the cafeteria or even the notebooks that are hawked by campus bookstores. There is going to be money made by any company that becomes involved in a partnership with the college, in any way. </p>
<p>If students are unhappy about something involved with one of these vendors or partners, and they are vocal about it then there will be some energy put into the issue I would imagine. College students are not shy about letting their opinions out. So, it is about money but about offering choices as well. rhl is just one of those choices that they let you know about. There is a ton of helpful info on the school website. They give suggestions, have maps, and have links on their website that will give students info on an endless list of things. You might even find a list of nearby stores that sell linens, if you look hard enough, so that those hapless students that have no clue about such things will be able to sleep at night.</p>
<p>Greenthumb. It is called comarketing or if you read this link perhaps comarketing. In this case no new product was developed but they are sharing in the benefit. </p>
<p>[Co-marketing</a> - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-marketing]Co-marketing”>Co-marketing - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Not every company that is advertised on a college website are sharing in profits. It is the same reason hotels offer a discount to families coming to visit their student at a particular college. The hotel gets to say the college endorses them and hopefully gets repeat customers and recommendations. The school looks better by providing these additional “services” to their students families.</p>
<p>I agree that it could be a sort of co-marketing or maybe more of a business alliance. It looks to me like 2 companies that work together to a mutually satisfying result. </p>
<p>You mentioned-lake mom, that with a hotel, the endorsement makes the school look better. I think the same is true with the rhl company.</p>
<p>The school is offering a company for students to deal with that they already have a relationship with. Because the school has dealt with them before they have an understanding of what to expect from them. the company knows what the student will need because they have been doing this for some time and the college knows that the students will be able to acquire the items they need at a good price.</p>
<p>Saying that the college is just offering this service because it will make them a quick buck, is in my opinion wrong. Maybe the college does make some money from the alliance, but they would not ally with a company that does not provide what they have promised, or that only offers very low quality products at premium prices. that would not be helping anyone, and it is not an alliance that would last.</p>
<p>By no means do I think RHL is a shoddy company. Neither the school nor RHL would benefit if the product was not reliable. Same with the hotel. It would be awful for a school to endorse a hotel and it turned out to be a terrible stay. </p>
<p>The marketing part comes in when one thinks that the product is something the school is truly endorsing instead of just saying, yes, this is a reliable product/company that we will let use our name in their promotion because we have been satisfied with their performance.</p>
<p>It is like I recently got in the mail a flyer to extend my warranty coverage on my Honda. The flyer sorta looked like Honda was endorsing them but a 2 min google search shows that there are many companies offering extended warranties and without further research, I wouldn’t know if the one from the flyer was price competitive. And they are hoping that I don’t shop around, just use them.</p>
<p>Lakemom–they certainly would. I would say 98-100% of their orders come from incoming freshmen, who have no way of knowing that the product isn’t directly from the school. This is what gets me the most; they depend on the freshmen not having contact with others at the school to know that they don’t sell a quality product. </p>
<p>As for students complaining…students at my undergrad institution have complained to administrators several times, about several things, with little or no response. The administration doesn’t care because the students have little say about whether or nto they get to keep their job…at least that was the case at my school. And besides, most students want to “pick their battles” and wouldn’t even know who to complain to about this. Not to mention the fact that I highly doubt the school really has a relationship with RHL aside from purchasing the list of students.</p>