Two tips: (1) yes, Target only holds pickups for 7 days. (2) We used Samsonite Tote-a-Ton bags for move in, and because they are not waterproof and I did not want to arrive at our destination airport with wet clothes and shoes and bedding if it rained on the tarmac, I first loaded everything into those giant clear leaf/lawn bags and secured them then put them inside the Tote-a-Ton.
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My then 19 year old kid did get stuck when a connecting flight got cancelled. The hotel that had availability had an over 21 policy but I called and asked to speak to the manager and did a very polite â is there any way you can help usâ call. He agreed to let her check in and personally got her checked in and arranged for early shuttle to airport. We sent a note to Hilton corporate praising him.
FYI Hilton hotels (and their myriad brands across price ranges) have an 18yo policy for rooms.
My son was at Oberlin and used the storage company every summer. Theyâd show up on campus in the spring, youâd order your boxes and pack them, and theyâd deliver them back to your new dorm in September. He never had anything stolen or lost.
The only hassle was shipping it all after graduation. But mailing was cheaper than paying the extra baggage fees.
I will say that we had a good laugh at the âenvironmentalists until graduationâ ethos at Oberlin. There were several dumpsters overflowing with brand new rolls of paper towels, cleaning supplies, linens, dishes, and towels.
âWe call Philly the âblack holeâ of airports. PlusâŠthey get plenty of winter in PhillyâŠso air Travel is impacted. DartmouthâŠeasy peasy. They run buses to Boston every day.â
Iâm politely calling BS on this. : )
Uber + Southwest direct flight + Uber + little or no snow. Thatâs always going to be better.
My kids werenât allowed to apply to any college that did not involve direct Southwest flights. Thatâs not a joke. There were plenty of fine schools that fit the criteria. Had to cut down the app list somehow â the Southwest rule was more valid than many of the other criteria folks use. Sorry Bennington and Colgate.
Long bus/car ride to airport + two or more connecting flights + long bus/car ride from airport + snow?
Make sure to pack your blankie, kiddo. Because you are going to spend several nights of your college career sleeping in an airport. Guaranteed.
@northwesty our kid went to college where Southwest flew. But because it was cross countryâŠthere were not direct flights. And sometimes other airlines were less costly. But mostly she flew SW because of the liberal change policies.
Those Dartmouth kids donât seem to mind the extra travel timeâŠ?
The fact isâŠin the winter when there are storms, the whole airline grid can be screwed up.
But I still sayâŠdistance should not be a deterrent. Our kid managed to get home from the opposite coast every time she was supposed to. Sometimes delayedâŠbut she got here.
@4kids4us We drove to school at the end of the year her sophomore year and drove her and her stuff home. She studied abroad next September and was gone her entire junior school year. She drove back by herself at the start of her senior year. All her dorm stuff stayed packed up in her room or the garage while she was abroad for a year. Plus, some of the stuff she had in her dorm she wanted to use at home for the summer before she left for EnglandâŠ
Of course this only worked because our D was within 6 hours driving distanceâŠ
In her college town storage units werenât cheap and in high supply and her school wouldnât let anyone except RAâs store anything over the summer on campus. Of course itâs different for anyoneâŠif your kid is going to college across the country then yes, paying for a storage unit while abroad would be a good ideaâŠ
Our D was 6 hours awayâŠwe didnât mind driving out at the start and end of the school year with all her stuff to help move in. There were a couple of times when she drove herself to move in and out and when she studied abroad we didnât drive to move her in and outâŠ
I donât think distance should be a deterrentâŠunless you canât afford the higher airfare to go far away. But, if money is not an object, then go as far away as you want! Just let your kid know that going to college in a remote location can make it harder to get home and make you more vulnerable to delaysâŠ
And going to school in a cold place also makes you vulnerable to delays. Iâm not saying that should keep you from going to certain schools but it is something to keep in mind, especially if your kid is determined to be home for the holidays.
And remember tooâŠif you live in a place where there are potential weather related issues, that can cause travel issues too.
My kid went to college in a place where it has never snowed. Delays and cancellations happened because the airports near our home were having weather related issues.
If the kid is OK with dealing with weather related travel issues, and all of this is affordable, I agreeâŠdonât let weather deter your kid. Itâs really all manageable!
I have worried about this and it has come close but not happened!
Sometimes the scholarships you can get farther away outweigh the additional travel costs - we had 2 like that from our 5 kids
@toomanyteens true, but not everyone can get a scholarship. I just think as long as youâre doing what you can afford and keeping all the possible variables in mindâŠgo right ahead!