Depends on the girl, notes this parent of multiple of them…
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I had a stress dream that we all had to move to a double in the basement of a dorm where there weren’t even stairs, just a sort of rope you hold on to while you climb up the steep ramp to get out. 
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Wait, all of us? The cc peeps? I mean, except for the rope to get out part, I could enjoy hanging with you all!
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S23 communicated with his roommate a bit before school started. I told him to tell him we’d handle the rental of the fridge and microwave. That was the extent of my involvement. I met him once when we moved him in. Never met or communicated with his parents. I don’t even know his last name!
S25 is living with one of his best friends (since kindergarten!) His mother, as I’ve mentioned, is overly involved and is driving both of us crazy at this point. She told me I could buy cleaning supplies and the shower curtain.
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I’m so eager for S25 to get his dorm and roommate information. I’m hoping he gets it in the next week or so. I’m holding off on buying anything else until we know his room configuration. I am hoping he gets a roommate with a mother who is as neurotic as me and will want to text about the room. But then again, @Pandamom2 you’re reminding me that there can be a downside to the roommates mother being overly involved.
@OctoberKate I may follow your example and just tell S25 to let the roommate know he’ll provide the microwave.
S25 is enjoying his summer class and doing really well in it. I guess that’s the upside of taking one class at a time. Plus he loves math, so he’s pretty invested in it. Other than that, we’ve been watching a lot of movies together and trying to get in all the quality time together we can. I’m going to miss this kid so much!
Hope everyone has a great day!
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My kid is still waiting for roommate information. It is supposed to be out by the end of the month. I figure there won’t be much coordination of decor since they will find out their roommate about 3 weeks before they move.
Once she can talk to her roommate we can figure out if we need to get the fridge, microwave, or vacuum. I did buy a dorm fridge shelf unit from Amazon.
I think my kid has all of their personal items for the dorm at this point. She just needs to get it organized.
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The roommate thing is funny. I never lived on campus, but my first apartment freshman year matched me with a roommate. She got my contact info from the complex and called me – turns out we had the same first name, just spelled differently. And she was an international student, so she called me from Panama! We had individual rooms in the apartment, and the rest of it was furnished, so we didn’t have to coordinate anything really – just chatted and got to know each other.
My D22 chatted with her roommate on Insta before meeting her. Neither of them coordinated any decor, but they were excited to find out they liked the same books and fandoms. She turned out to be the perfect roommate, and they lived together for two years in the dorms, and then met for lunch every week last year when both were living (not together) off campus. They haven’t become besties, but still decent friends. And the roommate’s dad was living and working near the school, so he showed up a week after move-in with a fridge. That worked out great for my kid, lol.
S25 will be in a single – thank goodness, because I don’t think he would fare well with a roommate. (Or, rather, I don’t think a roommate would fare well with him! 
)
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Ha ha! That would be amazing. In this case, just my immediate family.
Interestingly, for UMD, we have to buy/send a trash can (“we actually recommend two, one for trash and one for recycling” “well, we’re coming from Massachusetts so I’m not promising to bring more than one”).
I feel like that is unusual; both of my older boys (and we parents) had the trash can, though obviously not liner bags, waiting for us in the dorm rooms.
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We need to supply trash cans. One for the room and one for the bathroom.
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At which college? Also, does anyone take them with when they leave? It would definitely be in the “abandon and buy at next place” category for me.
We’ve had to bring trashcans for both kids (WPI and Clemson). And given that we bought super cheap ones at IKEA (like maybe $2.99?) if they are too disgusting, no need to keep.
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Ole Miss. I can’t imagine keeping them!
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Im probably the mom who looks and sounds like they are overboard and overly controlling but I just get excited. S23 is such a procrastinator I felt like I had to get things ready for D25 in advance so I wasn’t stressed doing both at the same time.
I did message the roommates mom on social media a bit and I know it sounds like I bought a lot for the shared living room space but I got stuff on clearance or thrifted. The roommate is bringing a tv and tv stand and a fridge (although I have a rental fridge/microwave on order too-they can’t have their own microwaves, only the combo rental). There is space for both in the shared living room space.
I am hoping that roommate brings a rug for the bathroom/shower so they don’t slip on the tiled floor (the bathroom is only used by the 2 of them, no communal bathrooms on campus!)
I actually love that the girls did not want to nor care about the sides of their dorm matching. Both are secure in their individuality and not threatened by someone wanting to be different. If they both wanted to match or had similar ideas that would be fine too but the way D25 and her roommate are is all good as well. Last D25 heard, she is doing pink florals and roommate “DK” is going for a mostly white/neutral with some black and white pics with pops of red. Fun!
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D25 went to Guatemala and was let back into the country without issues so my anxiety is down. (I was slightly nervous they would give her or her dad a hard time getting back in as they don’t look alike and 50 plus white guy with a teen Latina can flag security).
We got caught up with D25’s fin aid at least. Seems she never signed the MPN so we got that done. For those reviewing and learning for the future.
Tuition 15k Room and Board 13k. Student Service Fee $450. (total direct costs 29k)
Subtract:
Merit for grades (3.4) 4k. School provided LLC/Scholarship 4125. School grant 430.
Fed Pell Grant 7395. Fed Supplemental Opp Grant (SEOG) 500.
1 outside local scholarship 5k.
Total COA for first year: 7768.
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S25 got his dorm assignment today and was so disappointed. He didn’t get any of his preferences. There was a question on the form about whether you’d be willing to be in a triple or quad in a specific building. S25 said, “No.” He got a triple in that building, which is the only one without A/C on campus. He was really upset at first, but he seems to be rallying now. I’ve heard that the dorm has good community and culture, despite the lack of A/C. I worry about him being in a triple, but I guess this is a good chance to work on resilience and perseverance. Oh well! Onward and upward!
@2plustrio, so glad your daughter made it home safely!
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I’m sorry his dorm results were so disappointing. I have heard that the worst dorms yield the best communities. Will hope he can keep rallying and can find some bright spots with it!
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Back in the dark ages when most colleges just assigned you to a dorm, I was assigned to the only un-airconditioned residence hall on campus as a freshman. Despite being in a place where a/c was really needed, IT WAS AWESOME. It was smaller than most dorms in terms of actual students housed, but the rooms were spacious, and my roommate and I had the second largest room on the floor. Because we were small, we knew everyone on our floor and most people in the dorm as a whole. We all sat together when we went to the dining hall, most of us roomed together the subsequent three years in varying combinations, and I count quite a few of the people from that dorm as friends more than 30 years later.
Your son will be fine.
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D19 met her bff at her last-ranked dorm choice. It will work out!
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Side note, do we have any florida school experts here?