oof, no problem that is a LOT, at once, at an already stressful time. good luck! and hope all recover quickly
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!!! We leave in like 36 hours !!!
We are doing a short, fun trip, on way to drop off (which is this coming weekend) but I am feeling quasi-ready in terms of packing. I am trying to get it all ready and organized. However, but kid will have car and a target/walmart and pretty much everything else one might need is only like 1-3 miles away (never mind amazon and stuff on campus) so really shouldnât be as stressed as I have been.
Kid was an emotional mess on Friday/Saturday, but seems to be in a good mood now 
stays that way and they feel excited and ready to go! I have been managing them, more than myself lately so expecting to be a wreck at drop off since I havenât really been preparing mentally.
July and early August just flew by! My 27 doesnât start until after labor day, so some more summer once we return though..
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So, C25 went to a week long summer camp â dropped off yesterday, comes back this Saturday. Then Sunday C25 and Husband fly off to do the college dropoff/move-in (I got the âdo you really want to go hereâ tour, Dad gets the ânow youâre hereâ trip. Saves a bit on plane fares for us to not have to both do everything.)
And about 24 hrs before leaving for summer camp, C25 tried to make an edgy joke in the ongoing discord voice chat theyâve got going with a group that is gonna play D&D together and the roommate and , it seems theyâve been âcanceledâ by the group, and they applied for a roommate change (which as far as I can tell the school is all âno one changes rooms until theyâve lived where we put you for 2 weeksâ).
I feel awful that they had to leave for camp where theyâre not online (in case someone from the group decides to reach out), but I also think itâs good theyâre not just sitting home moping for the full week with no contact or way to apologize extra.
I suggested that, once they go to move in, an honest, direct apology, with eye contact, might go a long way to starting to mend fences in a way that nothing in chat or voice alone really can. And maybe folks will be willing to try a fresh start. And lay off the edgy jokes!
But, C25 was so excited to have a friend group already, and is so ⌠despondent that they screwed it up and arenât going to have any more friends at college than they ever did in high school, andâŚ
I keep taking deep breaths and reminding myself that I can NOT fix this. And C25 will probably find someone else in a sea of 14,000 people to talk to or live with. (Or, maybe, just maybe, the kids will realize that people sometimes say things, and a little forgiveness can be extended, as long as it doesnât happen again.)
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How many Ikea type packing bags are your kiddos, specifically girls, filling with just clothing? We are trying to gauge if she has too much. She is going to Minnesota, so needs bulky sweaters, coats, sweatshirts, etc.
3 ikea bags filled with clothing (including outerwear), 1 bag filled with bedding (everything including pillows), 1 bag filled with small appliances/accessories (hairdryer, Keurig, Woozoo, towels, toiletries). I think it was 5 IKEA bags total.
We then had other âfree formâ stuff, mainly storage pieces (rolling cart, cube storage, shoe rack, laundry basket).
This was my most maximalist college student. So much stuff. Including dresses for rush, formals, etc. Thankfully we got her down to 8 pairs of shoes total. She is a size xs/s so lots of the stuff just wasnât that big, even the oversized sweaters and sweatshirts.
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I know for a fact that there will be other kids who will LOVE playing D&D with your child once they get to college. I know this because my child would be such a person if at the same school. Youâre doing great but Iâm sorry itâs hard!
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Weâve got a boy, but for us (so far, not done even through we drive down on ThursdayâŚ)
One bag bedding/towels
One bag random small things - detergent, toiletries, safe, over rod hanging clothing organizer, all the small strangely sized things
One bag shoes (boy has many sneakers)
Iâm guessing two bags of clothing, based on what he normally wears, but not packed yet AND he isnât bringing a winter coat or sweaters (probably six hoodies though)
Then heâll have a few hangers for suit, blazer, dress shirts.
Heâs got other non blue bag stuff - like a milk crate size thing with computer peripherals and chargers and surge protectors, a few small bins with his med kit in one and snacks in the other, a trash can currently filled with hangers and command hooks etc. Then there are the boxes weâll open there - the cubes for inside his closet, the âbed shelfieâ and the mattress topper (please let it inflate and not off gas too terribly, we canât unbox it before going or it wonât fit..
His pillows are loose and will sit in the backseat with the boys, his computer (a big desktop he built himself last year from summer earnings that is his prize possession) is in its box and the monitors are one in a box and one wrapped as well as it can be in a throw blanket.
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My '25 is a boy, but my D22 going to school in Iowa brings 3 filled-to-the-brim ikea bags with clothes, and thatâs usually with us bringing winter gear in the fall. Last year she had all the winter gear (coat, hats/gloves, winter boots) in a separate âregularâ (open style) Ikea bag. She is a girl with a lot of different clothing options in her wardrobe, and every year she has still left some clothes at home that she switched out over breaks! 
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S25 has 5 blue bags, suitcase, guitar, laundry bag, bookbag and ottoman
- 1bag with mattress topper and pillows
- 2bags with misc needs like shower caddy and extras of all items needed, clamp fan, clamp lamp, woozoo, protein bars and drinks, sheets, towels, etc
- 1bag with foldable stackable storage bins and shoes
- 1 bag of clothes
- 1 storage ottoman filled with set up needs - tools, commands strips, surge protectors etc
- 1 laundry backpack filled with socks underwear, etc
- 1 bookbag
- 1 guitar
- 1 carryon sized suitcase with last minute packing of toiletries, cologne, hats, clothes just washed , etc
I found that 2 of the foldable bins for top of closet fit perfectly in blue bags so Iâve used those to organize in a couple of the bags. And clothes arenât actually packed yet so there could be 1 more bag that Iâm not expecting. Weâve been told that only one elevator typically works in his dorm and heâs on top floor so Iâm trying to get everything to be carryable on the stairs just in case.
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OMG. You have just changed my packing plan for the better. I have three foldable bins that I was just keeping flat, but it will be much better to put them in at least one of my blue bags to bring some order to the chaos of oddly shaped things in there.
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are you shipping these ahead of time or bringing them on the plane?
I need advice/input:
My daughter has epilepsy that is well managed with medication. The two biggest seizure triggers for her are lack of sleep and stress. She is on over a 60% scholarship that requires grades above a 3.0.
My daughter is signed up for 17 credit hours plus Marching Band. She is taking:
⢠calculus I
⢠chemistry I + lab
⢠Intro to Engineering I + lab
⢠English (ancient texts)
⢠Christian scriptures (requiredâI hear this is hard)
⢠marching band (practices 6 hours a week plus games)
When she signed up for all this it seemed unmanageable to me, but I was on the quarter system so was not sure.
Yesterday she got an email from her advisorâhe said that this looks like a lot to him and recommended that she drop English and save it to take online at the community college next summer. Then he said she should add a 2 hour support class for Calculus 1 to keep her credits above part time and also because it is supposed to be helpful. (She did take AP Calc in HS and got a B; did not pass the AP test).
She is being strangely stubborn about this. She is not opposed to the online English class during summer semester. It seems to me that is so typical of her, that she thinks she can do it all. IDK.
Not sure what to advise her.
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How long is add/drop at her college? If itâs two weeks, then thereâs probably enough time to stay registered for them all and figure out whether Ancient Texts will be doable.
(If itâs a one-week add/drop, then that approach is harder to defend.)
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I believe itâs 2 weeks.
When we were deciding for S25 whether to do the harder or easier math he decided that although maybe he could do the harder class, he wanted to give himself some ease in to college time so he has room to adjust and adapt. For her, maybe point out that itâs not that you question her ability to do it, just that you want her to be able to enjoy her start of college and have time to participate in the social things and really explore. After that first semester not only will it be easier because she wonât have band, but sheâll have gotten through all those initial things and sheâll have had a good opportunity to kick off her social life.
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We agree with all that and told her as much. Plus, while she is good at English, she doesnât enjoy it, and it seems that would be easier to take online through the CC.
Also Iâm thinking that if her advisor is concerned about the work load, itâs probably a lot.
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Right? The advisor concern feels like a flag. Maybe you can lay this on them some? Like in the vein of sure, parents donât know anything, but advisors do, soâŚ
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Yep, I just said that to herâthis is his job.
If she drops ancient texts she can take it spring semester and then take composition at the CC online during summer, which seems like no big deal to me. She wonât really be behind. (All freshman comp classes are at 8 am, and part of her accommodations are avoiding really early classes, so that makes sense.)
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My daughter will have 5 bags full plus a ton of other stuff. We actually are renting a small 4x8 enclosed trailer one way (5.5hrs) as my car is pretty small and with the 3 of us in it there just isnt room. She is moving into a suite with a 10x15 bedroom and 9x15 common room plus a bathroom only her and her roommate share and we are bringing most of the common room items.
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