<p>My D will be a freshman and we live near Boston so obviously we will be flying. I am starting to think about the best way to ger her stuff there. I was going to buy her nice new luggage, but what would she do with her suitcases once she unpacked? Probably it is easier to ship most of her stuff? What about bedding, towels etc? Can you order them at Bed Bath and Beyond and then pick them up in NOLA (is there one near campus)?</p>
<p>Any advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>It is best to ship most of it ahead, and Tulane will send you detailed instructions regarding exactly that. Most students elevate their beds if they aren’t already, so they keep suitcases underneath, using them as storage containers.</p>
<p>Yes, you can definitely order BB&B stuff to be picked up in NOLA. It is not “near” campus, but it is in the same mall as the Target where they have a special shopping night for Tulane students. It is not hard to get to with a car.</p>
<p>Those points we have just gone over (shipping FedEx, taking stuff in your car, and getting things from Target/BB&B) covers the vast majority of needs outside of books.</p>
<p>We did not ship anything. It is very expensive to ship. Try pricing out a box and you will get an idea of the cost. With 3 people traveling to Tulane, we just brought large duffels of stuff with us and the two of us not staying brought our clothes in carry ons. Ordered everything in advance at BB&B in WA state and picked it up in Metaire along with 700 other Tulane students. Target is right by the BB&B for anything else but it was fairly picked over. BB&B had lots of stuff. Then headed to Lowes and packed everything in Rubbermaid Tubs which I ordered on line the night before. Last week, when my son moved out of the dorm, he was actually able to pack himself into his tubs and duffels. I heard a lot about all the other parents there helping but was pleased he could do it himself with a lot of encouragement from me. The storage people came and took his stuff and will return it in the fall to him. That cost about $200 for us. He doesn’t have a TV or fridge so probably less than some other students. He brought 2 large duffels and a roll on home for the summer.</p>
<p>We didn’t ship ahead either. Not only is it expensive but stuff can get damaged and wet. Fallenchemist can contribute on this. D and i flew Southwest which allows 2 bags/person for free. We did the BBB thing along with the masses and picked everything up on our way from the airport. Then we stayed overnite in a hotel, along with those same masses! Move in is early the next morning. Suitcases are stored under the beds, along with the storage bins purchased from BBB. Over the summer, my d stored everything she needed at an upperclassman’s house, but she brought home 2 suitcases of clothes.</p>
<p>We chose to ship via Fedex. We shipped 4 boxes at about $25 each. We were flying down and the carrier that we flew did not offer free checked bags so this was the cheapest way to go. If we brought suitcases, we would have had to pay for the suitcases there and back.</p>
<p>We picked up the shipped boxes on campus the day before move in along with all the stuff we ordered at BBB. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND PICKING UP ANY SHIPPED BOXES THE DAY BEFORE MOVE IN DAY. If you do, you avoid the really long lines on Saturday. On move in day, we just pulled up curbside, dumped everything out and all the volunteers helped move it in. I only made one trip up the stairs ! My idea of simple.</p>
<p>I live in NJ and go to school in Texas (currently a Junior) which is a similar situation. I didn’t ship anything and did a lot of shopping in the area. The only thing is, buying a lot of things new at those stores got VERY expensive. A lot of the things I bought either had to be stored over the summer in a storage unit (also gets pretty expensive) or thrown out. I felt very badly about throwing some of it out but I did not have too many other options.</p>
<p>An alternative to this issue is to buy certain things (TV, couch, shelves, storage boxes, and especially books) from older students who are looking to get rid of some of their older stuff. Check certain websites made for the schools or even bulletin boards for peoples “used” stuff because some of the stuff ends up being pretty nice: students buy it new but don’t know what to do with it after the year is over! I bought my new full bed from a graduating Senior who had purchased it from IKEA only 8 months prior. Lucky me!</p>
<p>As a first year student, we want everything new, however after 3 years of making trips to and from home as well as the storage unit - it makes it easier to throw out something you bought cheap from someone else - or to try to sell it to someone else! I sell a lot of my books directly to younger students because I rarely ever get more than 25% of the price back from the book store. Hope this helps! Encourage your kids to buy used - it will save you a LOT of money!</p>
<p>We shipped a few boxes via Fedex. I wish we had known that you were able to pick up the boxes one day earlier, it would have saved a lot of time. When we did pick them up many things were wet. So, if you plan on shipping, I recommend putting her things in a garbage bag or storage box prior to the box.</p>
<p>Most things we ordered from Bed, Bath and Beyond and picked up in Metarie. While it was very crowded, we did get through there pretty quick. They were fully staffed and organized, for the most part.</p>
<p>The suitcases that we did use, we took back home with us, leaving her with a small piece and a carry on. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the info everyone. Gabby1116mom, why was everything wet? I was going to ship the bedding through Amazon to pick up when we get there. My S would not want to start his first day doing laundry. For that matter he probably would not want to start any day doing laundry.</p>
<p>I’m not quite sure how everything got wet. If I remember correctly, it rained for a short period of time the day before, so maybe while they were sorting…I really don’t know. But I do know my daughter wasn’t happy about doing the laundry. lol </p>
<p>I wouldn’t order if from Amazon, if at all possible. You can only ship things to arrive after a certain date, and delivery dates are not always accurate. He may end up with no bedding upon arrival. If he finds something he likes at BB&B, I would go that route. I don’t know if this was mentioned before but when you go to your local BB&B you can get a scanner and, as you come across things you want, you scan them and they print out the order upon completion. You do not pay when you’re scanning and you’re not obligated to buy everything you scan. When you get to BB&B in Metarie they have everything you ordered together and the sales person reviews every item before you purchase them. It really works out pretty well.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help!</p>
<p>I was hoping that the new rental car building might be finished at the airport, but we still have another year to go, so we will have to keep taking shuttle buses to get a rental car.</p>
<p>[Consolidated</a> Rent-A-Car (CONRAC) Garage - Projects in Construction - Capital improvements](<a href=“http://www.flymsy.com/capitalimprovements/Projects-in-Construction/Consolidated-Rent-A-Car-CONRAC-Garage]Consolidated”>http://www.flymsy.com/capitalimprovements/Projects-in-Construction/Consolidated-Rent-A-Car-CONRAC-Garage)</p>
<p>THere is also a huge Wal Mart at Tchopotoulas (sp?) that has a ton os stuff. We hit it after move-in for pillows, storage drawers, food, etc</p>
<p>And for those with cars there is another WalMart in Jefferson Parish. Only about 15-20 minutes away IIRC. They are kind of equidistant in opposite directions.</p>