I laughed so hard at this – so accurate in describing all three of my kids when they don’t want to do something.
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My d26 is headed south for college and has to move in 8/4. Those poor NY kids will only have like 4-5 weeks of summer!!
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My daughter graduates in early June (last day of classes is late May and then they do senior activities for a week), but for the K-11 graders, including my 9th grader, school doesn’t end until June 23rd. My son will have a couple weeks of getting used to taking the bus again like he’s going to be doing all year next year. He’s NOT looking forward to it at all.
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I went back to a whole year of driving D26 to school after D22 graduated, which wasn’t ideal, lol. I do love car conversations with her, though.
But she’s on the older side for her grade because she did an extra year of school, so she drove herself all of 10th, 11th and 12th grades – it was just freshman year that she couldn’t. (Actually most of freshman year I had her drive for the practice because she had her permit, and then she’d hop out and I’d drive home.)
Her twin went to a school in the opposite direction, but we took pity on him and my DH drove him – because the bus came almost an hour earlier than they would have to leave with driving. And then he drove himself 11th and 12th grades. It’s not that common for a junior to snag a parking spot at the school – it’s a lottery system – but my kid managed to talk his way into one. 
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So oxy was not the Goldilocks school we had hoped for. It’s beautiful but has some issues we don’t think the gorgeous campus can overcome.
Colorado College has gone back on the list because she loved the academics.
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The head of admissions? at Colordao College has done some admissions sessions on YouTube. She was fantastic and very transparent. You can probably find some of her videos.
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We have a winner! D26 is headed to Vassar this fall! We survived the big college visit trip and within an hour of being on Vassar’s campus and meeting with the equestrian team, she announced that we could head over to the bookstore and buy the T-shirt! We’re thrilled, it truly seems like such a great fit for her. At the end, it was between Oberlin and Vassar- Kalamazoo & Smith were in the running up until the final visits, too. She’s our youngest, so woohoo- we’re done!
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Congrats! My D22 is graduating from Vassar this year and it’s been a good four years. It ended up being a great choice. Funny Oberlin was also her second choice, though she never actually applied as she did ED at Vassar and oberlin doesn’t have EA. I do have to say though I had absolutely no idea until this moment that Vassar had an equestrian team!
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Today, I think, is decision day for the friend who lives with us. He had a great time visiting Harvey Mudd, but the distance and the additional costs kept it from pulling ahead. It’s between W&L and Mudd, probably, but Berea and William & Mary are both still in it. We’re having a council of elders today to meet and help him evaluate his options.
Son loved Tulane a lot, but it still came down on the list after the visit. I think it felt bigger than he’d anticipated once he was there, and it was clear that they were not interested in budging on the inadequate financial support. Beautiful campus, fun part of town, kind professors, enthusiastic students, but still. He was also annoyed that the tour didn’t show interiors of dorms and that we were refused entry to look at the dining hall when we tried to visit ourselves. A small thing, but not to him.
Going to see Kenyon one last time this week, and that’s the last visit.
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Good luck to all of you whose kids are still deciding. D26 had quite of the year when she said that was the best part of ED - the decision was made for her.
Does anyone have a good dorm list or spreadsheet of what to bring? I have one for my son and it’s pretty comprehensive but I can’t help but to feel that girls need more and different things. We are not the go all out and customize your door room type of family, but I do want her to feel comfortable and like it’s hers. With S 24 all he really wanted was a plain blanket and some sheets and whatever he needed to do just to make things fit, but there was no aesthetic to it.
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I have a comprehensive dorm list for a girl – I will msg you!
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Oh- I would love that list, as well, if you don’t mind sending it to me! Our son was easy- sheets, pillow, some clothes and 1 decorative Lego. D26 is going to bring way more stuff, I fear! Thanks!
Me too please - I think I have a fair idea after D19 but we never really itemized it as such.
Here is the list – I think I shared it awhile back and had a heckuva time trying to share a Google doc but keep it anonymous – but I think I figured it out?
I think you can save this down as a PDF but can’t make a copy like a regular Google doc.
There is no shower caddy or microwave on here, and some items are clearly very specific to my kid – plus she was in an apartment for a year, so that required things you wouldn’t need in a dorm room – but you get the idea!
We are definitely not the over-the-top dorm room decorators, but I was proud of how we were able to turn my D22’s very prison-like room (a single within a suite) this year into something cute and comfortable for her. The rug and big tapestry for the wall were key. (Unsure if coat rack is on the list, def not curtains, as some of these were last-minute purchases.) Including before and after pics below.
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That has to be one of the most prison like dorm rooms I have yet to see!!!
Y’all did a good job on making it look way less of ‘penitentiary core’ vibe.
I keep putting dorm stuff off because it is stressing me out!!! 
So every day I make it a tomorrow issue 
.
We are not driving up to RIT (22+ hrs) and I am not sure how much we can reasonably pack for check in luggage. Right now, the plan is just to order most things online with an in store pick up and grab it all when we get to town or see if the hotel will accept deliveries the week prior? Hubby travels a lot for work and so has some crazy level hotel status- so secretly hoping that that will give us a possible pathway for that! (“Don’t you know who we are” kind of moment 
lol )
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Here’s my list for D26:
- 2 twin XL sheet sets w/3 pillowcases each (kid uses 3 pillows)
- laundry basket (got one w/wheels from Walmart)
- bed shelfie (uses in room at home already, not buying this new)
- purple throw blanket
- bed shaker alarm clock (because she sleeps like the dead)
- book safe (looks like a dictionary, put passport in here)
- travel utensil set (1 knife, 1 fork, 1 spoon)
- 3-pack of iPhone charger cords
- charger cords for other stuff + USB hub thingy to charge everything in
- 2 surge protectors (lots of lightning in Tucson during monsoon season)
- 2-3 IKEA Frakta bags (also can buy knock offs from Amazon)
- shower shoes
- bathrobe (bought for cheap @ Walmart)
- Brita water filter pitcher w/6 months’ worth of filters
- 2 ea: bath towel, wash cloth, hand towel
- 3 queen sized pillows (got from IKEA)
- 1 bath mat rug thingy
- Woozoo fan
- shower caddy
- 1 container of Downy wrinkle release spray
- some desk organizer containers to hold pencils, pens & stuff
- 2 cheap over-the-door single hooks from the Daiso store
- dry erase calendar (D26’s request, D24 didn’t want one)
- dry erase board (D26 uses 1 @ home for her to do lists)
- 1 black fold-up storage ottoman (bought off Amazon)
- 1 ea: bowl, plate, cup (these are $0.50 ea at Target or Walmart)
- clothes hangers
- purple twin comforter for bed
- small tool set
- lap desk so you can easily work on computer in bed
- Command strips variety pack
- Nightcap drink cover hair scrunchie
- hyperspace 5x7 rug (D24 has 1, loves it, D26 wants 1, too)
- Moon Knight poster for wall (her favorite Marvel character)
- Command Strip broom hangers (need 6, 2 ea for each light saber to hang up)
- body pillow (got from IKEA) + 2 body pillowcases
- mattress topper & mattress cover
- Jafanda air purifier ($60 on Amazon, D26 uses in bedroom @ home, need new 1 for @ college)
- G4free UV travel umbrella ($26 on Amazon, feels 10 degrees cooler under this, works great as well in the rain, we’ve used this 1 @ Disneyland & WDW before many times, it’s awesome)
- couple of desk lamps. 1 I bought from IKEA, 1 she uses on her desk in her room @ home (it’s an R2D2 lamp)
- 2 plastic food containers, 1 needs to be big enough to hold pasta salad
- 1 sauce pan, big enough to make spaghetti or pasta salad in
- 1 frying pan. This + sauce span must be able to use w/an induction cooktop since that’s what’ll be available in the dorm
- small container of dish soap + 1 sponge for washing dishes with
- 1 kitchen towel from home
- couple of Star Wars posters
- a desk hutch (dorm desk doesn’t include one)
- 28" TV + HDMI cable. TV will double as external laptop monitor
- wireless computer keyboard + mouse
Considering, but realistically, she probably won’t use it:
- compact ironing board ($15 @ Walmart)
- clothes iron
We’ve tried clothes steamer before, but kind of hate how those things operate.
She’s also going to bring a few decorative items from her room @ home:
- “Danger! Hippos!” Jungle Cruise sign
- Genshen Impact small hanging tapestry (I’m probably spelling that wrong)
- “Eat. Sleep. Play” print (has a gaming console printed on it)
- Jungle Cruise skipper baseball cap
- couple of photos from home
- couple of WW2 mementos that her great-grandfather collected while in the south Pacific when he captain’d a merchant Marines ship during WW2.
- (not decorative) her headphones, iPad, & related charger cords
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Penitentiary core! HAHAHA. Exactly. It’s the concrete floors and cinder block walls – it’s so bad.
We do drive 13 hours to haul all the stuff, but it’s not fun – I don’t think I could do 22.
I know when Southwest would let you check two bags for free, whole families would go and each would check two of the big IKEA bags, lol – but alas, Southwest changed their policy. I’m not entirely sure what we would do in your circumstance. Hmm. I mean, somehow you have to wash one set of sheets, at least? Maybe you can order those to your house and wash them and put them in the suitcase.
Rug and other decor can definitely be ordered and delivered (or picked up) somewhere. Maybe there’s an Amazon pickup location close by?
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My D22 has had a clothes steamer since freshman year, but she actually opened it for the first time last week – to steam her stole for graduation pictures.
I’m using one this morning for D26’s prom gown! Not ideal, but it’s not fabric that I can iron.
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With D19, the dorm actually accepted deliveries prior to move in (most don’t) so we did that.
We have this probably totally crazy idea to do a cross country drive to drop C26. I know, it’s kind of crazy and dumb and would take a few days to do reasonably but. Weird thing is we basically did the trip a few years ago by rail when we took the California Zephyr from Emeryville to Chicago. We need to check costs but current plan is to rent a SUV and fly back from there. I can’t really take more days off work and wouldn’t want husband to drive back alone as he would have to if we took his car, but also probably want a bigger car than his for all the stuff.
I actually forgot about store pickup - we could do that at target presumably. One thing I know from prior move ins is that target in college areas are mostly empty shelved on move-in day so ordering before is definitely the way to go,
I have just started the dorm shopping - someone had recommended a mattress topper which had good reviews on Amazon and it’s on sale at the moment, so I ordered it yesterday. C26 is more focused on wall /shelf decor than the necessities at the moment 
also forgot
- cheap $8 colander from IKEA (gonna buy this weekend) to strain the pasta
- couple of inexpensive cooking utensils, like a pasta server spoon thingy & probably a spatula
- the cheap $3.50 grocery store generic brand of balsamic vinegar she loves for the pasta salad mix
- gonna provide her with several boxes of pasta salad mix. Available @ Walmart in double packs for about $3.50 ea. She seriously loves that stuff
- cheap $3.50 set of measuring spoons from Walmart
- probably 1 large suitcase. Will buy this summer for cheap from TJ Maxx or Ross. Ross’s prices on luggage is a little cheaper than TJ Maxx.
- rolling cart from IKEA. Bought for ~$35-40. D24 uses 1 to store all her snacks & kitchenware stuff.
- dorm fridge. Roommate is providing the microwave.
- countertop ice maker. This is a luxury item, not a necessity. Gonna buy a ‘cheap’ one from Walmart for $60. D24 bought herself one and loves it. Dorm building has something like 5-6 floors. Ice machine is on 1st floor.
- black Kallax storage unit from IKEA. $45. + 2 black fold-up drawer thingy inserts also from IKEA to put in 2 of the squares.
The only reason we got the above item, though, is because there’s room for it in the dorm room. Some of the dorm rooms on campus in some dorm buildings are rather compact and you wouldn’t have enough room for this. But D26’s room is rather spacious by comparison. A lot of families buy the version of this that has 6 compartments, but we felt that would be too big for D26’s liking.