<p>ccshsm - In my son’s three-person suite his freshman year one of the two “bedrooms” could not have been more than fifty square feet. There was just enough room to fit a bed and slide down to get in. The bed had to be disassembled to get it into the room! I suspect that one of your daughter’s roommates will want to take the single and the other two will share the double. The single however will probably have to have her dresser in the common room. So far (rising senior) my son has been pleased with his house suites.</p>
<p>Do any of you have experience with the Harvard BC/BS Health Insurance plan? We are planning to sign up for it, but I am concerned about only three office visits being covered if students see doctors that are not part of HUHS and the $5000 limit on prescriptions. We are considering keeping our son on our employer’s insurance as well, but don’t know if the dual coverage will be problematic (it will be expensive too). I know we have to do our research, but any anecdotal info would be helpful. Thank you!</p>
<p>My daughter and her roommates had a larger room and then the type of tiny room described. You could fit a bed in it, and maybe, scoot your way up one side to get into bed. That was it. The girls took turns using it. When my daughter was crewing and getting up really early, she had it so as to not wake the others up. The other two girls took turns after the fall.</p>
<p>Fauve, in my opinion the roommates should take no offense at all. You explain that you must have your documents in a fire-safe place and that’s that. As always, students can claim the parents insisted on it, which I did. My daughter’s roommate even asked to store something in the safe. People have a right to privacy and to protect their belongings, and that does not necessarily mean from roommates. There are kids constantly in and out of rooms, doors propped open, and overnight visitors. </p>
<p>I agree, most of the thefts I’ve heard about are for coats, handbags, cell phones, and computers.</p>
<p>BrookingsMom, bear in mind that the BC/BS policy is in compliance with Massachusetts’ universal health care law. It’s not necessarily a Harvard recommendation that this plan will be a good idea for you to buy. If you already have coverage that is reasonably similar, it’s an easy task to go online and decline the coverage. The main risk would be that you may have to pay out-of-network costs if you’re from out of state, but those are unlikely to be more costly than the plan itself.</p>
<p>I have the extended insurance plan – as a grad student, I don’t have much of a choice. 
</p>
<p>I haven’t had a problem with the limited out-of-network visits. HUHS has primary care physicians as well as specialty physicians, so I have used HUHS for my various specialty needs (in my case, neurology, physical therapy, and urgent care) with no need to go elsewhere. The only time I’ve heard of problems with the extended insurance plan was when a labmate of mine had a bike accident and broke both wrists and several bones in both hands – she was taken to the MGH ER after her accident and had surgery there, then ran into trouble when she wanted to keep seeing her surgeon. But that was a pretty exceptional injury. For routine and somewhat-outside-routine care, HUHS and the BCBS extended insurance have been perfectly fine.</p>
<p>Thanks for the BC/BS info. I called today and was told that there is no cap on the prescription plan as of this plan year. I was concerned because we’d be hitting $2500 or so in eye drops alone over the course of year. The three visit limit concerned me because if my son is home over the summer then that is one fourth of the year that he is limited in office visits. My daughter just had surgery to have a cyst removed from her hand, and between the initial doctor’s visit and the two specialist visits we’ve hit three visits since April. And for things like surgery, kids would rather schedule them during vacation times. It’s a tough decision!</p>
<p>Ronsard- the key is the communication with the roommates at or before the arrival of the parents with the safe. You’ve indicated your DD plans to explain to the roommates–that is great, and essential. Otherwise, you can bet the roommates will assume they are being assumed to be less than trustworthy. </p>
<p>I saw this occur with a 5 person suite, when all the roommates were internationals and URMs, and the one white wealthy student arrived with a safe, and a mother who did not even say hello to the roommates. I am just trying to sensitize students and parents to the ramifications of the arrival of a safe.</p>
<p>And I still say a well hidden file or cardboard box is perfectly adequate.</p>
<p>I am a <em>New Harvard Mom</em>…My D is heading up in a week for dorm Crew, and we are trying to get her things up there- I am a single Mom- with another D starting her Jr year of High school that same week- any advice on getting her up there from TN safely and smoothly?</p>
<p>mikig20- My son will be a first year student as well. We are mailing as much as we can parcel post ahead of time (two big boxes so far) and then flying out to meet up with him (he is doing FUP) and bring him his stuff (instrument, computer, some clothes) that we don’t plan to mail. I hope it will go smoothly…I was surprised that mailing boxes compared favorably with checking a suitcase and bringing it back. Are you going to be able to be there at all?</p>
<p>Brookings Mom- you used USPS? Where did you mail it to? So how are you planning on bringing the computer etc- by plane? I really want to come up-- but I am on an extremely limited budget- it may take all the $ I have to just <em>Get</em> her to Boston.</p>
<p>Mikig20- Welcome to the Harvard Parents group! While it seems a bit daunting moving a freshman in, it’s certainly doable from a distance. You can find the mailing address for your daughter on her housing info. She will have a mailing address that reads something like this: Susie Q Harvard, XXX Harvard Yard Mail Center, Cambridge MA 02138</p>
<p>That is what you use to mail letters and boxes by post. You can also use that same address for UPS but you must add the street address of the Mail Center, which is 1 Oxford Street. </p>
<p>To fetch the boxes, she can find the mail center in the basement of the Science Center, borrow a dolly with a student ID, and wheel her boxes to her dorm. </p>
<p>If she is independent and comfortable, she could certainly fly up on her own, and move in her boxes. Many internationals do that every year. The frosh are so busy with orientation activites and meeting each other, parents are a bit in the way anyway.</p>
<p>Right in Harvard Square within two blocks are: a hardware store, a Staples office supply store, and The Coop book and supply store, which sell all dorm supplies.</p>
<p>I couldn’t find anything in the dorm info about dry erase message boards on dorm room entry doors… is this allowed/encouraged, or… provided? Or… prohibited?</p>
<p>My daughter was a freshman in Thayer and each door was provided with a dry erase board. I’m not certain if that’s true for all of the freshman dorms.</p>
<p>She also had one of those teeny tiny rooms! Not fun - but she made it work. Her upper class house was a palace compared to that suite!</p>
<p>mikig20: here’s a link for the USPS postage calculator:<br>
[Postage</a> Price Calculator](<a href=“http://postcalc.usps.gov%5DPostage”>http://postcalc.usps.gov)</p>
<p>^Thanks, Twinmom. Anyone know about Matthews Hall dry erase boards?</p>
<p>Matthews has wire-baskets attached to the doors for delivery of flyers and the Crimson, but it does not have dry erase boards. BTW: Some dry erase boards are heavy and cannot be affixed to the walls or doors with the supplied poster-gum.</p>
<p>^Thanks, Gibby. So a lightweight dry erase board could theoretically be added to the door, or perhaps hung from the basket?</p>
<p>
Yes – I forgot that would be a concern. It’s easier for grad students, since we have begun to grow into campus like the sailors grow into the ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. ;)</p>
<p>crimson15mom => In theory, yes. However, the baskets are hung low on the doors, so my daughter, who did not want to chance damaging the door or her walls, taped a piece of oaktag to her door so friends could leave her notes.</p>