<p>Hey kids, being a veteran (albeit a long time ago) of many of the roomie problems you hear about - yes even in the 70s, even though coed dorms were unheard of, sexiles were not - I want to re-emphasize what Sybbie is saying - don’t establish turf until the roomie gets there, or until you have had extensive pre-arrival conversation. It is a big issue at D’mouth, because the rooms are not a standard size (in my freshman dorm, it was just which side of the room do you want, you couldn’t even bunk the beds) or configuration. DD will be on a late DOC trip most likely, so she is planning to take her stuff for the woods, a set of sheets and a blanket, a tape measure and a note pad with as many of her clothes as she can manage up on the airplane. Her Dad and I will bring the rest of her things, and she will begin making notes about what she wants to buy when we get there. We will go shopping in Concord the day before move-in, and she can strip the bed move-in morning, to start with a clean slate.
I wouldn’t even suggest being a martyr and taking the smaller room, if you arrive first, it is better to wait a few hours and start on an even footing. If you have to be there 3 days, unpack some clothes, but for Heaven’s sake wait on the semi-permanent stuff like a printer.</p>