<p>My D will be attending UVA this fall. We live 1/2 way across the country and are trying to sort through the many logistics so that we can prepare for her move in August. I have a couple of questions that hopefully, someone might be able to answer.</p>
<p>1) Shipping – What type of limitations are there on shipping items ahead of time? For example, if she wanted to have her bedding shipped directly from the company to the school, is this possible? If so, when will she be assigned a school address, and where would she retrieve shipped items?</p>
<p>2) Airport Transfer – Does the school offer an airport transfer from either Charlottesville or Richmond airports? If not, how do OOS freshman students typically get to and from the campus – by taxi or must they rely upon an upper-classman they have befriended who has a car and might offer to take them?</p>
<p>3) Move-In Day – Do most OOS students fly into Charlottesville with their parents and pre-ship/purchase items there? (Again, if they pre-ship, where/when do they ship?) Or do families tend to pack the SUV and travel across the country? (I realize this might differ from family to family; we’re simply trying to see which would be more cost efficient and convenient. Any comments would be helpful.)</p>
<p>4) Local Storage Units – Do OOS students tend to partner up and get a small storage unit at the end of the school year to store their belongings? Does Charlottesville have a lot of these facilites to choose from? (It certainly seems this would be much, much easier for the OOS student rather than having to lug everything 1500 + miles back home.)</p>
<p>I know there are numerous other things I’m forgetting, so if you’re an OOS student or IS student who can answer these questions and add thoughts/suggestions specifically for students coming from afar, I would REALLY appreciate it! (FYI for other first year parents…One thing I did notice today…flight availability is diminishing for peak events, and hotel prices go up considerably – some more than twice as much – for fall football wkds. vs. spring and summer travel.)</p>
<p>There are a number of self-storage outfits on 29. I don’t know how much they charge; I’ve just seen them from the road. You’d need a car to get your stuff there.</p>
<p>There are taxis from the Charlottesville airport and there was, and possibly still is, a local van service. Most kids, though, seem to rely on friends to give them a ride and save the fare. It’s hard to get from the Richmond airport to Charlottesville on public transportation and taxi fare would be prohibitive.</p>
<p>Bed Bath and Beyond is within walking distance of UVA and is absolutely jammed on move-in day, so some people must wait to do their shopping until they get here. There’s also a guy that sells dorm-sized rug remnants off of a truck, who parks near the dorms for about a week or so in late August.</p>
<p>I’ve stuck some of my stuff in storage for this past summer – it’s not overly expensive. As to your specific questions about shipping, you get an address with your dorm assignment. It doesn’t seem like it would be a problem to ship items a bit early, but I’d check with Housing just to be sure. Contact info is here: <a href=“https://www.virginia.edu/housing/contact.php[/url]”>https://www.virginia.edu/housing/contact.php</a>
I know it says ‘single student accommodations’, but they’ll help with anything.</p>
<p>I am OOS (but from Philly so it is a bit different) but have friends from farther (New Mexico) so I can help with these questions, and please post back if you think of more!</p>
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<li>shipping – I had a freezer shipped to my dorm room, there is no weight limit – but you have to carry it from the mail room to your dorm room! I had 2 friends help me in return for popsicles once the freezer was working, ha! However I don’t know about pre-shipping. Additionally the mail room is typically only open until 3 or 3:30 and you cannot get packages until after 1pm or 2pm so there is a tight window… It is a pain.</li>
<li>airport transp – Taxis you can take for a flat rate of $20 – just call the cabs and ask if they have this special. Most of the companies do to get business. Or have a friend drive you like you said. You do need to call ahead to get a taxi though.</li>
<li>move in day – my friend from NM always has her folks drive her. I know most take planes during breaks though. It also depends on if you have a car. My brother goes to UMich from Philly and he drives the 9 hours by himself. I drive myself to UVA obviously, but it is not that far. My cousins both went to Stanford from NY and they would alternatively fly, store stuff, drive… Whatever mood. So it does really depend as you thought. Additionally, if you come a day before and go shopping at Target/BBB/Walmart (being expanded to a super walmart as I type)/etc then, that might work too (just put it in your hotel room until you move in!). Remember, 1st year dorms (except Brown College) are TINY so do not overestimate how much stuff you can bring. The only bad thing is those stores require a car to get to so your child cannot just go shopping on her own to get what she needs after you leave, you will need to do it with her.</li>
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<p>an aside – I did wait to buy big items until fall visitor weekend when I went to target and got shelves, chairs, etc with family. I also stored much of my stuff and would not move it in until a week or two after school started at times, really if you have your clothes and computer and some blankets (easy to acquire at BBB, target, etc) then you will be just fine until you can pick up more stuffl. Maybe some posters to brighten things up. But you can live just fine. I definitely had all of my stuff come two weeks after school had started one year. It is doable. You do what you can…</p>
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<li>storage – I use the company down Avon St Extended which charges $80/mo for small units and $88/mo for a slightly larger unit. Both of those fit my stuff for my dorm room, so no beds or other furniture besides a large comfy chair (I needed the larger size for the chair). Then there are of course bigger units for if you have more furniture but it might be worth it to have a year long lease at that point and live off grounds with the distance etc. Many OOS students live off grounds but my friend from NM still lives in dorms so it can still work…</li>
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<p>HTH and again ask more as you need to - but post here, because answering these questions by PM a bunch of times is less useful than letting people read it here and not having to PM the same thing multiple times.</p>
<p>Well I can maybe help more from my sister’s UVA experience than my own. When my sister started her first year we lived in Kansas and we loaded up the truck and made the 2-day drive to move her in (then we combined the trip with visiting family, etc). Her second and third years though we lived in Korea, so she didn’t really have any choice but to store her stuff…there was one company who would come and pack everything up and deliver it the next year–which is really nice if you have heavy things like a refrigerator that you don’t want to carry up and down the stairs by yourself. They also give you free boxes and tape which is nice unless you really like packing your things in oddly sized food boxes from the dining hall They send out an email to the students…I think they’re called Summer Storage…you can google them.
It’s a little easier for me since we live in Pennsylvania now so the drive wasn’t as long as it was for my sister. But I did take Charlottesville Cab Co. when I had to get to the airport over spring break…it’s just a family owned company and they were great…I think it was $25.</p>
<p>Also, just a side issue that OOS people sometimes worry about…speaking as someone who (though technically in-state) came to UVA not knowing one single person when I got here…it wasn’t even an issue. Your daughter probably won’t have any trouble at all meeting people, and though some Virginia students come to UVA knowing people from their high school, most tend to branch out and meet new people…
Number one piece of advice that you’ll probably hear a bagillion times (but it’s so true)…get involved! It’s so easy to meet people that way since you already have something in common with them. hooray for UVA–it’s the best school ever! :)</p>
<p>Also wanted to mention that UVA now offers a few Zipcars- if your daughter is 18 she can get a membership for $35 a year. Rates are low, something like $8 an hour and would be handy for those trips to Target, etc. Cars are parked on grounds.</p>
<p>Wow!!! A big thanks to everyone for being so helpful. I’ve made notations of everyone’s advice, and I believe we’re a bit more prepared than we were a few days ago. </p>
<p>UVa_Hopeful…you actually addressed a fear that we sort of have had. When our D selected UVa, one of my husband and my concerns was the fact that only 28% of the student body was OOS and a sizable percentage of that 28% was within a 6 hour driving radius. We have wondered what college life is like for the UVa student who A) doesn’t have the luxury of being able to go home for a weekend when he/she gets homesick, B) comes to school knowing no one or absolutely nothing about the state, C) knows very little about the school’s/region’s culture – something that IS kids have familiarity with, etc. We’ve worried somewhat that she’ll feel a bit “out of place” and like somewhat of an outsider. I agree with you wholeheartedly that becoming involved is the key to diffuse any of these issues. She has already been selected to participate in one of UVa’s athletic teams, she can’t wait until she has the opportunity to sign up for Madison House and other clubs, and she is very eager to go through sorority rush in the spring. I’m hopeful this involvement will bridge some of the discrepancies. For those who live far away (or if you have close friends who live a great distance), have there been times when you felt out-of-the-loop by going to a state school where only 28% are from OOS? Do the students as a whole even know or care who’s IS and who’s OOS? If you ever have felt somewhat set apart, what additional suggestions might you offer for combating the discrepancy? I have a feeling that our concerns are unwarranted because EVERYONE we’ve encountered has been uber-friendly (as evidenced by those who continually post on these threads); however, based on knowledge of our own large state flagship, if you’re not from this state, it is VERY noticeable, and there would definitely be times you would feel out of place. I’m hopeful VA is not this way, though.</p>
<p>I specifically went to UVA OOS because I didn’t want to go to college with the people I had gone to hs with (1/5 of my grad class went to Penn State). It was just how I wanted it!</p>
<p>No one cares where you are from. If you and someone else share an interest for (whatever), then that is plenty enough! The only time it ever comes up is when people are talking about Nothern Virginia vs OOS vs the rest of VA. So really 1/3 are from each of those and so it’s not as big of a deal as you are thinking, since VA segregates itself into NOVA and (rest of VA).</p>
<p>Many NOVA students know each other as they come from the same schools. Many students have similar academic backgrounds as some of the state’s best schools are in Northern VA. Northern VA also tends to have a different culture about it. It’s not entirely different from the rest of VA, but it is different.</p>
<p>I was in the same boat as Hazelorb…like 50% of my high school went to either Penn State or East Stroudsburg University. I wanted to get away from that. I think my brother, my ex-boyfriend and myself are probably the only three from my HS that have gone to UVA. :)</p>
<p>also, jc40: thinking ahead a bit to shorter school breaks and vacation times, make sure your student has enough clothing at home and at school so she can travel back and forth without carrying along a lot of wardrobe. We drove our son to school in the fall with our van and went to get him at the end of the school year, and we now know we brought too much stuff-be selective about that. Also don’t be afraid to pitch stuff or give it away at the end of the year if it becomes inconvenient to carry- a $20 rug that’s dirty and takes up a lot of room in the car may not be worth keeping, all things considered.
As for NOVA vs. the rest of Virginia: NOVA really refers to the suburbs of Washington, DC. This area is more cosmopolitan, diverse, densely populated, and affluent than the rest of Virginia (in general terms) so there is a bit of a cultural divide there with the rest of the state.</p>
<p>SECOND
I leave a 2nd copy of things at home except for clothes (I bring home 5-7 days’ worth and wash if I am home longer than that… Wash regardless haha) such as shampoo, blankets, medicine (I am allergic to animals and my mom has a dog), dressy shoes (I would leave a dressy outfit but then I would miss it here… The shoes I have 2 pairs of, $10 target shoes, definitely serve their purpose)… Things I do bring back and forth are clothes, laptop, phone charger sometimes (usually I make do with the one in my car but it isn’t working and I’m about to upgrade so I brought the real charger this time… Just got back from a week home so my memory is fresh), little caddy of bathroom things like toothbrush, straightener, etc that I am used to bringing if I go somewhere (stuff that you would not have to dry off to bring back like the shower stuff, which is a pain)… I also keep a good amount of entertainment at home such as childhood board games and sudoku books and other books, if friends and I don’t want to be on the computer, tv, or driving around. I guess my situation is a bit different because my mom got remarried and moved while I was in college so a lot of my childhood stuff is not there as might be in your house.</p>
<p>Again, great advice everyone! Wahoogrl and Hazelorb, our D doesn’t quite have the same background in that she has gone to a private K-12 prep school her whole life, and the majority (almost 70%) actually go OOS to college despite having wonderful schools in our own state. Her classmates who have elected to go OOS, though, have by and large chosen to attend private schools where everyone is from all over the country vs. a state school like UVA where most are from VA. Again, I’m hoping that this won’t be too much of an issue, and from what y’all have said, it appears as though it’s irrelevant.</p>
<p>As far as the clothing is concerned, she’s one of those kind of girls who loves clothes and fashion, so her closet is quite full. We’ve explained she simply can’t take everthing because, like Hazelorb said, the room will be quite small and very little will fit. Consequently, she’ll have ample clothing at school and home so that she won’t feel the need to shuffle things to and fro. (At least that’s our hope:)</p>
<p>Another question I have concerns her car that she’d like to take her second year. I’m somewhat unfamiliar with how bad VA’s winters can be. Does she need something sturdy like a small SUV or something with 4WD? She currently has a very small sports car (convertible) and my husband is concerned that it might not be appropriate for the snow and ice up there. What do you think?</p>
<p>Snow is not an issue here. We had an unusual winter last year with those two huge Nor’easters but typically we get 3" of snow all winter. I have a Prius (and so does half of Charlottesville) and it handles just fine with the ice, and I had it up in Philly and it was just fine there too. My brother has a Corolla at Michigan and he is fine with that, so really unless you are in Appalacia or something I’m not sure when you would need a huge SUV just for the winter…</p>
<p>Hazelorb…Do you know if car vandelism or theft is a problem in Charlottesville (especially in or around campus)? Do most of the housing options that students live in (either on or off campus) as second years + have covered or garage parking, or must students park their cars on the street or in open lots?</p>
<p>As long as you don’t leave valuables visible in the car, it will be fine. I have heard of “smash and grab” incidents here and there. Most of the time, it’s because an iPod or GPS was left out in the car. Regardless of where you live, it’s good to get in the habit of tucking those sorts of things away.</p>
<p>On grounds most students park either outside their dorm (not covered but not street parking – open lot like you said), in a garage (far away but covered), or in an open lot far away (that is the worst option but cheapest). Remember snow is not really an issue so covering is not really that necessary.</p>
<p>Off grounds most students have street parking but there are some garages.</p>
<p>There was a big incident a year ago at my garage where many cars were broken into and tires flattened but mine was untouched. The large binder of CDs was a good indication that I had no iPod, like DeanJ said that is the big thing people like to steal.</p>
<p>And by people I clearly do not mean UVA students since that is against the honor code. The perps are typically low income residents of CVille (there is about a 25% poverty rate here) since the garages, lots, etc aren’t locked or restricted. This is also true of other crimes committed around grounds (there was just a robbery where the perps actually went INTO the occupied apartment and held people up at gunpoint since their door was unlocked… robberies at 2am or so are common in certain areas like the Corner so it is best to not be out that late in those areas). But there is a very low level of crime compared to what you would expect in a college town where 25% of the rest of the town meets federal poverty guidelines (don’t forget those guidelines are outrageous and another 25% of the town probably would be considered poor by decent standards as well). We get an email about a robbery maybe a couple of times a semester at most. You just have to be safe. There is a recent thread on this somewhere too…</p>
<p>I live in Charlottesville and have for nearly 3 decades. My husband and I came as students from NOVA and never left. Every now and then we get winters with what we consider a lot of snow/ice (maybe half a dozen or so in that time frame). Our vehicles have rear wheel drive and that is sufficient for most weather conditions here.</p>
<p>As for transporting things to the storage unit on Avon St. Extd or elsewhere, your daughter will likely make friends who have access to vehicles or perhaps friends who have parents who live in town who are willing to transport the items. We have helped our OOS friends’ kids in the past and will likely do so again:). </p>
They send out an email to the students…I think they’re called Summer Storage…you can google them.