We put about $250 a year on the Commodore Card. There are a couple of things that make it useful–one–you can use if for laundry but not a credit card, and for printing if needed. There are also a few discounts at restaurants if you use it instead of a credit card.
Does any money left on the card at the end of the year get refunded or can you carry it over to the next year?
@jmama496 It gets carried over to the next year.
My daughter put $300 on before the first semester, then added $300 more for spring semester. She told me last week that she has just used up the first $300… She uses it mostly for laundry and events on campus (Commodore Quake, Rites of Spring, etc.) She also has a credit card, but doesn’t carry the credit card around with her. Students will always have their Commodore Card with them, so it’s a little more convenient to use Commodore Cash.
So my son had his bicycle stolen yesterday. He rode it to Commons, locked it up in front of his house, and later came out and found the lock broken on the ground and the bike gone. He called the Vandy Police and they made a report and told him they would try to track it down but I’m guessing the chances are pretty low. It’s hard to believe these things are pretty common at Vanderbilt.
@jrmama496 It’s “locals”. Folks from a few blocks away who know where to find the good stuff.
jrmama, did your son have the dorm insurance? That would probably be covered as it is personal property. I think I paid $105 for one year of coverage. A very good investment to cover $4,000 worth of personal items which are lost, stolen, or broken. I haven’t had to make a claim on the insurance yet, but I hear that you don’t have to jump through hoops to use it. Sorry to hear about the bike. 
@jrmama496, sorry to hear about your son’s bike. I would be so disappointed if the thieve was one of the students.
@yellowgranite, yes I do have the dorm insurance. I will probably use it. I am a little worried because I saw some posts here on CC from people who said that they used it twice in one year and were cancelled. We already used it once last semester when he cracked his Iphone screen so this would be the second time. He wants to wait to see if the police find the bike but I told him the chances of that are slim to none.
@jrmama496, sorry about the bike. S had one stolen during his sophomore year and I’m going to bet your experience will be the same as his was, which was bike is gone forever. He had his dad buy him a bright orange mountain bike for his birthday and his dad had to get it to Nashville in his SUV since it wouldn’t fit in S’s car. Bike was at Vandy for just a few weeks before it was stolen. S thought it was an ugly bike and wouldn’t attract interest, but there are lots of Vol fans in Nashville and one of them obviously thought it was a desirable get. It’s a bummer when they have these experiences.
Greetings Parents!
Spring semester is wrapping up and if your student is anything like mine it has been a crazy week completing end of the semester projects or papers.
S has an internship interview this weekend that would keep him in Tennessee this summer. We had hoped that the interview would have happened earlier to help us with our plans. Right now everything is set to move him back to California after a vacation in Orlando. Thank goodness for Southwest airline with no fee changes. I’m still trying to decide how to get a car back to him and a place for him to live (The internship is not in Nashville.) We’ll figure it out if it happens.
I have mixed emotions about the internship. It’s a great opportunity for his career interest, but I was looking forward to having him home for the summer.
We’re arriving in Nashville early so that we can attend his jazz combo performance that’s a couple of days before his last final. That leaves us with a couple of days to continuing exploring Nashville before we move him out. I can’t complain about that.
It’s amazing how fast another year has gone by.
@Go9ersjrh, best luck to your son’s interview.
We went through a similar dilemma on summer internship. DS really wants to be home for the summer so chose not to apply to several prestigious internship that are out of town. Thank goodness he ended up finding a research internship in our city so he will be home for the summer. But I wondered if this was a good decision.
Although it’s not as prestigious, the in-town internship will provide him with all the things he is looking for: stipend, real world research under mentor, and working experience. For that, I think it’s good for my freshman.
Can I just say - I hate group projects. And I’m not even a student!
@MImama - I’m right there with you. I really hated them when son was in high school. This semester he only had one group project. Last week he and his partner pulled an all nighter to complete the project. I shrugged my shoulders and said “it’s just part of the college experience.”
First year is in the books!!
We packed up D last night and drove home this morning. I can’t believe she’s home for the summer and it’s only April!
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Going up to pack up S on Thursday! Can’t believe the first year is done! Does anyone know when they give you the financial aid information for next year? I know returning students get it later than first year students but I’m curious about exactly e=when we receive it.
@KaMaMom, wow, your D is home already? DS’s last final is Wed and DH will pick him up on Friday. Can’t wait to have him for the summer!
@jrmama496 … I had the same question too - I went back and re-read an email from January (I think!) and it said returning students come out in May.
@4beardolls … yes! I don’t know how she lucked out but she did!!
We are in Nashville right now to pick up S. We came in a few days early so that we could attend his Jazz Combo Final Performance. It was great to see him play again. We’ll be moving him out on Wednesday. He has 2 more finals and a take home to complete between now and then. We are now half way throug this adventure and it’s great!
I wonder if anyone knows the answer to this … I’m going to mention @Pancaked and @moonpie because they might!
We drove past McGill when we were leaving campus Sunday. Well, as close as we could get!
Now, we all benefited from the AWESOME move-in crew at the beginning of this year. I will miss that for sure! But I’m wondering with some of the older dorm buildings (like specifically McGill) how the heck does move in work? There is barely any parking anywhere close and you can’t pull right up to an entrance like you can in the Commons.
So … how the heck do people do it and not take all day? :-?