<p>but yeah, i usually take as much as i can in my luggage, and then i ship the rest. it’s never cost me more than ~$100 to ship the extra stuff (i usually use FedEx but UPS, USPS etc is all good too). also, i am a frugal person and hate having to pay for a shuttle from the airport to stanford unless i absolutely need it, so i usually try to use public transportation to get from the airport to campus (if i can’t find a friend who’ll give me a ride) and packing a manageable load helps facilitate this. it’s a better idea to pack light/manageably and buy what you need when you get there, imo.</p>
<p>but anyway, Jhappy, you should either bump a family member, rent an extra car (with a bike rack, it’ll save so much space in the car), or leave some stuff behind and ship it. or squeeze and brace for a long uncomfortable ride.
and Ataraxia8, i think it’s harder to move in if you have to fly but it’s not so bad, especially if you have your family helping you. my parents tend to be busy and uninvolved, so even freshman year, i had to fly halfway across the country by myself, manage all of my stuff, find my residence and move in all with no help (a doable but stressful experience). if you’re smart enough to get into stanford you can probably figure it out.</p>
<p>Wow, earthwise, I hope your dorm RA’s gave you a hand with the move-in freshman year. Speaking of which: do the RA’s offer to give freshmen rides occasionally to where the big stores are, so we can pick up extra things that we realize we need once we are there?</p>
<p>haha it sucked. terrible life experience. the RA’s are literally super awesome at move in, though. you’ll see.</p>
<p>and i doubt the RA’s would do that unless they are super nice. there are so many freshmen they have to look after, and they are busy upperclassmen with their own lives to look after too. maybe if they were already going for themselves they’d offer, but otherwise it’s doubtful and would be asking a lot. they’re there to help you stay safe and comfortable, but the RA’s aren’t/can’t be subs for your parents. if you don’t have family/friends helping you and need to get to the store some options are:
take the free marguerite shopping express shuttle. it may take like 30 mins, but i think it hits walmart/target. there is a cvs/trader joe’s right at the edge of campus you can walk or bike to for little things or snacks. tres ex in tressider (it’s like a convenience store) sells little things too, at exorbitant prices.
bike, if you have street smarts and are down for a 3-6 mile bike ride. i’ve done it but i enjoy biking and am very athletic. this can be fun but isn’t recommended for the faint of heart; it’s kind of dangerous. also, you’ll want a bike basket to carry stuff back. actually, i recommend getting a bike basket in general; they are very useful. this way you can hit 2 safeway grocery stores fairly close to campus.
get a zipcar account. it’s like $35 to sign up and useful especially since technically freshmen can’t have cars on campus. then you can rent a car for like $8/hr to drive places (kind of expensive, but welcome to the bay area - everything’s expensive here). zipcar is really great. and it can come in handy to go to farther places and carry bigger loads. google stanford zipcar for more info.
edit: zipcar is also in a bunch of cities. i’ve seen it in san fran even, which might be nice for a city trip.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for your help! Plastic tubs sound like a good idea Wow earthwise, I’m impressed. I’m doing a SPOT trip so that might complicate things further, but like you said, I won’t worry about it too much. </p>
<p>This might be a trivial question, but do you recommend buying or renting a bike from the Stanford bike store or somewhere else?</p>
<p>This thread has been really helpful! Sorry to deviate from the topic of move-in day, but I was trying to plan what courses I want to take Autumn quarter. Would you recommend starting off with Chem 31X or A&B? Would it be beneficial to “ease into Stanford” for a quarter and not take these difficult classes first?</p>
<p>Also, do you happen to know what year most people tend to study abroad? (Especially pre-meds if they are able!)</p>
<p>^ i am wondering the same thing.
at admit weekend, they said most people study abroad during junior year.
however, its more complicated for premeds because most want to take MCATs during junior year. you will def not study abroad during soph year because that is the Bio and HumBio core year. also, i heard many premeds take physics their junior year? (which is all 3 quarters)</p>
<p>the person that spoke at admit weekend was different because she was taking a year between stanford and med school, so she was easily able to study abroad junior year, take MCATs and physics senior year, and apply during her year not studying</p>
bought my bike on campus but that was b/c i had no good way to get off campus to get one. it’s probably more expensive that way but you can find an affordable one if you look enough. also the bike shop is incredibly helpful.
if you’re premed it’s really beneficial to jump right into chem freshman year. also chem 31 a/b is only offered fall/winter quarters so if you need to take 31a and don’t take it fall frosh year, you won’t be able to take it again until fall sophomore year. 31x i believe is offered fall and winter so if you’re gonna take x instead you could put it off a quarter. but i wouldn’t recommend putting off chem, instead just take chem plus some easier/less time consuming classes. also, as for which to take it depends how familiar you are with chem. most people i know who took x this past year said it was much easier/less time consuming than a&b until it got to the end (but this could be b/c they were better at chem to begin with…). a&b is a lot of work, midterms every other week, etc. x is fast paced; less work but harder material. stanford classwork is going to be difficult whether you start now or put it off a quarter.
most people study abroad junior year. if you’re absolutely sure about premed, you may want to start planning a 4 yr plan freshman year to make sure you have time to go abroad. i’m not premed so i’m not sure about that schedule, but maybe you could plan to go abroad fall or even winter quarter senior year… or you could study abroad soph year and do bio or humbio core junior year. i know a guy who is premed that did that but he made the decision to be premed later than most and probably won’t go to med school right out of undergrad.</p>
<p>it’s helpful to check out what quarters certain classes are offered cause that can screw you over if you neglect to. intro chem is rigid, physics 40 series annoyingly starts winter quarter, etc.</p>
<p>I’m thinking of picking up an iPhone for my son before he heads to Stanford. Is 650 the area code that a student gets if they purchase from the student store? I assume it is, but I thought I should ask. He needs the phone now, rather than in September. Thanks!</p>
<p>Any thoughts on PWR assignments? They just came out. I got winter but wanted autumn; the “petition” button is blacked out so apparently I don’t have a choice.</p>
<p>^How did you find out your PWR assignment, applicannot? Also, I think you may get a chance to petition for a change of quarter (or maybe just section? I thought it was both, though) at orientation. Do you mind sharing why it would make a difference which quarter you do it in? I’m trying to come up with a reason and am drawing a blank. (Not trying to be nosy; just wondering if there are things I’m not considering but should be.) Thanks.</p>
<p>yeah you get a 650 area code if you buy there but if you need it now, why not just buy it now? the iphone will still work at stanford no matter what us area code it is, right…</p>
<p>some words about pwr: pwr can be incredibly time consuming, especially for fall quarter freshman year. i wouldn’t recommend overloading on other classes the quarter you take it freshman year. pwr in winter is depressing, but lots of things are depressing in winter so it works (i had it winter…). and a lot of people don’t want pwr spring quarter b/c spring is nice and fun and should be spent outside in an enjoyable manner not stuck in the library doing research for pwr. pwr i think would be a downer in the spring.
but i suppose it doesn’t make a humongous difference. on a side note, i actually loved my pwr 1 class.</p>
<p>Well I wanted to take it in the spring because I don’t have much writing experience, so I could use the writing class. But I’ll live if I take it in the winter; I just don’t know what to take in the fall because I don’t want a heavy courseload… I went to a really mediocre high school so I have a major academic adjustment to contend with.</p>
<p>i’d personally consider pwr a very heavy class work wise so be wary of putting it in a quarter you want to be easy… and in my opinion writing ability will help in pwr 1 but it’s more about learning how to write long research papers. content and a solid foundation is more important than lots of stylistic flair. and the class is meant to teach you so even if you don’t come in a great writer you will leave the class with better writing skills under your belt. there are lots of places to get help w/ your writing (eg the Hume writing center, peer tutors) so make sure to take advantage of those and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>but anyway, good luck! the workload and class pace can be a shock if you’re not used to it coming from a mediocre school. some words of wisdom: NEVER EVER EVER allow yourself to fall behind in a class - it will be hell catching up. try to be on top of things from day 1. classes will be a lot of hard work and depending on your major you may spend HOURS doing homework EVERYDAY but just suck it up and do it. make sure to take breaks and have fun on the weekends. try to have a good social life b/c there are too many amazing people at stanford to deprive yourself of meeting them b/c you didn’t manage time well and now have to spend every friday night studying. TIME MANAGEMENT is key (really). and take advantage of office hours, tutoring, etc. it is a trite thing to say but actually do it. don’t waste your time struggling alone in a class, instead go to tutoring and struggle with your classmates because the classwork is hard and a lot of people struggle, even at stanford. the kids who get A’s are not necessarily geniuses; they may just be the hardest workers.</p>
<p>earthwise, do you have any favorite time management tips you’d like to share with us? (E.g., reminding systems, setting aside specific times of day to study no matter what else may come up that is tempting, etc.?) It does sound crucial to not fall behind at a college that operates on the quarter system, and I’d like to hear what has worked for you. Do most people devote their Sundays to assignments and papers, generally? TIA.</p>
<p>Thanks earthwise for all the advice! And applicannot, I’d love to trade PWR sessions with you! Haha I got assigned autumn but I want winter because there are two academic classes in the fall I really want to take that are only offered in the fall, and I can’t take them with both IHUM and PWR. Does anyone know how difficult it is to petition/if this is a “valid” reason?</p>
<p>I got spring but I would prefer autumn. i will have O-Chem in winter and spring and Math 51 in winter, so i figured autumn would be better unless i have an extra difficult IHUM. watever.</p>
<p>does anyone know how we can petition to change to autumn? (since PWR preferences are due on august 12 for autumn quarter)</p>
I’m doing a SPOT trip so that might complicate things further, but like you said, I won’t worry about it too much. </p>