<p>I agree with the books. I have a ton of books from when i sent them up freshman year. I don’t read any of them. they just sit on the bookshelf on my desk but what sucks is that I have to pack them every summer and they weigh down my boxes for storage which equals more money to pay stupid Big Red Shipping and storage.</p>
<p>On the post above they said not to bring an office chair…this was one of my D favorite things we brought. The chairs in the dorm room are not that comfy.</p>
<p>Anything that can’t fit in, on or under a desk, bed, closet or cabinet. College dorm rooms are tiny enough, don’t clutter them up. You’ll want the space to entertain. Should you find it necessary to have extra cabinets or seating, you can get milk crates, sofas, chairs and couch cushions pretty easily through Craig’s List’s give away section.</p>
<p>don’t bring “under mattress” storage bins if you end up with a lofted bed. it happens more often than you’d think.</p>
<p>I brought my entire wardrobe (not as bad as that sounds). but I go to school in Boston. After a week, it was too cold for shorts, and by the time shorts weather rolled around again, I was out of school. lesson learned.</p>
<p>Interesting so many people here are against bringing video games to college…I’m definitely bringing my PS3 to play mgs when I can’t ball.</p>
<p>I brought a ton of video game stuff to college and found it to be a wise move :)</p>
<p>It’s real easy to bring too much stuff because you think “Oh I can see myself using this, how handy” only to not ever really use it. I’ve been using this general rule of thumb for the past few years and it’s worked famously for me: Bring essential emergency items, for starters. But in terms of everything else, only bring something if you see yourself using it at least once a month.</p>
<p>A similar question was asked at an info session for parents with a student panel. One parent asked the students,“What did you bring that you didn’t need?” A large athletic male answered, “Well there was that dust ruffle my mom packed…”</p>
<p>my daughter’s going to school near Canada, and expects to be going pretty regularly so she will have to be responsible for keeping her passport accesible and safe</p>
<p>Mamanmidwife, my D will also be going to school near Canada (SUNY Fredonia) and will be bringing her passport as well for that reason. </p>
<p>I love this thread!! It has been so helpful to us.</p>
<p>Can a Ijoy chair fit in most dorm rooms ?</p>
<p>Stuffed animals. I was amazed that a dorm I saw actually had a ton of them piled on the bed. I also think that those 20 decorative pillows some girls put on their bed is unnecessary.</p>
<p>You don’t need any school supplies; you can get them on-campus. One set of sheets usually does just fine. Also, most college students I know don’t bring a lot of excess materials to read (they can be bought on campus or around the school) or electronics (just the ipod, laptop, cell phone bit).</p>
<p>don’t pack grandma and grandpa for the moving in days. Its hot,humid,crowded and chaotic.Bring em up for Parents Weekend instead if they must see the college. Ditto the younger sibs if you can ,leave them elsewhere.</p>
<p>^ I will sort of echo this one. I moved in with my parents (first year…subsequently, only my mom came), but my roommate had her parents, grandmother, grandmother’s partner, best friend, and for a short time, she may have had 1-2 siblings there, also. Not only did it make moving in difficult (a freshman dorm room is not built to have that many people milling about in it, plus suitcases), but it made me feel pretty awkward…the two of us hardly got to say two words to one another until we were in bed that night. The entourage was very sweet, but impractical, and IMO, a bit inconsiderate.</p>
<p>The morning of the afternoon he was due to check into his apartment (several hours away). I got ready to go and just waited calmly. He ended up leaving lots of stuff, and we got it to him eventually.</p>
<p>Son 2 did all his own packing, too. DS1 drove him to campus and helped him move in. We got there a couple of days later and took stuff he had decided he needed and also picked up stuff that he and his roommates didn’t have (like a garbage can). </p>
<p>If at all possible, I recommend a two-stage approach: bring the very basics from home, and then buy or send the stuff they need to fill in the blanks. 4 guys DON’T need 4 george foreman grills. The “wait and see what’s there, and then get the stuff they still need” worked a lot better, and was much less stressful than trying to communicate and coordinate with 3 other boys and their moms.</p>
<p>Lots of stuff for me to stress about. What they take to college isn’t one of them. They have great survival skills, and they aren’t going to starve or freeze in a few days.</p>
<p>freakonomics, my daughter brought a chair, not quite as big, last year as a freshman and could fit it under her lofted bed. This year, however, she refuses to loft, so no chair.</p>
<p>Re: lofting. What do most kids think of it? D likes the idea of having a little “room” under the bed, but doesn’t like the idea of forgetting she is up there and tumbling out.</p>
<p>The building I live in we’re not allowed to loft our beds. We can bunk them, but can’t loft them.</p>
<p>My friend, in another building at that school, lofted his and his roommate’s beds. Otherwise there would have been any room at all.</p>
<p>Lofting: both S and Roommate lofted their beds freshman year. Bought a loveseat to fit under one of the beds. lots of room for friends (13 or 14 at one point and not really very crowded.)</p>
<p>Vacuum cleaner…someone else will have it, and you can save the space.</p>
<p>Iron and ironing board. Granted, I do use mine often enough to have it, but again, you can assume that someone will let you borrow one on the rare occasion (I know many people who never ironed anything in 2 years of college) :).</p>