<p>Welcome to the ND family! I bow to kevdude and other students with superior knowledge, but will share our experience as fellow parents (we also flew in from the West Coast):</p>
<ol>
<li> August 21 (Thursday) arrival is perfect. Being allowed into the dorms earlier than Friday may differ by dorm. Our experience was that only marching band and ROTC were given their dorm rooms earlier than Friday. There is no reason to try and get in early on Thursday anyway, IMO, because Friday is when the Frosh-O staff are geared up to help you move in. It is a fun, welcoming atmosphere, and part of the ‘going to college’ experience. I highly recommend it. On Thursday, Frosh-O staff are less available being busy with planning meetings and getting their own rooms organized and you won’t get the same warm, fuzzy experience as moving in on Friday (again, JMO). </li>
<li> We did not buy additional health coverage. The health services facility at ND has worked well for us, so far at minimal additional cost (had to pay a lab fee once).</li>
<li> My son uses Domer Dollars primarily for laundry and incidental food purchases. They have stations set-up at orientation for easy deposit via credit card. I think we put in $100 at the start of freshman year, son kept track of his expenses and then we added additional by credit card deposit throughout the year, as needed. They make it very easy for parents to make a credit card deposit so you can start small and adjust if needed. :)</li>
<li> Can’t help you with work study. My son works on campus, but it is outside of financial aid and his earnings are direct deposited to his credit union account. As an aside: I highly recommend the ND credit union. They have a branch on campus in LaFortune and have ATM’s (no-fee for members) all over campus. Again, they make it very easy and are set up at freshman orientation to process new accounts. You will get info from them over the summer.</li>
<li> We purchased our own sheets (get twin XL). But, it is very easy to buy what you need in South Bend on Thursday and Friday (and Saturday!) if you have a car rented. The stores are full of ND students and parents. Not knowing this, we pre-shipped a large box with bedding, towels and some dorm stuff to the UPS freight office at the South Bend airport facility. They will hold it for 3-5 days in the warehouse. You can calculate the shipping time very accurately and pick it up on Thursday as you leave the South Bend airport or Friday morning. You can not pre-ship boxes to the dorm rooms unless you time it to arrive after your son has moved in on Friday.</li>
<li> The timing of plane ticket purchases depends on whether you think prices are going up or down and is an inexact science anyway as you try to guess your kid’s schedule ahead of time so you don’t have to pay the penalty fees to change the reservation. You just do the best you can. We have made his December return part of his August ticket and done the same for January-May. </li>
<li> The kids never need as much stuff as the moms think they need! :)</li>
<li> I am not qualified to give computer advice except to say get a computer that ND OIT can service under warranty. My son’s Dell had a minor warranty issue that required OIT send for a part, but the repair went smoothly and quickly. Most students would say no need to bring a printer, I think…they just take up limited space in the dorm rooms</li>
</ol>