<p>Hey my daughter will be going to college in the Fall (UVA) what size rug she we purchase for her room? I am starting to purchase as much stuff as I can in advance so we won’t be hit all at once. I was thinking that she probably shouldn’t get one the size of the complete room since she doesn’t know what colors her roomate will have? Any advise will be a big help!</p>
<p>A 4 by 6 rug will be fine for a small room because all you really need to cover is floor space. If the room is larger maybe a 5 by 8. One very interesting option is online at urbanoutfitters.com where you can find rug squares. The great thing about the rug squares is that if something gets spilled on a square you just pick it up and take to a bathroom/kitchen and rinse out the square. They are also easy to pack in a box and send to school or if travelling to your child’s school by car the squares will fit more easily than a rug.</p>
<p>I would wait. Do you even know the size of her room or its layout yet? Your daughter and her roommate will probably want to coordinate colors – or the roommate will already have a rug. The size and shape of any rug might vary depending on how they want to arrange the furniture as well.</p>
<p>At my daughter’s college, they were selling rugs of different sizes during orientation. But then she and her roommate decided not to get one at all!</p>
<p>Biggest advice is not to buy too much stuff. I had the fortunate experience of having had my son go to a boarding school. So we learned how important it is to minimize what you take. When my daughter was moving in at the beginning of this school year, I was simply amazed by all the stuff people were bringing. I also overheard lots of conversations to the effect of, “I don’t know where to put this … there is no room … what do you mean there is no outside storage available in the residential hall … I brought too many clothes… etc… etc.”</p>
<p>yeah you’re probably right. I guess I should wait. Its so easy to get caught up
I saw some rugs today that were such a good price! That it had me thinking…but even a good price, isn’t good if it isn’t going to work! They were perfect rugs for college dorm rooms…different sizes, colors and such and so affordable…some only $19!</p>
<p>I agree with DianeR. You may not need a rug at all – my son did not, since there was decent carpeting in the room. Also, we brought whatever would fit in the back of a mid-size SUV. It took about 30 minutes to unload the car, make his bed, and organize his books, refrigerator etc. Some people were still setting up rooms hours later. I expect it to be a little more difficult to move him home again, since it seems that he’s acquired more stuff. And these rooms really are pretty small, in general.</p>
<p>I know that the first year dorm rooms don’t have carpeting just tile, but still, I guess I should wait?</p>
<p>Setting up the room was a nice bonding experience for my D and her roommate the first year. Students also do much more communicating with their future roommates than my generation did through AOL instant messaging, the Facebook and the like. They might want to make joint purchases before arriving on campus after consulting with one another. I would wait.</p>
<p>I love this topic! It is hopeful. My son went with minimal things in the fall and at Christmas time he knew what he needed. He shopped online for a carpet and other items, I paid, and everything was waiting for him when he arrived in January. This past weekend he wrote that he was helped by his roommate and dorm buddies to totally remodel his space. I loved reading it. What fun.</p>
<p>This depends not only on room size but also the furniture. If the bed has storage drawers underneath it, rather than open flooring, you won’t need rug under it.</p>
<p>It’s amazing how much info you can find on dorm rooms on-line if you dig deep enough. For example, my son’s dorm:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.facilities.ohiou.edu/housing/rs/halls/view_profile.php?hall=HOOV[/url]”>http://www.facilities.ohiou.edu/housing/rs/halls/view_profile.php?hall=HOOV</a></p>
<p>and from that page you can look at individual room dimensions, sizes of window and curtain rods, and dorm-floor layout plans.</p>
<p>I would assume other schools whould have equally detailed info.</p>
<p>yep, you’re right mackinaw. i’ve noticed the two first year dorms are a little different from each other in that one group of dorms has space under beds but the other set of dorms has captain beds which would inhibit a rug being under the beds so I guess I’ll have to wait until I find out which dorms she gets into unless I just purchase a small area rug to fit in front of her bed.</p>
<p>In the parent’s cafe, there is a “sticky” thread from last year discussing dorm purchases. It was there that I learned, for instance, that it’s possible to shop for linen purchases at a local Bed Bath and Beyond near home and arrange to pick up the purchases at a BBB near your child’s college campus, even if it is thousands of miles away. It is filled with all sorts of other advice as well!</p>
<p>Here’s the link in case you need it: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=53990[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=53990</a></p>
<p>Thanks Carolyn!</p>
<p>Actually, not all schools do have information that detailed available. We were actually advised not to order rugs in advance because the rough dimensions given might not take into account ductwork, etc.</p>
<p>In addition to ordering and picking up linens, etc., locally, you can also mail order and just have things delivered to the campus address, or you can buy and then ship. You just need to know the earliest date the school will accept deliveries and govern yourself accordingly.</p>
<p>If you are lucky, the school will have a transportation company that you can drop off boxes with locally and have them delivered to the dorm at a convenient time. My son’s school had that. For my daughter’s school we just sent several boxes by UPS. At orientation, we (and many other parents who had done the same thing) picked the boxes up at a storage depot at the school. It did take us awhile though, to get our three boxes we had to wait on the people who were picking up 17! What were they thinking?</p>