<p>Blackroses, it sounds like you were confusing the “cost of attendance” estimate with your financial aid package. I think you’ve figured it out from others’ comments now, yes? As to bringing money to campus, I don’t recall anyone telling my son to bring $1,500 (or any other amount) with him last year. He hardly spends anything at all – but when he moved in last fall, he had everything with him, including toiletries, cleaning supplies, school supplies, and the like. Between that and the fact that he hardly ever leaves campus, he seldom has a need for cash.</p>
<p>As to bringing other stuff to campus – from my son’s experience, less is more. You need bedding, toiletries, a bath towel, and a week to 10 days’ worth of clothes with hangers to put them in the closet. Laptop if you have one, backpack to carry it in (one of the padded backpacks made for a laptop is a good investment imho because it’s kind to your back)… paper/pencils/pens… a desk lamp is nice. Something to put your laundry in and something to make smelly rooms smell better. geek_son still hoards quarters. His roomie has a Brita-type water filter pitcher, which gets a lot of use. Pretty much everything else is optional, at least for a guy. Over-the-door hooks can be handy to hang your backpack or other stuff from your lofted bed. One of those little clip-on shelves might be handy too. Some spray cleaner and paper towels, or Clorox wipes, are a good idea. Ants can be a problem; sprays aren’t allowed, but the little bait traps are. A power strip actually turned out to be optional because there are many reasonably well-positioned outlets in the dorm room.</p>
<p>About the bedding: On the parents forum, people make a big deal about mattress pads. This may depend on which dorm you get, but in geek_son’s dorm, the mattresses are very comfortable. He nixed the mattress pad. When he sleeps, he sleeps very well on that mattress.</p>
<p>About the laptop: Bring what you like OS-wise, Mudd doesn’t care. Wireless is useful. A phone that will receive your email could be useful too, but checking your mail a few times a day on the laptop would work.</p>
<p>About stopping at your room in the middle of the day: The inner dorms are just a couple minutes away from the classrooms. Whether you have time to dash to your room between classes depends on whether the classes are back-to-back, but it’s unlikely that you’ll have to carry all your books around any day.</p>
<p>geek<em>son doesn’t use Claremont cash, but I have noticed that several of the Village places (e.g., Podge’s) will accept it. I agree with the poster who said that it’s mostly a way for parents to give their kids controlled spending money. I just transfer money to geek</em>son’s checking account, same effect but without the restrictions, and he can use his debit card or withdraw cash at an ATM (there is one ATM somewhere on campus iirc). But I’d estimate he’s spent maybe $100-150 all school year, and he plans to cut back to the 12/12 meal plan because he always has a bit left over at the end of the week. You can get by cheaply if you want to.</p>
<p>As braden mentioned, SI participants just move into their rooms early. Oh, and he mentioned formal clothes. There are a couple of parties that involve black-tie formalwear, and you’ll also need that sort of clothing if you’re in the orchestra or choir.</p>