<p>Reading through this thread this morning brought a smile! Our D will be majoring in fashion business and there is zero chance of her Teva-wearing mom picking out ANYTHING, and I mean anything, for her dorm room. She knows what she likes and even the garbage can is off limits for parental input. Instead, I will focus on suggesting/imposing a limit to the number of items she can bring. I mean how many pairs of boots does one 18-year old girl really need??!!</p>
<p>
D went back after Christmas with three new pairs (thanks to gifts and clearance sales). Evidently the number of boots a female college student needs has no limits… I do second the first aid kit. We made up a box with thermometer, tweezers, over the counter meds, band-aids, ace bandages, instant ice packs, and so on. Yes, there’s a CVS nearby, but it’s nice to have certain things handy right when you need them.</p>
<p>Unless your kid is a neat freak, forget the dust buster. My son’s roommate brought one with him at the beginning of the year. My son told me that they thought about using it for the first time right before leaving for winter break, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort. The dust bunnies under their beds must be gargantuan! :D</p>
<p>further to the Health Center comment, find out what the hours are. Many close at 5 or 6 and are not open on weekends. Find out where nearest urgent care center is and also the nearest hospital. Believe me, when kids need medical care, it’s generally not during Health Center normal business hours.</p>
<p>And I agree with THumper…too early for most of this. Enjoy Senior year…it goes very fast…</p>
<p>When buying a quilt, go for full or queen size over the twin or extra-long twin size. Once your kid moves out of the dorms, odds are that he or she will have a full or queen bed. Buy the bigger quilt now, and you won’t have to buy another one in two years. And a full or queen quilt on a twin/XL twin bed just means that the quilt edges fall closer to the ground.</p>
<p>We sent both of our kids with first aid kits, including OTC meds, band aids, thermometer, ace bandages, etc. in BOTH cases, four years later, we brought everything home except the band aids. All the OTC meds were then expired. We pitched everything.</p>
<p>Be prudent. If your kid takes ibuprofen, get him a SMALL bottle of that. Get a small container of whatever cold remedy he uses and likes. Get a box of bandaids. But don’t be like us. We spent a good amount of money on things the kid could easily have gotten in the college towns.</p>
<p>ETA…if you send extra underwear and socks…make SURE your kid knows where they are. We sent both with DS…and they were in the underbed storage box. Sure enough…he called in a panic one day asking us to send more socks. Hello fella…you have a TWELVE pair pack in the box under the bed. Response “I do?”.</p>
<p>Yeah, that’s a big lesson, too. Get the kid to pack and unpack for himself so that he knows where to find things. I can’t tell you how many times mine has called to find out where things are. This is his second year and I did make him work this time. He still doesn’t remember exactly what he has with him. Wait, I have a warmer comforter in my closet??? Ohhhh. He’s been lucky to have singles with huge closets and enough space to misplace things. </p>
<p>Cornell does a great sale at move-in time where all the things people didn’t want to keep the prior year are sold for next to nothing. Kids can get just about anything. The line is long and you never know what you’ll find (large or small, from refrigerators to sofas). We realized that we should have sent a few pieces of silverware to leave in the room to eat quick snacks/meals. No problem. Mismatched sets were available for a dollar. Got some USB cables we needed, too.</p>
<p>I have two d’s and so both were really into selecting their bedding and towels and all of that along with desk/supplies and we had to visit every possible retail store imaginable to make certain they had seen all the options and yes there will be much more of a selection for all that in July. I see nothing wrong with buying things like a dustbuster or a power strip or even a desk lamp and extra light bulb or two now and putting them aside. Once you know the school and the dorm and all of that you can make arrangements with future roommate about who brings the mini-fridge and who brings the microwave, who brings a TV. There wasn’t a time that I can recall that I brought either d to school that did not involve another trip to Target or Bed, Bath and Beyond.
My only word of advice is that if move-in is anywhere in Boston for Labor Day weekend, do not assume that you will be able to drop by Target in Watertown and come away with anything you need… I have never seen a store so picked clean, there were literally 2 pillows left in that entire aisle of pillows.</p>
<p>We’ve been through this with two kids and have learned alot over the past 6 years. Start on the Bed, Bath and Beyond website and go to their “shop for college” page. They have a checklist that is a great start. Another website that I used quite a bit was Dormco.com. Good value and they have lots of unique items. We gave both daughters a small toolkit and they’ve come in handy. Since most dorms won’t let kids put holes in the walls I highly recommend watching for sales on the 3M hooks. My daughter has two of the 7 lb hooks holding up a standard over-door fabric shoe rack (the kind with pockets) but her’s just hangs on the wall. She has all her toiletries, medicines, first-aid kit, and miscellaneous items that you might otherwise keep in a bathroom vanity (which aren’t available in the dorm bathrooms). It’s pretty heavy but the strongest 3M hooks do the trick. If the school still requires coins for the laundry don’t forget a few rolls of quarters. If your child is going away to school near a BB&B you can buy what you want locally and they’ll have it waiting at the store you select near the school. That didn’t work for either of my Ds but I always thought the idea was cool.</p>
<p>First thing you should think about is- will you be driving or flying to the college. Remember at bed bath and beyond you can purchase at a store near you and pick up at a store near the college. From my experience, the storage in the dorms ie. closet and drawers, were really quite ample so go easy on the extra storage bins until you really know what you need. As some of the previous posters mentioned I sent both of my kids with a little medicine box with the basics in it. Be aware of what the school provides in the room whether it be a desk chair or garbage can. Both schools my kids went to provided desk chairs and even though many people said they are uncomfortable it didn’t matter for my kids. They were only going to use it to put clothes on it and never sit on it. Dorm stuff doesn’t come out until mid June or later so you really have time. The only thing your D needs to worry about is her bedding. As someone else said let her enjoy the rest of her senior year. She will let you know when she is ready to talk about it. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! Some good advice, Keeping my list going but not discussing it with dd til she brings it up. dhrd going to orientation in late May and will get to stay in the dorm she will be in so that should help give her ideas of what she wants/needs</p>
<p>I’ll sing with the choir here; it’s too early. But that being said…</p>
<p>First aid kid (including scissors). Resealable container for snacks and such. Gift cards (a great way to control your student’s spending. Sometimes giving them cash is a mistake as they will spend it on things they don’t really need, or spend to too much on the extras, like restaurants).</p>
<p>Do students need an underbed safe? I had never heard of this until very recently … ran across it on another thread. Hmmm, I guess they need SOMEWHERE to lock up valuables…</p>
<p>Smartest way to deal,with valuables…do NOT take them to college at all.</p>
<p>What do students do about locking up laptops/computers? </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-92-Qt-Footlocker-Set-of-2/16415912”>http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-92-Qt-Footlocker-Set-of-2/16415912</a></p>
<p>We got this plastic trunk which can be locked with a padlock. It was good for packing and moving. D keeps her important documents like passport in it. Originally I thought she would keep her laptop in it, but I don’t know if she ever does.</p>
<p>Our D got a locking 2 drawer file cabinet from Staples. They were able to put printer on top. And were able to lock up valuables in the drawers when needed…</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.staples.com/Office-Designs-Vertical-File-Cabinet-18-inch-2-Drawer-Letter-Size-Black/product_706907”>http://www.staples.com/Office-Designs-Vertical-File-Cabinet-18-inch-2-Drawer-Letter-Size-Black/product_706907</a></p>
<p>but, again, this was a purchase on move in weekend, when they determined there was space for cabinet…</p>