We originally thought that my D would want a single room as she has always seemed to prefer “her own space” which is difficult to have in a shared room (even in the best of roommate situations). But recently she has said she would definitely like to be in a double and have the whole roommate experience. My S was the same way but he realized that there will always be adjustments but having a roommate usually makes it easier initially to make friends and assimilate. My S has grown up a lot and has learned from having a roommate to figure out compromises to all of those controversies that occur when 2 different people have to share a relatively small space. I also learned from his experience in his first semester last year that he is not the the worst slob as I had originally thought. Don’t get me wrong, his roommate was the nicest person and they got along very well but my S ALMOST looks neat in comparison! LOL. Life is truly all about comparison and that situation sure gave me some perspective.
In regards to dorm shopping, I am looking for the things that are typical for any dorm space…egg crate for on top of the twin XL mattress (unless of course she happens to get into the school that gives all students tempre pedic mattress), loose leaf paper, five subject notebooks (my kids hate having to use binders), comforter set and coordinating sheets (D will choose her set regardless of school she gets into), one of those back rests, a body pillow and alternating covers, dry erase board with magnets and markers, calendar, cork squares and push pins (to put up by desk area for notes & pictures), a few cutesy wall decors, flash drives, stapler, tape dispenser, hangers, desk lamp, those command hooks, etc. I get all this stuff early and on sale starting with Black Friday (even though they say its happening all through November…I have not really noticed it).
Thanks, lvmjac1. That does make me a little sad, though, thinking back. We wished for the roommate situation for the very reason your son came to realize there was a benefit to it. Still, I am glad your son was able to redeem himself in regards to organization and such in your eyes. (I have to say there will clearly be no such turnaround for my big guy, as when I went to visit he made it clear by using his new-found, disheveled HUGE frame (Sophomore 25?) to indicate that I should not seek to enter his room. I was a little taken aback, but …
My oldest DD had a roommate her freshman year but has lucked out with her room draw times for years 2 & 3 and gotten singles both times. She did have a backup plan to room with a very good friend if the dorm ran out of singles. Her current room is huge at nearly 200 square feet but it is an attic room with slanted ceilings so can’t accommodate bunked beds. The friend is a few doors down in a similar room.
It is SO way too early to be discussing dorm shopping. That said,
@lvmjac1 – I think that my S14 went through a couple of mattress toppers, but he absolutely loves the one that’s currently on his dorm bed. In fact, when we’re talking he will sometimes spontaneously say (unconnected to the prior conversation) how wonderful it is. Here’s the link. Yeah, it’s quite expensive:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004AR0N7E?keywords=memory%20foam%20solutions%20twin%20topper&qid=1447047707&ref_=sr_1_2&sr=8-2
Amazon Prime has been a godsend for us. Whenever S14 needs something (from mechanical pencils to an umbrella to gluten-free pretzels) either he or we order it, and it’s there two days later. Very handy when you don’t have a car with which to run errands.
And as has been mentioned here before, Bed, Bath, and Beyond has a program where you shop for everything you want to get for your child, order it online, and they’ll have it all put together in a shopping cart and waiting for you to pick up at the BBY store closest to campus. And on that pickup they will honor however many 20%-off coupons that you hand them, even if they’re outdated.
Different schools handle the roommate piece in different ways. S14 connected with his freshman roommate on his class Facebook page. They discussed everything from how cold they’d want the room at night (quite cold, for both of them) to which football games they’d watch on Sundays. When they submitted their housing applications they requested to room with each other. Worked out just fine.
So my son was given a calculus problem in the middle of his Harvard interview. He, of course, is a math person and his interviewer was a math professor! But I think it would be a bit interesting to announce on the Harvard forum that my son was given a calc problem as part of his interview, just to see the reaction!
@LKnomad This is interesting. I have never heard of testing as part of alumni interview.
@Ballerina2016 my son didn’t see it as a test. It was part of a discussion about math, I guess. He said it was a pretty easy problem for someone who had had calc. In the end the interviewer told him that he thought applied math was a good choice for him, but theoretical math was not. He also asked him to give him some examples of how he was doing applied mathematics which lead to a discussion of my son’s senior project. My son was very happy with the interview and I think throwing in a math problem helped with that. He was in his element.
When S16 returned from summer program in late July, I washed his x-long bedding, put it in a box and stashed it under a table in his room for safe keeping. I didn’t really think anything of it other than the practical aspect of not losing it somewhere in the house. When I mentioned it to my son so he would know why the box was there…he got a very strange, panicked look on his face and said “Am I packing for college already?” It was both priceless and unnerving at the same time.
@LKnomad - I (and DS) would hope very much for a calc problem as part of an interview! Sounds much less stressful than, “tell us about a time you failed and persevered” or some such. 
@AsleepAtTheWheel I too love love love Amazon Prime and there 2 day shipping! I guess so many of us loving it and using it to its fullest maybe why it is causing Amazon financial problems. I hear that changes in the program maybe in the works! Its so convenient, my S needs something and boom its there in 2 days! Cannot beat that service and convenience!
When you’re broke, having a long lead time in which to amass college supplies is a blessing. You can leverage holiday gift-giving, sales, thrifting, etc. Oh, to have the luxury of buying items just-in-time style. That would be such a relief. Just saying.
@dyiu13 I am with you in much preferring to spread out the purchasing but it is as much about time as money. I hate to pay full price for something just because I have run out of time to get the best deal. I have already started saving those bed bath and beyond coupons, joined the new Costco opening soon, etc. Things that work for any school are on his Christmas list for those family members that always call asking for an idea.
@dyiu13 I am so with you on not having a lot of disposable cash at this time (with no new influx of financial relief on the horizon). I do love amazon prime for instant purchases but they are mainly for things that we may need (many of our needed items (allergy meds, supplements, and necessary daily hygiene items) are cheaper on amazon and then the free two day shipping makes it so much more affordable than buying it elsewhere and having to mail it on my own. I tend to try and spread out large amounts of purchases needed into smaller more affordable sections of purchases and try to get the cheapest price. I am known for getting the item (so I have it) and then trying to find it cheaper and return the more expensive version. LOL. Anything to make a dollar stretch and squeal in pain these days. We unfortunately do not have nice thrift shops or consignments stores that I am aware of or else I would be frequenting them as well. In our area the taxes, insurances and utilities are exorbitant so I try to get the most using the least. Many of the dorm necessities or accessories can be purchased in advance and less expensively or used as gifts for the holidays. These kids seem to have so much and truly need so little that I fill under the tree with many of their future needs as they have difficulty letting family know what they want or need.
One of the funny aspects of move-in day for S14: When you walked by the rooms with two girls and glanced in, bed linen matched, towels matched, and there was a stuffed animal here and there. When you walked by the boys rooms, well, you can just imagine.
silly question here: how do we get the allegedly-ubiquitous BBB coupons?
@fretfulmother You can sign up for texts or online and they’ll start sending them.
@carolinamom2boys - thank you!! 
@AsleepAtTheWheel the bed topper is in my “Save for Later” on Amazon. Thanks for the tip! My D is truly afraid of a miserable mattress.
The current plan is for D to visit colleges in the Northeast in February, so holiday presents will be a decent coat and boots. I have spent an embarrassing amount of time this weekend on Amazon, 6pm, REI outlet, Sierra Trading Post, etc. I think I have it narrowed down to two Columbia coats (one sporty, one slightly dressy, and they can be layered together) and some MuckBoots.
She is so fascinated by the idea of a “real” fall and winter. We shall see…
dyiu, I grew up one of 5 kids in a New England family where the motto was “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” My mother knew how to make a penny scream. I will NOT be buying everything for D at the last minute at full price. The minute I know where she is going and how she’ll be getting there, I will start planning how to do it as cheaply as possible.
I don’t find BB & B to be especially affordable-Target, Ross and Walmart generally beat their prices, even without a sale going on. And both Target and Walmart do the “ship to store” thing too. And believe me, if I can find something at a thrift shop, I will. DD will be able to take a number of things from home (we have more towels than even fit in the linen closet for some reason). I also keep track of when sales happen. The “home goods” go on sale starting in July, but “White Sales” happen in January. Other things are cheapest for Black Friday, others around other sales holidays like President’s Day or even Mother’s or Father’s Day.
For those who have not sent a kid to college yet, it’s true what experienced parents have said on threads in the past about dorm supplies. Make a list of all you think you need and cut out half of it. Not everyone needs a fridge and a microwave and a new rug and new, matching bedding and a new computer and a new wardrobe. We took my older D to college with some things in my rental car trunk and her dad’s SUV. And even that might have been too much. She never did hook up the TV her dad gave her.