Just registered with Dorm Room Movers. They are coming on May 5 to pick up my D’s stuff, store it over the summer and bring it to her room in August when she returns. It was $39 to register and if you schedule pick on one of the days they have listed to be at your school, there is no pick up or delivery charge. You pay by the item. For example at box is $44 and a couch is $76. For me that’s a great deal. They tell you the charge after they pick up and calculate what you have. I’m thinking about $500 for the whole deal, well worth it in my book for the peace of mind.
D1 has a randomly assigned roommate and it has be better than we could have imagined. She only learned who it was about a week before move in. The roommate established all kinds of rules about boys visiting and lights on times (nicely), but my D is very easy going and agreed to all of the rules (a mother’s dream - no boys in the room!). They get along great and would have roomed together again but my D is living in the sorority house next year. They have a messy room and both seem okay with it. Their beds are lofted and the fridge and microwave are under my daughter’s bed again by the roommate’s design, but it’s been no big deal to my D.
Other D signed up to room in a freshmen quad (it’s a freshmen village of quads) with her teammates. There was a mix up that meant she was excluded from all the summer planning on who was bringing what, and the other kids have parents who were much too involved in bringing rugs and cleaning products and bathroom shelving, but it has worked out okay. My daughter is the ‘studier’ in the apt., but she does it at the library. She also is in a sorority so that often takes her away from the drama in the unit on weekends. Right now they are in their season so no time for drama or squabbling, otherwise 24/7 with the same group was too much for my daughter.
Both of them needed the variety of being with different people socially, at least some of the time, than who they live with. Even when one lives in her sorority next year she’ll have many friends from classes and the dorm and her club sport.
My D and her roommate (matched by the school) have gotten along well. No drama. They are friendly roommates more than friends. Next year D is rooming with a close friend and sorority sister. I hope it works out as well.
I have rented a storage unit for D. I may have to help her move depending on how much (or little) time she has after finals. I wish they had Dorm Room Movers at her school. I would sign up in a heartbeat.
DD’s school is all random roommates. She does not really get along with hers although they have pretty peacefully coexisted this year. Roommate seems to be a serious partier which DD is not and really has no tolerance for who’s going to watch out for roommate and figure out whether she gets home safely. I think if it was every once in a while it would be one thing but it seems to be at least 3 nights each week which is too much for DD to deal with. They share a large group of friends in her dorm and they have the largest room and are the only two roommates in the group so everyone seems to hang out in their room. And the roommate is always in the room so DD feels like she doesn’t really have any time on her own or her own space.
DD decided to be an RA next year and therefore has a single room in a sophomore dorm. And she’s in a sorority so she’ll have access to their common areas for studying. She’s going to be in a great dorm in a prime location next year. And her best friends (girl and two guys) are living together in a really large three room triple so she’ll also be able to hang out with them when she needs to get away. The roommate and a lot of the rest of the group all went through rooming together and were supposed to be getting into a dorm near the athletic facilities as they’re all athletes. Well, didn’t happen - now they’re ALL (including roommate - ugh!) on DD’s floor in her dorm!! She’s really not happy about that. Loves the other 5 or 6 who will be joining her but was really hoping to get away from roommate next year! I’m so glad she’s got a single and some definite spaces to escape to! Are we really awful for hoping roommate will have to have another surgery which will prevent her from living on an upper floor of a dorm without an elevator? Ok - rant over!
D met her roommate through the college’s facebook page. They messaged then spoke by phone a few times. They are now great friends. Roomie is actually much, much messier than my d (which is shocking), and d doesn’t mind as long as it’s on her side. They aren’t living together next year, d is living with another friend on the floor as they’re all doing the sorority thing. However, they’ll all be in dorms in one section of housing that’s for sororities. She’ll be in a 2 person suite next year so she’ll get her own room, but they’ll have a common living area, bathroom and kitchen. This has been a great experience for d, but she has her moments of wanting some down/alone time she isn’t getting now. Being able to shut her bedroom door will be a good thing for her next year.
Greetings, Class of 2014 parents! I’m visiting from the Class of 2015 parents board, hoping for some wisdom from you first-year veterans. Now that your freshmen are within sight of the end of their first year of college, what are some pointers you can offer for us newbies? Something as general as best way to set up a dorm room or as specific as what kind of cookies ship best in care packages.
I’m sending my oldest off in August, and I feel wobbly about it. Reading your group’s posts over this past year has helped. I hope all your 2014ers finish their year happy and healthy!
I usually post on the parents of class of 2015 forum but pop over here here every so often. We are in decision making mode and things just didn’t turn out the way we thought. My D’s top choices, though she got merit and FA, are coming in with budget busting COAs. So the state school honors college ( not the flagship, she didn’t like it) looks like the practical choice. She seems to be ok with it, but not excited. It’s not what she wanted but does offer some benefits that she is starting to recognize.
She’s also dealt with anxiety issues in high school, and frankly, having her closer to home ( still a couple hours away) is a comfort to me, as long as she can make it work and actually be happy there.
Did any of you end up turning down the ‘dream’ and choose the more practical school? Luckily I have read many success stories that start similarly, but I’d love some reassurance that it can work out from those who have just gone through this.
@shoboemom - what my kids and I came to discover - they do love their schools, but can both say the reality is, they’d be fine at any of the schools were they applied. Unless your child is a true outlier personality wise - she will live in a dorm, find friends, have some good classes and some not so good, and she’ll find activities, clubs, interests to become involved. It will be up to her to make the most of her experience. Many things make a good fit, and “dream” is really not a realistic criteria. Start helping her to make the most of her choice. Have her look at class schedules, dorms, food options, join the facebook page, do any meet ups if they’re offered, and of course the most fun part for my d - start planning on decorating the dorm room.
How’s her anxiety treated @shoboemom ? Wherever she goes, set up her care before she arrives (therapist, pdoc for scripts, etc.). I’m going to suggest avoiding campus health for treatment. This is my standard advice. Go there for anything you’d let a family doc treat or for very short term therapy. If you’ve got something you’d see a specialist for (and mental health is a specialty), seek out a specialist in the community.
When both my girls were college shopping, I actively discouraged the notion of a dream school. I remember my youngest telling an admissions rep on a visit that she’d be fine anywhere as long as she had a friend. And she would have been. Oh, she’s happy at the school she chose (the least expensive, btw), but she sees some warts, too. And I think those dream schools your d is pining for would turn out to be less than perfect, too. Like @eyemamom says, there’s so much that’s the same. She’ll live in a dorm, complain about the food, make friends, meet people she can’t stand, take a class she loves and maybe one that kicks her in the butt.
Just give her a little time to wrap her head around the decision, and by all means, keep your own disappointment from showing!
DS turned down first choice for a more practical second. Got merit aid at both, but his current college is about a third the price of the first choice. The choice was his and he had a bit of a let down at first, but started loving his alma mater to be by the time of the June orientation. Now he is very happy and is glad he dropped the original number one.
shoboemom: My older son turned down his dream school for a more practical, financial option, and he does not regret his decision. The dream school would have had him graduate about $80,000 in debt, so he would have had to get a job immediately to start paying off the loans. Graduate school would not have been an option, either. He took a National Merit offer to an OOS university. Got two degrees (and two minors). Traveled all over the world (mainly on their dime, too). Was a Phi Beta Kappa and graduated No. 1 in his college. Now he’s at UVA Law on a full ride and loves it.
My younger son, the 2014 grad, did not have a dream school per se. He was very practical when selecting his colleges. He wanted to run at the college level, so he had to look for a place to run as well as good academics. He got what he wanted, and seems happy with his decision. He would like to spend five years there so he can finish an MBA.
Even when they get into and attend their “dream school”, reality sets in when they get there. There are loneliness problems, missing high school friends and home, getting used to the pace of studying in college, for my only child the notion of sharing space, not having the food she wants (vegan) when she wanted it, and just being generally overwhelmed.
As you said, if you see our posts over the year, most have settled in, are happy and I am sure most have totally forgotten the whole application process. Your baby will be fine - but we all can relate to your angst.
Off to Cleveland for a shopping trip with DS! Somehow I thought that I would be doing that with DD first LOL!
2014novamom: Have a great time. Did that with my son during spring break. Since then, he asked me to order some additional shorts. He needs to make the most of his part-time job this summer, so he can pay the clothing bill.
Speaking of my son, he called me at work the other day. Laptop issues. He was walking to class, and the heavens opened. He had his laptop in his back pack, but it got wet. At first, it did not turn on at all. As of the other night, it was working, but the screen was messed up. Hopefully, things are better or he needs to go and have it repaired locally. Fortunately, the place I got it from, they have a location about 15 minutes from the campus. Or, if he wants to wait, he can have it fixed when he gets home. Not sure how much he needs it the last few weeks of school.
The year is truly winding down quickly. Son has two finals next week! Then, he has two finals the following week. Time for him to clean up and out. Hopefully he has taken the advice I offered on packing up/cleaning to heart or it could be a long, miserable experience.
It’s been a while that I haven’t post, but I have been reading all the posts.
It has not been an easy second semester for my daughter. The winter/snow really affected her and she developed a cabin fever and mild SAD that affected her academics last month. She’s better now since the weather has been better lately but also we bought her some “happy lights” for her dorm and we recommended some activities that helped her.
@momreads
Buy your son a waterproof sleeve. I bought one for my daugter when she started last fall knowing that it rains a lot in upstate NY. Here’s one:
http://www.shoebuy.com/manhattan-portage-waterproof-nylon-tablet-sleeve-7/621493/1277438?cm_mmc=googleproductads_pla--none--none-_-none
@momreads it sure is! Next week is d’s last week of classes and then finals. She’s signed up for a May term course and track isn’t over yet, so won’t be done done until May 22nd. Her class ends at noon and she has to be out of her room by 4!
We also had a computer emergency. The sleeve from the power cord came off in the computer, she had to send it back to Dell and use my ancient, slow, bottom of the line, ill-equipped HP as a back up. I almost wiped that thing and donated it. good thing I didn’t.
On getting the backpack rained on…I was just thinking about this when my D recently saw a pretty, cloth backpack she liked…Shoe stores sell a spray for tennis shoes that makes them waterproof, guess it might be the same stuff you can spray on a tent? I’m thinking we might spray D’s backpack with that to keep it dry. Just a thought.
30 hours on the ground and mission accomplished. DS has a new suit. Alterations will be done Wednesday in plenty of time for his formal. We also scoped out storage places and bought packing materials. Hard to believe he has less than three weeks of class left.
His backpack has a rain cover and I think it works well. At least he’s had no mishaps and it rains quite a bit in Cleveland. It’s a feature that he’s insisted on since high school.
I spoke with my son earlier today. He said all’s well with the laptop (YAY!!!). The screen is back to normal. The hard drive is fine. So no trip to the computer store is needed. I was just thrilled. The last thing that he needs is to be without a laptop and finals coming up.
2018dad: Thanks for the suggestion! As soon as he called the other night to tell me about the laptop issue, I went online and ordered a waterproof cover. It will be here in a day or two.
All this talk of rain reminds me:
I choked at the price, but some other parents scared me with their talk of monsoon-like rains and scorching heat in the South, so we got our son this highly-recommended backpack for air travel and classes:
http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/sc-gear/surge-ii-transit-backpack.html
We bought the previous version on sale (it doesn’t open out completely), but either version is a great bag. Shop around for good deals (we bought through ebags.com).
When were were on campus last August to move him in, we realized we’d left the backpack with his brand-new laptop in the trunk of our rental for more than an hour, and ran back in a panic to check on it, only to discover the computer was as cool as a cucumber. It was like it had been stored in a giant insulated lunchbox! I don’t think we waterproofed it, but he hasn’t had any issues with rain soaking through and this is NOT a kid to EVER use an umbrella.
He loves the bag, and it should last forever:
That’s my piece of advice for the Class of 2015! That and RESIST THE URGE TO SEND TOO MUCH STUFF.