<p>Speaking of Bed Bath and Beyond, does anyone know if regular twin-size duvets work on XL twin beds??</p>
<p>Don’t know the answer to your question, Daisychain, but something to consider…when my S1 was going away, we went w/ a slightly larger comforter figuring that his bed in an apartment (if students at your school tend to live off campus after a year or two) would probably not be a twin, and then he could still use the comforter.</p>
<p>Two new books in our house now: “Letting Go” for me and “The Naked Roommate” for DS. Onward to move-in day!</p>
<p>daisychain - regular twin duvet works just fine. It’s the sheets and mattress cover you want to make sure are XL</p>
<p>Some of the housing website have the bed measurement online</p>
<p>I TOLD you all that we’d be talking sheets and roommates! We will be together for a while… :)</p>
<p>I feel as though we are missing some decisions from posters. Our list is great but it seems short in comparison to the number of posts. Don’t be shy folks-post or PM your child’s decisions!</p>
<p>Everyone gets mattress pads now, right? I don’t remember those when I went to school - just pillow, sheets, towels, a quilt and indian bedspreads that I hung up as curtains. Do they need curtains??</p>
<p>I think we’re going to have to drive two cars just to get it all there. The piles of supplies are growing!</p>
<p>New since the Dark Ages when we were in college: A memory-foam topper is great thing to have on those plastic-topped hard dorm mattresses, especially if your kid doesn’t have too much padding on their body! Our oldest kid asked for one halfway through first year, and says it made all the difference. Even a 2-inch thick one helps quite a bit.</p>
<p>She easily sold the memory foam topper to another girl at the end of sophomore year, when she knew she would be moving off campus to a room with a queen size bed for junior year.</p>
<p>They are bulky and heavy, however, so it’s something you might want to buy locally near campus perhaps (Bed Bath and Beyond, Walmart, Target all have them), or have it sent to your kid via Amazon Prime right after school starts.</p>
<p>Good idea about the memory foam topper, and to get it locally. I’m so glad we’re finally on to this phase - looking at housing, meal plans, figuring out what to order/pack.</p>
<p>SLUMOM - thanks for the advice, I’ll compare air fares for Boston and Providence. We’d be getting a car anyway.</p>
<p>Ely - yes, they have the same school colors!</p>
<p>We filled out the housing form over the weekend. Interesting to see the questions they ask (smoker? how often overnight guests? how much sleep needed?,etc.) Interesting to see how my DS answered the questions!</p>
<p>I am glad that UCONN is only 1 3/4 hrs drive away. Will make it easier to transport stuff to the dorm. In my day we had TVs and stereos, now with ipods and computers they won’t take up as much room. Good idea about the mattress topper. I have the feeling that my DS won’t use all the stuff I get for him. When my D15 goes off to school in a couple of years, that will be a different story!</p>
<p>Good Morning – May 1st, we made it!</p>
<p>Pkdof13 - How great, excellent planning ;)</p>
<p>Mattress covers are a must. One look at those stained (and, no, don’t even contemplate their sources), tired mattresses and you’ll have the best feeling as you zip on that fresh, white cover. My H & I were wondering how long it would take my older S to wash his sheets at college, so I safety-pinned a $20 bill to the mattress pad with a note : “Call Mom when you get this…” On the drive home we layed bets on how long it would take him to find it. (it was 3 weeks, not too bad).</p>
<p>Just chiming in that while I’m not a fan of more stuff than necessary for dorm rooms, my older guys did each get and really like those foam top mattress thingies. I got them on overstock, I think. Not particularly thick, and I remember reading on CC years ago that kids who like a cooler bed put the eggy part up; kids who like a warmer bed put the flat side up. I think I finally threw oldest’s out after four years of use.</p>
<p>More suggestions from experienced parents would be great!</p>
<p>ELY - great story about the $20! Love it and may have to steal that idea! (I once put $5 inside the toilet paper roll in the kids’ bathroom to see if anyone would EVER take it upon themselves to put a roll on the holder.)</p>
<p>^So funny, I bet that $5 bill gathered dust.</p>
<p>Another useful item, for those moving into older dorms, is a multi-plug power strip & extension cord. With computers, chargers, mini frig, etc. . . these come in handy.</p>
<p>For classes, bring a clip board. For some reason, it’s something everyone forgets, but it’s one of the most useful things I brought to college. Also the College life forum has a great thread on what your kid might want to bring to school <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/82285-z-what-bring-college.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-life/82285-z-what-bring-college.html</a></p>
<p>While most of the stuff is unnecessary, some like deodorant, shower shoes, and a small tool kit are essential</p>
<p>Extension cords, duct tape, power stripes etc all come in handy.
We have encountered rooms where the outlets were in one place, at about desk height.
The long heavy duty extension cords get duct taped to walls… Rugs always came home quite filthy and had to be thrown out. Those “bed risers” are great for making bed higher off the floor so more things can be stored under bed. Some beds can be “lofted” so bed risers are not necessary. Those stick on hooks that do not damage walls are very convenient. </p>
<p>I thought BBB also have a service where you pick everything out back home and it is shipped to your school at appropriate time.</p>
<p>I’m a 2014 parent but I’ve been lurking on this thread for the past few months. As you wrap up the first stage of this journey, I wanted to wish everyone the best and thank you for such a warm and collegial community. I’ve really enjoyed the discussions and strategic thinking, and I’ve especially appreciated this little respite (and breath of fresh air) from what is often an overwhelming experience here on CC. Here’s to the class of 2013/2017!</p>
<p>Hi, dory123, thanks for the kind words to us here! I have to admit, the few times I looked at the 3.0 - 3.3 class of 2014 thread this spring, it brought back all those stomach-clenching days during the spring of our kids’ junior years, spent worrying about SAT/ACT prep, or results, and riding the roller coaster of junior year grades, AP tests, etc. I think most of us would tell you, “It gets better (senior year).”</p>
<p>I hope our thread sends the message that it WILL all work out for your great kids, and I hope you are finding the peer support among the Class of 2014 thread that we all found here. Best of luck!</p>