<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>
<ol>
<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>
</ol>
<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>
<ol>
<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>
</ol>
<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>