For first time (college) parents 2018 - what do we need to know before move-in day?

Parent Cafe
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<p>A small toolkit with a couple of screwdrivers is helpful when moving in. No need for hammer and nails though - Command Hooks are your friend! Stock up on all different sizes - they even make them for posters and picture frames now! No more holes in the wall, or that awful putty stuff we used to hang posters with - these are the greatest! For detergent, D is now getting the Tide pods - easier to carry up/down stairs than a big heavy bottle.</p>

<p>As for TV and printer - we made a deal that she would go without, and if she was in desperate straits at Family Weekend we’d go out and purchase. She’s never missed them. We did send her with a laptop equipped with a blu-ray player rather than buy a DVD player. She’s got a cable she can hook the laptop up to the common room TV to play DVDs. She tends to stream a lot of NetFlix on her tablet rather than watching anything else though.</p>

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<p>Before you buy a fridge or microwave, check the policy for bring your own. My son had to rent the micro/fridge from the university. Also, your daughter or some will be communicating with his/her roommate over the summer. Have one bring the TV/DVD/game system and the other rent/purchase the microwave. My son’s roommate did not contact him until the day before they were moving in. Thus, I rented the microfridge and my son also brought an old TV. The roommate didn’t bring either so they didn’t have two of everything. Half way through the year, my son said that it was a waste of money. He didn’t use either, since he had a dining room in his dorm. </p>

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<p>@Skieurope & @Consolation: What does That kid mean, exactly?</p>

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<p>@Agentninetynine As I described. That kid is the one that does not wait for the roommate(s) to arrive before laying claim to a bed/closet/desk, rearranging furniture, dismantling bunk beds.</p>

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<p>Got it. I guess those people do really exist. </p>

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<p>There is no problem with being that kid. Some people care. Some people don’t. There is no problem with getting there before your roommate and picking a bed. There is no set rule that you can’t pick things before your roommate. What’s best is to discuss the room arrangment with your roommate prior to moving in. </p>

<p>People may criticize those who get there early and call them “that kid”…but at the same time it’s not the other kid’s fault you didn’t get there earlier. </p>

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<p>In my DDs room there really wasn’t a better bed as the room was set up with each side being a mirror image of the other with the window in between. She picked a bed, and made it up. Her and roomie had a great year. YMMV</p>

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<p>My kid was “that” kid. We got there first, he picked the side of the room he wanted. Tuff nuggets I say. lol</p>

<p>I recommend buying a printer. Doesn’t have to be the latest greatest all-in-one wifi super deluxe model. Most colleges/dorms have printer access but they’re gonna run out of paper, or ink, or be closed for maintenance at EXACTLY the moment when your kid needs to print their final paper. </p>

<p>If your kid is getting a work study job, ask about the documentation they will need for processing. DS had his drivers license but we had to overnight his social security card because we didn’t think to leave it with him. </p>

<p>Walmart ships nearly anything in the store that doesn’t require a fridge. Anything from laundry soap to gatorade to groceries. Great for care packages throughout the year. Shipping is usually cheaper than postage if you were to ship it yourself.</p>

<p>Insurance on the cell phone. If you don’t have it already, get it.</p>

<p>At least one mismatched sheet for toga night. </p>

<p>If your school has a hockey team bring ice skates…lots of fun after hours events at the rink.</p>

<p>Extra set of ear buds cos they will break or get lost.</p>

<p>Literally can not have enough pens and pencils. You can send them with 1000. They will need more. I have no idea why. </p>

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<p>Tuff nuggets, indeed, JoBenny! ;)</p>

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<p>I was not referring to the cookie cutter mirrored double. I was referring to the 4-person suite with 2BR and a common room where 1st person arrived, un-bunked the beds and moved her bed into the common room to be her bedroom. That’s that kid. That’s not tuff nuggets. </p>

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<p>The scenario you described is different from claiming a side of the room to which you are entitled to. Additionally, it’s an extreme. A common room is a space where all who live there can reside. </p>

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<p>

Wow. I hope you made her move it back.</p>

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<p>College Student here :slight_smile: I’m actually a freshman so I literally just moved in lol. Anyway, one thing I would say, is that before buying a printer make sure that it will be able to connect to the school’s wiFi… I bought a printer and it didn’t connect :frowning: (ended up working out well bc the printer back home got messed up :stuck_out_tongue: )</p>

<p>Other things</p>

<p>-Things like room sides can be chosen BEFORE move in day, my roommate and I had already decided that she would have the left side of the room and for the first semester I would have my bed up against the window.</p>

<p>-Look into laundry, is it free? If not start collecting quarters!</p>

<p>-First aid kit is a must- at the very least hydrogen peroxide and band-aids as well as icy hot patches and medicines.</p>

<p>-Not ALL beds are XL twin, ask the school… A bunch of my friends had to return sheets bc our beds are regular twin.</p>

<p>-Look up banks by the school and get your kid a bank account near the school- I went to open up an account by myself and didn’t realize how much stuff they needed… Like 2 forms of ID and my school one didn’t count.</p>

<p>As far as a TV goes, we have one (my roommate bought it) she uses it more than I do to keep up with her shows but for me, I have found that my tablet and Netflix are plenty. For me, i rarely even use that- there’s so much to do around campus I really watch tv on planned movie nights or when I’m trying to fall asleep. </p>

<p>Make sure your kid knows their insurance carrier, I know you will be there to help them out but if at some point they need to see a doctor by the school it’s good for them to know how to look for a doctor and know if there will be a copay. If your kid has a car, I also STRONGLY suggest enrolling in AAA. I don’t have it, neither does my roommate so we were very lucky that another one of our friends had it when we were stranded in a parking lot bc the keys got locked in the car and we couldn’t get them… </p>

<p>Me and my roommate also have 2 fridges, they’re small and our room is bigger than the average room (We got lucky :D) but I have not found 2 fridges being cluttered in any way. I can go on and on and on, but if there’s something specific let us know!</p>

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<p>Definitely a rigid, high quality bike lock, NOT a cable. My daughter had her bike locked with a cable lock and it was stolen in broad daylight at a suburban campus without a lot of other crime.:(</p>

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<p>A few things I haven’t seen mentioned:</p>

<p>Bring extra power cords for phones and laptops, one to leave in the room and one to keep in the back pack. Sometimes those are hard to find on campus–especially when students are arriving on campus and realize they left theirs at home.</p>

<p>My kids found a very small umbrella to be really nice to have. In high school, they would have died before using an umbrella–on campus, it’s not cool to arrive at class looking like a drowned rat–and now they often need to walk around campus between classes. My sons’ female friends often brought cute rainboots as well.</p>

<p>Have kids put info for health insurance/drug plans etc in their phones. We had our kids take pictures of their cards and email them to themselves–that way they always had access.</p>

<p>Laundry tablets are the bomb. They make doing laundry so much easier. Plus your student know exactly how much s/he has.</p>

<p>A box of small trash bags to line the garbage can–because everything, including pop cans and pizza covered paper plates are going to go in there. Teach your child to keep the box of bags in the bottom of the can.</p>

<p>An extra lightbulb for any lamps. Those are hard to find on campus.</p>

<p>My kids also made their own mini medical kits, with bandaids, antibiotic creme, cortisone creme, advil, cold/flu supplies, a thermometer, an ace bandage and automatic ice packs. They also put small hand sanitizers in their back packs.</p>

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<p>10 Char </p>

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<p>tuff nuggets?? hmmmm…</p>

<p>Not all are able to communicate with roommate prior to move in. Nor are all floor plans/room layouts available beforehand. THAT kid refers to the kid that takes the best bed/closet/window/spa, etc. and bunks/unbunks bed (when rooms aren’t mirror images!), making all room decisions without consulting roommate…on anything. </p>

<p>If my kid were first to arrive, I would encourage my kid to show a little class and make choices on how he would like to be treated if he were not the first to arrive and to think about the future. Kid and roommate will be living together for a semester/year. I would not want to start freshman year off with a “It’s all about Me–I got what I wanted-who cares about you” attitude. </p>

<p>Let’s say you get sick and need someone to bring food, drugs or Gatorade. Your printer runs out of ink or paper late night before major project due. You want to have out of town friend spend the night. The recipient of the the initial “tuff nuggets” attitude may not be inclined to be generous/cooperative/helpful down the road. A little goodwill and cooperation at the start could start the year off on the right foot. Why start off with bad feelings?</p>

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<p>Great question and good info. even for parents w/one already in college and another/others in the pipeline. </p>

<p>What’s changed? . . . Facebook! </p>

<p>Even before you deliver your student to move into their dorm room, they will probably be faced with the question of whether to pick a roommate via FB or have one assigned randomly. </p>

<p>Don’t stress! (like I did) - each kid has their own process and both ways have their pros & cons.
Talking to others I’ve learned that selecting a roommate either from FB or because they’re friends can either be great or really tricky. Selecting roommates puts expectations that may add stress to the relationship, especially when challenges arise. Sometimes it’s easier just to be roommates - so that’s where the random assignment makes it simple. </p>

<p>Either way, I’ve heard success stories and nightmares but the latter comes with great life lessons that help young students become more resilient and self-sufficient in the long-run. </p>

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<p>The number one thing I can suggest (it might be a little late for you to start this), is always purchase movies that come with a digital copy. There will be down time, breaks, snow days, and long weekends where movies are great to have around. Having the DVDs around takes up a lot of room and removes them from your home where the rest of your family may want to watch them. </p>

<p>In addition, make sure you have an HDMI cable. Chances are someone will have a TV and if you have a digital copy of a movie, you can hook your laptop up to the TV using an HDMI cable and watch it that way.</p>

<p>Have fun!</p>

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<p>Consider urging your kid to buy a clunker or beater bike. Our S bought one for himself for about $10 at an auction or Craigslist. He bought one for D for $7. No one EVER stole either bike and it was pretty easy to pick them out against the background of brand new bikes. They still got both students from one place to the next for all their years at the U. My bro & I similarly owned clunker bikes back in the day when we were on campus.</p>

<p>Would really agree that less is more. DON’T buy too much–kids accumulate a TON of stuff on their own and dorms are much less space than your kid is likely to be used to, often shared. </p>

<p>You can fit a LOT of stuff in a flat rate USPS box and send it to kiddo, saving yourself a lot of stress and money. If you kid finds out he can’t live without whatever he didn’t bring from home and you MUST mail it to him. They have perfectly good stores in most college towns, where you can buy things fairly inexpensively. Craigslist has a ton of inexpensive things if you need furniture as well.</p>

<p>When you buy electronics, try to use a credit card that will give you an extra year of extended warranty, like AmEx Costco card or several others.</p>

<p>Consider whether or not you want to buy renters insurance (or similar)–some parents do (we chose not to). Double-check what coverage you have for your kids while in college for medical and auto. Be sure you understand what IS and what is NOT covered, so you don’t have an expensive surprise. Some folks save a considerable amount on auto policy if their kid is a certain distance from home at college. Some HMO medical policies may not provide the protection the family assumes–check.</p>

<p>If you have family medical coverage, you MAY be able to get your student’s school medical coverage waived. Check with the U and be sure to file the appropriate paperwork on time.</p>

<p>If you have a tough time coming up with the huge lump sum for your kid"s college expenses, see if the U has a payment plan that you can sign up for with a small fee. It can stretch payments out over 10 months instead of all at once (sure helped us). Also see if you can pay by credit card and if there are any fees if you do use a credit card. (We got 2% cash back by charging tuition and all U charges on our credit card.)</p>

<p>Get your kid to sign HIPPA and FERPA releases, so you can work with the U on medical and other bills and get and share medical info as needed.</p>

<p>Cherish the time–it will fly by much faster than you think!</p>