"Getting ready for college" questions... what did your kids bring?

[mom2binsd]

DD is a freshman, her college is 55 min from home, so we are lucky that we could drop anything off when needed.

To start (she's in a typical dorm, shares a room) she got to know her roommate ahead of time (we got together a few times to plan etc). They got a fridge, we got the micowave (and I'd bought a brand new Slim Keurig off of nextdoor that they have been using nonstop).

We got the Frakta bags, but ours are a cool geometric black and white, so handy for packing and they can be worn as a backpack so for move in etc you have extra hands. DD also grabbed a few of these over Christmas from IKEA. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/knalla-...hite-00473693/

A FAN, a small fan is a must. Both girls have one as it helps with airflow and the heat in the winter can be too warm. They have a/c (check the filter when you move in, we had to request a new filter from maintenance).

For move in, a dolly, wagon, what ever you have that is easy to pile things into works well.

Lots of command hooks.

DD uses wallflowers, some don't like them, but both girls like how it smells and everyone seems to gravitate to their room as it's the best smelling room on the floor (old dorms smell musty). We also got those hanging moisture catchers for the closet.

What extra's you get will depend on room set up etc. They have a monitor and ROKU and lots of extension cords etc.

We bought our stuff from all over, Target, BBB, Meijer, Amazon. I think I spent about 60 on her foam mattress pad, which is a must, dorm mattresses aren't great. Lots of pillows, those back support pillows are popular, as well as a lap desk for their laptop.

Once DD was accepted I started finding fun and unique apparel and gear online, often from Mercari, she has some cool things that not everyone has. It also helps that lots of stores around here also carry ILLINOIS stuff.

I just kept adding things to my dining room as they arrived, it looked like a mini Amazon warehouse by August.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Ds1’s school and where I went provide big laundry carts for move in. Good thing to look into with your school.
Pack those strategically. We liked making up the bed first then piling stuff onto it.
Ds1’s dorms have had a plethora of built in storage so the cart we bought came home at his first break and now lives a lonely life in the corner of our basement. I should have listened to parents on the dorm’s Facebook page- which was also a really helpful group, in addition to the general parent page. I paid it forward by taking lots of pics for the page’s album because they were so helpful to me. The lord pictures the better.


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[mom2binsd]

Yes, join the Facebook parent pages, they are full of helpful information.

Amazon prime is super helpful, but I have had to remind DD that maybe she didn't need to order that cute 'cow ear headband" to go with her Halloween costume but she was adorable. It's very handy as the only store within walking distance to campus doesn't have a lot of things she needs. BUT at Christmas time I learned that Amazon doesn't have a way to hide things, so after each purchase I had to "archieve" the item, you would think they could figure out how to "hide" items.

[essnce629]

I wouldn't buy bedding before committing to a school and knowing what dorm they're in. At DS1's school some dorms have twin beds, some have twin XL, and one dorm even has double XL!!!

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[niccig]

How far in advance did you all start buying things?


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[ett]

How far in advance did you all start buying things?


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DS1's semester started beginning of September. I started buying stuff in June.

[gymnbomb]

I wouldn't buy bedding before committing to a school and knowing what dorm they're in. At DS1's school some dorms have twin beds, some have twin XL, and one dorm even has double XL!!!

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Same at the school I work at. Some dorms have twin XL and some have double XL.

[Globetrotter]

Some random Items we had not considered in advance:
-My California kid couldn’t tolerate the east coast humidity so he asked for a small dehumidifier lol Who would’ve thought? But then he used it too much and everything got too dry lol It was helpful though I wouldn’t keep it on all the time.
- Shower mirror for shaving in the shower- Unfortunately they don’t have sinks in their rooms
- Odor absorber for musty dorm rooms

You should probably wait to see where they go and then buy some of the stuff, because you might have different needs. My friend’s daughter started out with an overseas semester, something I would not have wanted for my own kid, and now she’s stuck in a hotel room! They did not have space for everyone on campus. we drove DD to move in, whereas DS flew across the country so we picked up the stuff at bed Bath and beyond next to his campus.

The parent FB page is very handy. DD roomed with a student whose family lives in the area- they provided the fridge and coffee maker etc. I was going to say go ahead and get the twin xl bedding as it sells out, but I had no idea that double XL existed! Where Do you find bedding for that?? I have never heard of a regular twin bed in the dorm. It makes me wonder if they had to squeeze in more beds to accommodate extra students. This current freshman class is the biggest ever for a variety of reasons, Including all the folks who gapped or deferred a year to avoid virtual school. At DS’s college, the suite common rooms have become dorm rooms now!
Neither of my kids needed a printer, but they did have a printer accessible in the dorm as needed. Almost all, if not all, of their work is submitted online nowadays.
Make sure you order any prescription meds to add to the first aid kit. I wrote out instructions on when to use what, like hydrocortisone cream.

[o_mom]

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is some sort of lockable storage. Especially if your DC takes any prescription meds, they need to be mindful of keeping them locked up. DS will need to take some paperwork for his program that is not easy or cheap to replace. I will probably get him a small locking safe or something that can be attached to furniture to keep it in. Even if you have a trustworthy roommate, they can have friends/acquaintances in that are not.

[SnuggleBuggles]

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is some sort of lockable storage. Especially if your DC takes any prescription meds, they need to be mindful of keeping them locked up. DS will need to take some paperwork for his program that is not easy or cheap to replace. I will probably get him a small locking safe or something that can be attached to furniture to keep it in. Even if you have a trustworthy roommate, they can have friends/acquaintances in that are not.

Our dorms have them built in.


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