What did you buy to send your child off to college

[Lynn CC]

A laptop or did you bring their PC from home?
DS is a senior in HS this year so I wondered what the important items needed to be purchased.
Do they have internet connections is dorm rooms? Cable or Dial Up?
My heart is breaking for all you parents and your college kids who are homesick and missing one another. It gives me an awful pit in my stomach because I know this our last year with DS at home full time. Time sure does fly.

 

[Serena]

My daughter isn't homesick, but she's only an hour away and has used a lot of gas these last two weeks.

But yeah, a laptop, and other stuff for her dorm, dishes, blankets etc. Instead of buying a mattress pad, she took her mattress off her bed here.
She has a locked box for her things. She has a stereo, tv and they are about to get a small freezer/fridge. Her roommate has contributed some stuff. Those girls are making themselves at home.

And yeah, time does fly. Right when they get to where you can stand them again, they're ready to leave.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

my laptop was the best thing i bought!

 

[NHAnn]

DD didn't have one of her own here at home to take with her, so it was something we neeed to purchase, and we decided to get her the laptop she wanted ~ more expensive than desktop....but I justified it in that she chose a more affordable (relatively speaking ) state university.

At UNH there is a cable internet connection for each student in each dorm room. It's part of the room charge (as is the 1 cable TV hookup in each room too). There is some wireless access on campus.

If you decide to buy one...wait until he chooses his college and then look at the specs/info/recommendations of their IT Department.

Enjoy the senior year, best of luck with the college admissions process!


Edited to add: The other "major" things purchased were a little dorm fridge and microwave. Her roomate brought TV and stereo. Other than that....plastic storage bins, a security lockbox, towels, sheets, and new comforter cover, scatter rug, school supplies....
she bought a lot of this herself, and had requested/received a lot of Target and Linens N'Things gift cards for graduation gifts!

 

[Lynn CC]

My daughter isn't homesick, but she's only an hour away and has used a lot of gas these last two weeks.

LOL Laurie!

Blueeyes - did you have a connection in the room already?
Do you use your laptop in the classrooms?

 

[bsnyder]

Mine's not homesick either, and he's 2500 miles away in California. I can barely get him to return my phone calls, and he's been promising me a nice, newsy email for the last two weeks....I'm still waiting for it.

But, I'm delighted that he's so happy and fitting in so well in his new home. It's hard, as a parent, to let our young people fly the nest, but we must do it.

Because of the distance, we didn't have the luxury of taking much with us, so we bought everything when we got there, except his clothes and a few personal items (cd's, pictures, and a few favorite books, etc.)

We bought a laptop at the Best Buy closest to his campus.

I found out with my first son that I went a little overboard with all the personal items, especially anything of a decorative nature. Maybe it's a guy thing, but he really just wanted, and only used the most practical basics. So for DS #2 we got mattress pad, sheets, pillow, a comforter, towels, and some school supplies. He and his roommate split the cost of a TV. He has all his CD's downloaded onto his new laptop, so no need for a stereo. He has a cell phone with national long distance, so he didn't even need a phone for the dorm.

I think most colleges and universities have internet connections in the dorms and most are high speed.

Good luck with everything, Lynn. Unfortunately, the senior year will fly by.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

My DD is a freshman and not homesick either.

She got a PC. That is what most people at her university recommended. And I agree about waiting to see what the school's IT dept recommends. We were told that you have to be careful with laptops and theft.

At all 4 schools she applied to, they had an ethernet connection for each student in every dorm room.

We already had a fridge to take and she took her TV. Mostly it was bedding I bought.

 

[Regina]

DO NOT BUY IT UNTIL YOU KNOW THE COLLEGE HE'S GOING TO!
Sorry to shout, but you may make a costly mistake if you buy it at this point.

My DS's college required the purchase of a specific laptop computer through them.

As for my DD's, we got both of them desktops. Since our youngest is an art major, we got a Mac since that's supposedly better.

 

[Lynn CC]

BET - What college did your DS go to? I'm glad he likes it! It must make it easier to know that he's happy there, that's what I hope for, but DS has never even been away from home for more than a couple of nights. He's applying to Stanford as well as schools here in the Northeast. He thinks his chances are pretty good for Stanford.

dvcreg - I'll take your advice. I was hoping he'll be able to take his PC, he loves it.
I was thinking more on the lines like flashlight, bedding etc...you know the little things I could buy now.

 

[Jungle Skipper]

When I went to college the first time in 2000 I took my PC with me, my parents bought it for me as a birthday/christmas/graduation present my senior year...it wasnt the best computer, but it served its purpose. When I moved to film school I saved up enough money on the side and bought a laptop...BEST INVEST EVER! (as a student that is!)

With roommates, a laptop made finding privacy a little more accessible...which was great when your a geek like me!

Jungle Josh

 

[bsnyder]

Lynn, he's at the University of Southern Cal, in L.A. This was his first choice school since 9th grade, and I'm so relieved that he's happy and not regretting anything.

And lo and behold, as soon as I complained about the missing email, I finally GOT IT! He says he's been too busy to call or write, but he loves it, loves his new friends, went through frat rush and loved that, loves L.A. loves his classes, loves his roommate, yadda, yadda, yadda.

I'm a content mom tonight, LOL!

Regina brings up a great point, about waiting until the decision is made to make sure there are no particular requirements. Also, another plus for a laptop...many campuses have wireless hot spots for them and it seems to be the wave of the future.

Stanford is an awesome school. Has your son been to visit the campus? I'll keep my fingers crossed for him!

 

[bballmom56]

We bought a laptop for DD to take to college. She is now a junior. Best investment we made. Another reason to wait until your child decides on a college is that sometimes the college has a deal with a company to purchase computers at a discount. Two of the schools DD looked at gave freshmen students a laptop (it is included in the tuition ). That didn't have any bearing on her choice of schools, though.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

Originally posted by Lynn CC
LOL Laurie!

Blueeyes - did you have a connection in the room already?
Do you use your laptop in the classrooms?

i had a connection in my room- - i just had to bring the ethernet (sp?) cable.......i never used my laptop in other rooms...none of the other students did either..the one girl that did, had a medical problem that she couldnt write..

 

[tar heel]

My son's university has ethernet -- whatever that is, it's lightening fast. Every dorm as well as various other places have connections. He uses his account/sign-on year-round from wherever he is.

At some colleges/universities, everyone uses a laptop while at others almost no one does. My understanding is the laptops are a lot safer at the places where kids are required to have them since everyone has one. My son's university does not require them and almost no undergraduates carry them to class. Given that and the fact that we could get so much more power with a PC and he preferred the larger keyboard, he decided to go that route and got a great machine with a flat screen that exactly fits under the hutch of his desk. As someone else said, the university will give you tech specifications.

I don't think there are any schools that "give" laptops to the students -- you definitely pay for them!

As far as other items, we bought sheets, matress pad, a comforter, laundry basket and bag -- that kind of thing. You can't buy linens ahead either unless you know all the beds at the college are the same size. I go the extra-long sheets only to find that he is in one of the three dorms wih standard length beds.

 

[JayBee]

We were informed, before college started that DS had to have a laptop with certain high capabilities(notice I'm not using computer-speak! )...because of his major-Design....the laptop is brought to the classes to use.

My other son is in a Buisness curriculum, and they use the computers in the Buisness dept & their home ones....laptop not necessary.


Depends on their Major.

 

[QJ411]

We bought my SIL tons of stuff for college, I think b/c we were so nervous, we over did it...we needed to drive up there after MIL to bring up the rest of the stuff.

I had no idea about some items they'd need specifically, like bedsheets! We bought regular twin sheets then a couple of weeks before school started, they sent out notices that the school is selling the correct sheets for the bed (Twin "Long").

On the school's site, was a list of items she'll need, items they recommend and items they don't allow.

 

[bballmom56]

Originally posted by tar heel
I don't think there are any schools that "give" laptops to the students -- you definitely pay for them!

As I said, "it is included in the tuition". Freshmen had no option of whether to purchase it or not. You didn't get a reduction of tuition if you wanted to bring your own. My DH also teaches at a college that has a program like this - computer included in tuition.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I did think of other things I bought. I got an underbed box for DD to take with her to college. Then everytime she borrowed sometine from me, I went and bought it for her and put it in the box. Little things like nail scissors, band aids, the toiletries you don't think of, Advil, etc. Saved on last minute shopping.

 

[MinnieYC]

As mentioned before, don't buy a computer for college until you know where he is going, for two main reasons: 1) the school may request that the students' computers have certain capabilities; 2) many universities offer a nice discount if you buy a computer through their own computer store.

I also recommend a laptop. Many schools now have wireless internet across campus, so it is nice to be able to pick up your computer and do your work somewhere else other than your room. Just also invest in a good laptop lock (Kensington makes reliable ones), and make sure DS uses it!

Best of luck in the admissions process. It's long and frustrating, but worth it in the end.

 

[hoosll]

when my second - a son- left for college, I sent him off with 40 pairs of socks and 40 pairs of underwear - I was insane with fear.