@sc anteater Hi! I really almost never used my car during my time at UCSB. There’s a market in Isla Vista that we walked to called IV Market. Occasionally we’d venture out to a bigger grocery store, but IV Market suited us just fine for day-to-day. Many of the kids didn’t have cars at all, but most everyone has a bike :-). Best of luck to your daughter as she decides which campus is a better fit for her! Exciting times! 
Yeah, no BBB or Target or Walmart in Montreal. We are going to wait until we are there and we see the room before buying anything. Serious test for this obsessive planner! X_X
@ShrimpBurrito Bless you :-SS I don’t think I could do it
If you get a Target RedCard you get free shipping. I’m planning on adding my D as an authorized user and just have her use it for stuff she needs.
I suggest the kids get an Amazon Prime account. It was very helpful for my older D.
Dorm selection opens up for DS this week during the school day on a day that he has after school rehearsal followed by a shift at work. He seems to think he’ll be able to talk to his teacher and take care of it during class. :-SS I’m trying to talk him into him telling me his preferences and letting me be his proxy.
We have always done BB&B preorders for my other two. You order everything you might possibly need, but only pick up the stuff you want once you see the room, etc. Some stores sell out of some of the under the bed storage options, etc. So I just order everything and decide later. You only pay for what you want. In August, check your mail carefully because they send all new students a 20% off your entire order coupon. If somehow you miss it in the mail, call them and they can email it to you.
I also agree with Amazon Prime accounts (my kids use mine). Its great for text books, room supplies, and anything else they might need. By the time I pick it up here and send it to them, it would have been cheaper and faster and easier to just order it on amazon. We’ve learned.
I just have my kids on my Amazon Prime account. That way they don’t need to worry about paying for it once their free student trial runs out.
I use Amazon Prime for everything!
Everyone in the family uses my Amazon Prime account. The only odd thing is I always know what everyone is looking at because I get their “targeted advertising”
Just booked a hotel for Parent weekend - not sure we will go due to airfare but the hotel can be cancelled with no penalty. It would be DH’s first visit to campus so I think I’m going to try and make it work. Not saying we will go every year but I think we will for her Freshman year.
We don’t have much to get for S. He already has a duvet cover and sheets he can take and is going to inherit sister’s college twin comforter because she is moving into an off campus apartment and will have a bigger bed.
I bought him two bath towels and some wash cloths. Clothes and shoes and a few other things, and he will be happy.
Deciding which instruments to bring will be the more difficult question.
I love the fact that he is only an hour away and I can attend his concerts.
DD likes stuff - her room is full of stuff, her office (Girl scouts weekend/summer job) is full of stuff, she just likes stuff…trinkets, mementos, books, oh my that child likes books, posters cover her walls and there is stuff everywhere!
We’ve bought the towels, the mugs, a couple of throw blankets - will order the bedding from somewhere and have it shipped be it Amazon or BB&B or other. She has an electric tea kettle, a Keurig and a mini fridge already. I need to get her a new laptop and we are getting her a Google Home - we have one, we love it and she uses it all the time.
@texasmom18 - I did it for DD yesterday - exactly on time. They received the last room of their preferred type. By the end of the day, most rooms were taken and they were setting up a wait list for singles and doubles. Some freshmen had to move to a different dorm with mainly upperclassmen. It also took me 25 minutes including a phone call to housing because one of the other girls in her group had a problem with her account. If the girls did it themselves I’m not sure they would of been successful. I really hope your son lets you help with his room selection. Good luck!
@SnowflakeDogMom looks like Huntsville will look really pretty in the fall. Hope you and H can go.
@mommdc my S18 has the instrument problem, even though he is a vocalist. He is going to want to bring his guitar, and will need to bring his large keyboard and stand. At one of his college choices, he had been admitted to a special music dorm that allows practice in the rooms and would of course have a musician roommate who would be tolerant of his instruments. But then he has admitted to a scholarship program that requires him to live in the honors dorm. The honors dorm is smaller, has more quiet hours, is not practice friendly, and he would have a roommate with quite different interests and schedule. But the scholarship is worth it.
My DD has a TON of clothes so that will be a challenge. She will inherit her brother’s mini-fridge but wants her own linens, which is fine. She’s definitely getting a new laptop and who knows what else. I’ll just stockpile over the summer like I did with her brother. She and I will stuff my SUV, pick up items from BBB when we get there, and my husband will fly up and use his 70 lb baggage allowance for 3 bags to take stuff if need be.
@KSMom1518 I’m trying to make the process sound as complicated as possible to discourage him. I’ll add your story to my discussion. >:)
Just a random reminder that some dorms prohibit things like microwaves, etc., so be sure to check on the school’s website about that.
@vistajay I would think he’d have access to a practice room in the music building. DD16 plays harp and no way would a concert grand harp fit in her tiny dorm room so was given keys to “the harp room” in the music building.
@3scoutsmom , yes there are plenty of practice rooms, it’s just nice to practice in your dorm room esp when your primary instrument is in your throat.