Thanks for this @hlmom. This is what I thought.
But how 24hrs can change things. Had an email from American Airlines this morning with a change in S’s flight. They have cancelled the connection putting him on a later flight meaning he would arrive in Memphis at 10.35 at night. Not really suitable for arriving on campus. So he now has a layover in Philadelphia with a friend from his summer camp organisation (which he is really pleased about) and now arriving with all the American students on Friday morning. So while all my concerns still stand I don’t have to worry about him arriving ‘on his own’ on the night before. He’s happy too.
I know one parent mentioned Bed Bath and Beyond’s Pack and Hold service. Do you have that store in UK? We used that for our DD’s cross country college move in and it was great…picked out everything in person here at home, then they got it all together at the Bed Bath and Beyond near the college and she picked it up and paid for it there (yes, this did require a car). Also we made the mistake of shipping things like a pillow from home and were very surprised by shipping costs, it was cheaper just to buy stuff like that there.
Have him get an Amazon prime student account about a month before school starts. Order stuff to be delivered the day before he arrives.
In my opinion plan to buy a mattress topper , an extra pillow, two pillow cases, two fitted sheets and two flat sheets. The college will provide a blanket and he can add a light comforter. Other things he’ll buy in location: small rug, desk lamp, desk bin.
To pack: a couple favorite pictures or posters to put on his walls.
@Whistlingal , I would buy two sets of sheets. Sometimes the washers and dryers are in use during your free time.
My daughter just used a fitted bottom sheet over a mattress pad (dorm mattresses are universally horrible!) and a duvet with a cover. She washed the bottom sheet and pillowcase weekly, and the duvet cover maybe every two weeks. You will need an extra long twin fitted (bottom) sheet, but the duvet can be a regular twin, so don’t freak out if you can’t find an XL.
^^all my daughters did the same. I think it’s a common set up with the duvet and no top sheet. I also recommend two sets of sheets for the reason Massmomm suggested and, also, you never know when something can happen, like a spilled drink, and you need to change your sheets unexpectedly.
My Ds actually all had full size duvets so they hid some of the stuff they stored below their beds. My kids all used risers and the full size really worked well.
If you want to start him with one set of sheets, that is fine. He can always get another set later if he wants them.
Once again great suggestions. Thanks
If you’re ordering from US Amazon and sending to your child at a US address, I don’t see why or how there would be a customs issue. That would only apply to shipments arriving from outside the country. Seems to me you can have the Amazon items arrive before he does.
I second the suggestion to find out what kind of bank ATM is on campus before settling on a bank. You will want the account with that bank to avoid ATM fees.
@ProfessorMom1 We will be shipping some stuff - guitar, tux, sports equipment from the UK. Just trying to keep that cost down by buying some things in the US - bedding etc.
Yes, a bank with ATM on campus is very helpful. That’s what we opened for our kids as well. Some places, like Charles Schwab, also have debit cards that reimburse for all ATM fees, which may be another useful option.
I hear you, twoinanddone! My daughter goes to UW, and her dorm is so warm I can hardly stand it. She said she loves it toasty like that. I think it has spoiled her for when she comes home. At Christmas, she kept saying our house was too cold.
Good to hear about warm dorms at UW!
Hi ya, Whistlingal! Thanks for starting this thread. My daughter is going from Europe, so it’s good to get a feel for things. Things are so similar between UK/US and yet so vastly different! I find Target more like an Argos, personally. Anyway, I feel ya. I thought I was going to be sending my girl all the way there on her own but am now accompanying her. Such a load off my mind!
If your son does not make his bed, I would not bother with the flat sheets. It just looks worse having a lump of fitted sheet in the bed or kick to the floor. Just a fitted sheet with the duvet cover/comforter.
@Kardinalschnitt where is your D going?
@gearmom son is pretty good at making his bed funnily enough considering H&i aren’t so!!! But I think I’ll leave the flat sheet - just one more thing to worry about. We are heading out in October with the intention of seeing him and college of course but hiring a car so we can get around and get him anything else he might need. Hoping room mate is local so can bring the ‘big’ things.
However we have decided to buy some things from Amazon to have in his room for move in. Mainly electricals Having to ship a certain amount due to musical instruments and tuxs for concerts. So thinking I’ll send bedding. It is so much cheaper here. The research I’ve done the same Ikea duvet is £15 compared to $45! The shipping unfortunately can’t arrive before him so he is going to ask his roomie if he can borrow for the first couple of nights!!
Hope they get on!!
@Whistlingal I’m giggling at all your Britishisms that many here might not understand, like “get on.” It means “get along” for anyone in the dark. I dunno, maybe people watch so much Brit telly now that they have no problem.
My daughter will be going to the University of Wyoming – a grand adventure! Not sure how long it will last as her very best friends in the world are in Cambridge (she was at school there in Y8 and they’ve been best friends since) and will be studying at Birmingham. She swears she’d never study there, but good friends might change her mind, right?
@Kardinalschnitt Do you have family in Wyoming or even somewhere in the US? You seem to have more of a handle on things than I do?
We were going to accompany and combine a holiday with it all at the beginning and then he would have had 3 luggage allowances to ease the ‘what to take syndrome’. Makes so much sense that way. But he has a longstanding summer campcommitment the 3 weeks directly before. In fact he has to cut it short by 3 days to get to the US on time. So he will be leaving us 3 weeks before and flying directly from the camp. It seemed a waste to go for hardly any time with him so going in October for fall recess instead. Would have liked to go for family weekend but we have a family wedding a couple of weeks before that in France and again logistics were just too tight.
Many of S’s friends looked at Birmingham - it’s a great uni. One is definitely going as he got an unconditional to do engineering so couldn’t turn it down. S’s problem with British unis was that he doesn’t know what he wants to study so the LAC system suited him better. We had to rely on aid and scholarship but luckily for him (and us) he got that.
@Whistlingal Yeah, I grew up in the States but haven’t lived there in over 30 years. My parents are still there – one on the east coast, one on the west. We are a funny tri-national family who has lived all over the place, kids born in different countries, etc. In the UK we have lived in Essex and on Hertfordshire/Cambridgeshire border.
Our trip to accompany daughter was a surprise. I didn’t even book bags for my youngest and me. I figure daughter will have one huge bag and two small ones, then we load up while we’re there. We’re also coming from three weeks at our house in France where we usually go with only a couple of carry-ons. I don’t know what I would do if we hadn’t been able to go along with her.
Daughter opted out of doing the full IB diploma and went with her school’s American diploma, so uni in the UK wasn’t going to work for her without a Foundation Year, which seemed too easy and boring. It just didn’t seem to make sense. She would have wanted medicine but she couldn’t access HL Maths (higher level) because she entered school here with maths from three different countries in Y6-7-8. So she was going to work like crazy and stress out for no real purpose. I’m thinking she might put in two years in the US then transfer back to EU. Or maybe she’ll love it and stay on. Who knows?
Congratulations to your son for his accomplishments! You sound like a very proud mum!
@Kardinalschnitt Living in Sheffield now but originally from Essex. Billericay as a kid then my parents moved to Kelvedon between Colchester and Chelmsford. They were there for 24 years but in truth I never really lived there. Know Cambridge really well.
@Kardinalschnitt I had no idea that “get on” was a “Britishism.” That is what I would use. I think we kept more British phrases and words in New England. My grandmother was always mum not mom.
@Whistlingal The entire time we were in Brentwood I wished we had chosen Billericay! It was so odd, but all the girls there wore pants to school (my eldest is a tomboy) whilst the girls at Brentwood never would in a million years (The raccoon eyes! Just like in Educating Essex!). Billericay also seemed much more down-to-earth to me – but I went there only twice, so who knows?
@gearmom New England might as well be a different country as far I am concerned! 
And, yes, I went a few times long, long ago when I still couldn’t pronounce Barre or Worcester! In any case, I meant it all in jest. It was more that it was endearing to me (I miss the UK) than anything else.