High School Class of 2016/College Class 2020

[ski_mom]

Where you the one saying you were going to Oxford? Sorry, couldn't remember. Have you seen pics of rooms at Ole Miss? They look like pages off of interior decorating magazines. Lol. I only know because I graduated from Mississippi State and my mom was just showing pics of rooms at both schools. I am going to guess that nobody at my DDs school will do that. Definitely a southern thing, I think. I just asked my DD if they could paint their rooms and she looked at me like I was crazy. We were allowed to paint the rooms any color, the school provided the paint. So even way back when I went to school, we were doing up the rooms, roommates coordinated with matching everything. Though, I think it is way more extreme now.

Yes, I'm the one going to Oxford and the Ole Miss rooms are the ones I'm referring to. I honestly couldn't believe it. DD and her roommate and doing their room like the ones you're talking about. The are unbelievable - but I know they'll enjoy it for the year and like I said, since they got the headboards and hutches from girls who were freshmen last year, it definitely helps. It just getting it all there lol! I'm hoping they can resell at the end of the year so we don't have to deal with bringing it home.

 

[MomofKatie]

Yes, I'm the one going to Oxford and the Ole Miss rooms are the ones I'm referring to. I honestly couldn't believe it. DD and her roommate and doing their room like the ones you're talking about. The are unbelievable - but I know they'll enjoy it for the year and like I said, since they got the headboards and hutches from girls who were freshmen last year, it definitely helps. It just getting it all there lol! I'm hoping they can resell at the end of the year so we don't have to deal with bringing it home.

My DD moved into her dorm at Alabama yesterday, and it is the same in Tuscaloosa. Many of the girls rooms look like they are right out of a magazine. Custom upholstered headboards, hutch bookcases, custom made bedskirts, matching curtains, and roommates who coordinate their decor so everything matches. It is crazy!

DD is not a "matching bed linens and custom hutch" type girl- none of the 4 girls in her suite are. Their rooms look nice, but nothing close to some of the move in pictures I've seen posted. I had to talk her into some of the nicer things in her room- toile curtains, pretty fabric bins in a cube storage shelf, and a nice floor lamp.

 

[indimom]

DS won't be going when we drop off DD. I wanted him to, so he could get a taste of the college atmosphere (he hasn't been on any campus yet). But, with school and football it just won't work. Maybe he'll be able to go during one of the holiday pickups later in the year.
My sister is hoping to tag along, she's excited to see the university where DD will be living for the next few years. It will be nice having an extra pair of hands.

DD has certainly bought her share of "matching" bins and whatnot, but she's planning to loft her bed so no headboard to bring (her dorm only has one lofting option - on top of the desk hutch and wardrobe - so the bed's too high for a headboard). Her university provides the fridge and microwave. Her roommate is bringing a television. So, about the largest item we have to bring is her rolling plastic storage bin. Well, and the bedding, but at least that's just bulky, not heavy.

We are trying to make sure we have everything she will need since she's too far away to just pop up and drop off items she forgets. And we've heard the stores are crazy near campus so we don't want to be making purchases on the day of drop off. Knowing DD, she'll bring too much, .

 

[coneeny4]

My DS is coming to help move his sister in. The school recommends 2 helpers and a driver to move the car after its unloaded. His best friends who are twins are helping to move their sister in on they same floor so hoping for some extra help...we have alot of stuff which is my fault .

 

[PlutoPony]

We are trying to make sure we have everything she will need since she's too far away to just pop up and drop off items she forgets. And we've heard the stores are crazy near campus so we don't want to be making purchases on the day of drop off. Knowing DD, she'll bring too much, .

2 words - Amazon Prime! Have your daughter sign up for the education discount using her school email address before she goes. Then if she really needs something, she can have it shipped to her in 2 days, rather than dealing with crazy shopping by campus. We found this to be a nice option for this type stuff. And my son uses Amazon often for rental textbooks and things like that.

 

[Aliceacc]

^^^ Ohhh, that's something I'll look into. Thanks.

 

[mjkacmom]

2 words - Amazon Prime! Have your daughter sign up for the education discount using her school email address before she goes. Then if she really needs something, she can have it shipped to her in 2 days, rather than dealing with crazy shopping by campus. We found this to be a nice option for this type stuff. And my son uses Amazon often for rental textbooks and things like that.

I have prime, so my dd just added her credit card, so she could use it for stuff I'm not paying for too.

 

[Monykalyn]

2 words - Amazon Prime! Have your daughter sign up for the education discount using her school email address before she goes. Then if she really needs something, she can have it shipped to her in 2 days, rather than dealing with crazy shopping by campus. We found this to be a nice option for this type stuff. And my son uses Amazon often for rental textbooks and things like that.

We've had amazon prime for a couple years now-we often buy prizes through them and ship directly to school. My DD also received a $100 gift card as a grad gift and she's holding onto that for just such things. I LOVE Amazon prime!!

We have bulky items (bedding, including the foam topper) but not heavy things. Her biggest thing is to pack clothes and take right amount. Labor day holiday is only a few weeks away (and I am sure she will be home for that) and then we have family weekend a couple weeks after that. so if she forgets stuff it will only be temporary-for first month or so anyway. Not sure if/when she will be home after that until holidays. She is not taking her car this semester-she said it is too much bother as the most parking is at the stadium and students have to move their cars twice over gameday weekends.

We have "assisted" move in for her move in day. We have a couple helpers provided through the school-have 30 minutes in the "loading zone" to get stuff up to her room. Then car has to be moved out of the loading area but we can take our time settling in. Her roommate has her assisted move in an hour after DD.

My MiL is staying at home with the younger two-my son has some anxiety issues with big changes/unknown situations and he is better off saying goodbye to his sister at home vs after being tired from hanging around all day-and then a 2 1/2 hour drive home.
Tminus 7 days...

 

[PlutoPony]

One hint on the package front.....new students need to find out HOW packages get to them and make sure they understand if there's a difference in receiving packages shipped via various methods (UPS, FedEx, USPS priority mail). For example at my son's large U, USPS priority mail boxes go to where they get their mail and can only be picked up during certain times. Think UPS was delivered straight to the room...and I know their TV just sat in front of their room until one of them came back from class (apparently people don't walk off with others stuff there). This will definitely vary by school.

 

[punkin]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a foam topper for the bed? I have no clue what to get and I don't want to spend too much.

 

[jetskigrl]

Who else is commuting?

My DD will most likely be commuting next year. Most of the kids at her school only dorm the first year and then move off campus after that.

We are close enough for my DD to commute, but with the usual traffic around here, it would be an hour + commute each way (and maybe more?) so she is going to dorm, at least as a freshman. I didn't want to add that stress during her first year. It kills me though, because room and board is way more expensive than our state tuition!

This Is my DD's situation too. She still doesn't have freeway experience and could take side streets but it will be a 1 hour commute with traffic. So we will let her get another year of practice on the freeways before she starts commuting.

 

[jetskigrl]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a foam topper for the bed? I have no clue what to get and I don't want to spend too much.

DD's came in her package from Residence Hall Linens but we also saw some at Target. We got one for my son's bed at home since he wanted to try one (his mattress isn't the most comfortable). There were different ones ranging from $19 to $39, I think.

 

[Aliceacc]

I got my son's at BB&B at Christmas. I think it was ballpark $30.

Oh, and I got a mattress protector for $20 today at Target. Not sure whether they carry XL sizes, but my son's school uses standard twin mattresses.

 

[MomofKatie]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a foam topper for the bed? I have no clue what to get and I don't want to spend too much.

Those dorm mattresses are not comfortable! We spent about $100 (before discounts) for a really nice memory foam topper with gel inside and it was 3", I think. A comfy bed was a priority for DD, and we spent more for a good topper and mattress pad.

You can find decent memory foam toppers at Costco, Kohl's, or other places for around $50-85 with coupons or a sale. Get at least 2" thick. Ours was from Bed Bath & Beyond, but DH works for them, so we get a discount.

 

[Monykalyn]

We got ours at BB&B when they had a college night sale (20% off entire purchase). We too got a good one, along with mattress pad that was "bug resistant kind.
Don't remember price but the mattress pad was more than the topper!

 

[gemini2727]

We bought a 3 inch pad online. I actually tried it out myself (on half of our bed, lol) because my back has been hurting and we have needed a new mattress for a while now. It was sooo comfortable, and my back felt better too. Needless to say, we ordered a new mattress, finally. Hopefully I like it as much!

 

[punkin]

Any brand names I should look for or stay away from? DD has a tempurpedic mattress at home which she loves. I want her to be comfortable.

 

[gemini2727]

Any brand names I should look for or stay away from? DD has a tempurpedic mattress at home which she loves. I want her to be comfortable.

3 inch Twin XL Size Accu-Aire 3.3 Visco Elastic Memory Foam Mattress Topper Made in the USA
Sold by: Bestbeds
This is what we bought on Amazon for about $50. It's my only experience with a mattress topper though, so I can't really compare with other brands.

 

[punkin]

3 inch Twin XL Size Accu-Aire 3.3 Visco Elastic Memory Foam Mattress Topper Made in the USA
Sold by: Bestbeds
This is what we bought on Amazon for about $50. It's my only experience with a mattress topper though, so I can't really compare with other brands.

Thank you. I appreciate it. It looks like it has good reviews.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Was going to ask you guys what your students are using for college computers, but my two made their decisions today, we ordered them, and they're on their way! DD got a MacBook and DS got a PC.