<p>Only other piece of advice I can add is about move-in times. My son was given a date and a 2 hour window in which to move in. Since we had to fly in, we got there a day early and tried to see his room - we weren’t allowed in since it wasn’t his move in day. So we made sure to get to his dorm at the start of his move-in time the next day - and surprise, surprise, 4 of his roommates were already moved in! Apparently, if we had shown up earlier on the proper day, we could have moved in earlier (which would have been much more convenient!!)</p>
<p>When we moved in S1, we arrived the night before and had a nice, calm, quiet celebratory dinner and stayed in a hotel. We already have the reservations to do the same for S2.</p>
<p>Ditto to these suggestions:
Tools. Someone gave S1 a nice set for a graduation present. Great idea.
Let him/her figure out the internet access. It’s important enough to them.
Extra change of clothes for post move-in activities. (For us, it was a chapel service and a picnic on the lawn.)</p>
<p>Other tips:
Bring a notepad to write down what you need to go find at Walmart/Target/Best Buy/Radio Shack, etc. (Now, I guess I would make a note in my iPhone; three years ago, I used paper!)</p>
<p>Bring a tape measure so you have the closet, shelf, underbed dimensions, etc. for those purchases.</p>
<p>Go shop for those things when your child unpacks.</p>
<p>Exchange phone numbers and e-mail addresses with the roommate’s parents. You never know when you might need them.</p>
<p>After you say goodbye, turn around and don’t look back.</p>
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<p>A couple from my church did that while their D was far OOS. After a few one way flights, they started being flagged for extra security scrutiny.</p>
<p>Try and capture your childs attention BEFORE you pack up the dorm stuff so you can show/tell them “here is your tool kit”, “here is your first aid kit”, etc. If you wait until you are in the dorm room they will tune you out and will spend the next 9 months unaware that they have these items.</p>
<p>We flew and S had two fairly large checked bags. One of the bags was overweight (books, guitar amp, etc), which would have incurred a ridiculous fee. So there we were, all spread out on the floor in the middle of the airport repacking S’s stuff. Next time, we’ll weigh the bags at home.</p>
<p>We flew a day early, rented a car, and hit the local Target. Had a lovely last dinner with our baby and moved him in early the next morning.</p>
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<p>Ummm…I pointed out stuff as we packed at home and as we were unpacking in the dorm. One of my kids didn’t realize he had a fully stocked first aid bag til he moved to Boston for a summer internship and saw the bag. “Oh, great drugs! This would have been useful in January when I was sick, Mom!” Well, duh.</p>
<p>With both kids, we arrived the day prior. Had each of them take me around the campus, since I had never seen the schools (DH did those particular road trips). They were each so proud and excited to show me their new territory. Was also essential to get a good night’s sleep the night before move-in.</p>
<p>Keep the receipts for all school stuff you buy in case you need to return items. Don’t unwrap stuff til you know it will be used. There were a couple things I took out of packaging in order to pack more efficiently which we wound up not needing and I could not return them because they were no longer in the original packaging.</p>
<p>My suggestion: Bring clothes and all the essentials, but don’t buy much for college. Instead, be willing to give your S or D money as they need items. Like, I have the calendar, laundry basket, and all the bells and whistles but have never used most of them. Had a waited to see what needs came up, I’d have less stuff</p>
<p>Hi rocket!! How did this year go?</p>