<p>Ask the school to put you in touch with someone else from your area ,or someone else who is a freshman and can help you once you get there .</p>
<p>curleq94: First off, don’t be frightened, have confidence in yourself. Write yourself a list of what you will be packing and what you will be shipping so you don’t forget anything you need. Organize all your paperwork such as college papers, money, bank cards, checking book, flight information and Identification. Make a copy of everything in your wallet and your important papers. Leave one copy at home and bring one copy for yourself. Look on Google maps and find the quickest way to your college from the airport. </p>
<p>Okay, take a breath. When you board the flight, stow your carryon in the overhead and place your personal bag(with wallet/papers) under the seat in front of you (where your feet go). Relax and enjoy the plane ride.</p>
<p>Upon arrival, take your personal bag and carryon and leave the plane, follow the signs to pick up your luggage, and then grab a cab. Since you have directions to your college -tell the driver that you want to go to XXX College taking the XXX route.</p>
<p>When you arrive at the college pay your driver and tip.</p>
<p>Follow all the Happy Students to the dorms (there should be a checkin center where you will pick up your keys). Study hard, work hard, eat and sleep and have the time of your life. Good Luck and Enjoy!!</p>
<p>For Philadelphia, it’s fine to take the train in from the airport, and that will save you about $25 right there.</p>
<p>In terms of getting to your school:</p>
<p>If you are going to Temple, there is a train station for Temple at the end of the airport line, but it’s a couple of blocks off campus (and not in a nice direction). If you have someone else to travel with, and you are arriving during the day, it shouldn’t be any problem to use that stop (and it won’t cost you any more than it would to get off the train in Center City). Temple may even run a shuttle bus from the station. Otherwise, the best thing to do would be to get off the train at Suburban Station, and follow the signs to the Broad Street (Orange) Subway Line going north. That will put you right smack in the middle of the busiest, safest part of campus, and it is something you will use time and again while you are a Temple student, so getting to know it is a good idea.</p>
<p>It won’t be a problem having carry-on luggage any of these places. </p>
<p>Different directions for other places. There’s a station for Penn on the airport train line, but it’s really at the edge of campus, several blocks’ walk (at least) from any of the dorms. They run a shuttle bus, I’m pretty sure.</p>
<p>I’m from Philly, too. Temple is the only one in a seriously bad neighborhood, and even there it’s more a matter of getting to know the area. JHS gave you good advice on how to get there.</p>
<p>If it’s any other school, let us know. We can help you get there! Philly is really not so hard to get around. I promise. :)</p>
<p>A few tips:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Buy your plane ticket using a credit or debit card with your name on it that you will be carrying with you. With certain airlines, there may be a problem if your parents buy the ticket with a card you don’t have.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure you have a photo ID (your driver’s license or passport).</p></li>
<li><p>Bring only what you can carry in one trip. Put your laptop in a backpack. That’s your carry-on. Check a suitcase. If you can manage two suitcases at once, great. If not, just bring one. </p></li>
<li><p>Go to the bathroom in the airport BEFORE you pick up your luggage. That way, you don’t have to maneuver your suitcases into a bathroom stall.</p></li>
<li><p>If it’s possible to ship stuff to your dorm so that it arrives before you do (ask your college), do so. If not, have your parents ship it so that it arrives the day after you do, and carry only a couple of changes of clothing and some bedding in your suitcase. All of your important papers go in your laptop backpack.</p></li>
<li><p>Take a taxi. Don’t try to learn the local mass transit system on your first day, when encumbered with multiple pieces of luggage.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you haven’t flown in a while, be sure to check out these sites regarding what you can bring on a plane. Since you’re planning on carrying luggage on, be sure that you understand the carry-on limitations, otherwise you’ll be throwing stuff out at security.</p>
<p>[TSA:</a> Prohibited Items](<a href=“http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm]TSA:”>What Can I Bring? All | Transportation Security Administration)</p>
<p>[TSA</a> | Transportation Security Administration | 3-1-1 on Air Travel](<a href=“http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm]TSA”>Liquids Rule | Transportation Security Administration)</p>
<p>The OP is flying from LAX to Philly to be a Temple student.</p>
<p>Great helpful posts above! I am not a city person, but do take public transportation in Philly. I never feel unsafe and wouldn’t hesitate to take a train from the airport, but agree with posters who have said that taking a taxi when you first arrive will be the best way. It will put you right at the door of your dorm. Here’s a pricing chart: [Taxi</a> Fare Finder Philadelphia, PA - Estimate Your Taxi Cab Fare, Cost & Rates](<a href=“http://www.taxifarefinder.com/info.php?city=Philadelphia]Taxi”>http://www.taxifarefinder.com/info.php?city=Philadelphia) I am sure there is or will be a FB page and you can find someone to ride with from the airport. Many, many students fly in to the area colleges. You can do it! My daughter flew herself in with a desktop computer! :)</p>
<p>Found the FB page - <a href=“https://www.facebook.com/Temple2016[/url]”>https://www.facebook.com/Temple2016</a></p>
<p>One more thing: If Temple does not have the ability to store multiple packages that you need to send ahead, there are other options…</p>
<p>1) The local UPS store near Temple will probably be able to store anything sent UPS to them; check that out <a href=“The UPS Store | Ship & Print Here > 1755 N 13th St”>The UPS Store | Ship & Print Here > 1755 N 13th St;
<p>2) We looked into a new company called box my dorm; it was mentioned on the UAlabama thread…they use Fedex and will do home to dorm shipping…</p>
<p>3) Use this service for shipping: <a href=“http://www.collegeboxes.com/cb-com/global/aboutus/school.seam?s=templeuniversity[/url]”>http://www.collegeboxes.com/cb-com/global/aboutus/school.seam?s=templeuniversity</a></p>
<p>Good luck to you–a few years ago, my S did the same thing in the opposite direction. He just took carry-on and laptop and we shipped bedding and heavier clothes. It will be an adventure at first–and by senior year it will be routine.</p>
<p>Make sure you call your parents when you arrive!</p>
<p>Our S didn’t–he didn’t have a cell phone/computer not connected yet, and it didn’t occur to him to let us know he’d arrived safely. After 3 days I called the school to make sure he’d actually checked in!
S’s parting words were “I don’t wanna go to college. . .” I imagined that he’d either walked away from our local airport after H dropped him at the curb, or was dead in a bathroom at LAX, or maybe had taken a bus to the beach instead of college. . .
I have a big imagination. . .</p>
<p>To the OP: I’d suggest you post in the Parent Cafe with the heading “Need Philadelphia airport to Temple U advice”–I’d bet dollars to donuts that someone will send you a PM offering to pick you up and help you. The Parent Cafe is full of parents who are happy to help someone else’s child.</p>
<p>I have a number of co-workers and my son has a cousin who went to Temple. All of them loved the school!</p>
<p>I wonder if there’s a shuttle bus you can take from the airport to campus. One of those private company shuttles that take people to their homes and destinations. It’s likely you’d end up on a shuttle with other Temple students, perhaps upperclassmen who could help reassure you.</p>
<p>There’s a local train stop on the Temple campus so I don’t think they have shuttle to the airport, at least there isn’t anything mentioned on their transportation page - Taking the train to the airport is relatively easy. It’s the luggage that is problematic. [Services</a> | TUCC | Temple University Center City](<a href=“Center City”>Center City)</p>
<p>It’s normal to be nervous but it isn’t normal to be frightened. The more you put into the college experience, the more you will get out from it. I would advise just dropping any inhibitions that you may have and just go for it. All you have to fear is fear itself.</p>
<p>At the same time, you are asking us for advice whilst declaring very little of your own situation. The move isn’t for another few months surely? Why get so worked up about the situation now so far in advance?</p>
<p>It’s normal to be nervous and certainly you are about to make a very healthy independent move. However if you are really that scared, you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder of some kind. If so, I would recommend speaking to your MD for advice and he/she may prescribe treatment.</p>
<p>You were definitely right about public transport though: I would avoid it at all costs!</p>
<p>I disagree 100% about public transport. Personally, I always try to use it when I go to a new place. It’s part of getting to know where you are, part of the adventure. And, as a student at a college in the middle of a big city, you are going to be using public transportation ALL THE TIME. The Orange Line is going to be a big part of your life.</p>
<p>It’s also a lot cheaper – it will cost $7-$9 bucks to get from the airport to Temple on public transportation, vs. at least $30 plus tip by cab. There’s an awful lot of fun you can have with that $25-30 bucks you would be saving! Temple is far enough away from other things, and well enough served by public transportation, that you will likely NEVER take cabs if you can avoid it, so why start by doing that?</p>
<p>That said, I do agree that if you have multiple suitcases you probably don’t want to take on the extra adventure of a new public transportation system. (And, trust me, the first time you transfer from the airport train to the Orange Line underground in the middle of Center City is going to be an adventure. You won’t believe rational human beings designed that interchange – and you will be right!) But that means that the cost of checking that extra suitcase isn’t just the $30 airline fee (unless you are flying Southwest), it’s also the $30 extra for the cab. You can ship your stuff in a box for less, so do that.</p>
<p>I will warn you – urban poverty in Philadelphia looks completely unlike urban poverty in Los Angeles. The buildings in Philadelphia were old and decaying before the ones in LA were built. When I look at poor neighborhoods in LA, I think, “Hey, sign me up! This looks nice!” Unfortunately, not that far from the Temple campus you can see blocks that look like abandoned sets from a war movie, or something from The Wire. You’ll get used to it, and in a few weeks it won’t phase you that much. But the first time you see it as someone who is going to be living and going to school nearby (even if you have glimpsed it once already) is going to be a little scary. Expect that, and don’t freak out.</p>
<p>If peace of mind is what you’re after (and it sounds like it is) you should definitely check Temple’s web information and their new student orientation information for guidance. Most of us would prefer exploring a new urban mass transportation system without luggage. I would investigate ground transportation - usually less expensive then cabs. The Philadelphia Airport website probably can help you research what’s available.</p>
<p>However, the airport line - that runs from the airport into Center City then continues and stops at the Temple University stop. The station isn’t right in the middle of campus, but it is close and popular with students. The “orange line” mentioned above is the Broad Street subway line (it is orange on the transit map). That is convenient to get to Center City, but does not go to the airport. </p>
<p>It can be very stressful trying to manage luggage and all the other headaches of traveling. My daughter goes to school far from home and is now an expert on getting to and from the airport on her own. Just try to do what you can to send items ahead and take advantage of offered help and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>Bit of advice…the school is going to send you a move in time, traveling the way you are ignore it. Show up when you show up. They spread out the times so there arent tons of cars on campus, but if a cab is dropping off or whatever, just go right in, no one will care.</p>
<p>Schools will allow boxes to be sent ahead of time and stored in mail room. We double checked ours was open. Also, if you have more you want to have, boxes can be sent just before you leave and show just after you get there.</p>
<p>And there are two IKEAs nearby. Perhaps you’ll see my D at one of them.</p>
<p>Have you ever visited this college? I think it is generally a bad idea for your first time seeing a college to be the day you move in. If you had previously visited when in the application process you would probably have some sense of where it is and/or the college could have provided suggested methods of transportation. Do most students have cars onsite? Is it in an urban or rural area? How will you get around on weekends, etc.??? These are things you need to think about long before showing up to move in.</p>
<p>I also would not advertise on any website to find a ‘friend’ to help you with local transportation. I suggest you talk more with your parents if you need logistical help in getting to college.</p>
<p>curleq94, don’t worry. I suggest contacting the school to let them know your situation. </p>
<p>In fact, count yourself lucky; you are only flying cross-country. There will be plently of kids arriving alone from a FOREIGN country, and most schools with int’l students have an int’l coordinator who helps with their logistics. Call your school; they will assist you.</p>