<p>Definitely buy your textbooks from Bookholders if you don’t mind used books. 90% of the time, it will be cheaper than buying it from the University Book Center. You will also get a better deal when you sell your books back to Bookholders. Never buy a book that is only “recommended” for the course. Chances are, you will never use it. Find your professors’ email addresses and email them about having a different edition. Their responses will clue you in on how the textbook will be incorporated into the class.</p>
<p>Another move-in day tip…We have a small hand-truck/dolly that we brought along, and most of D’s stuff was packed in rubbermaid bins that could stack on top of each other. We didn’t have to wait for bins, and could effectively get everything in; also good for refrigerators, etc. After we got all her stuff in, her roommates moving in borrowed it.</p>
<p>We too will be bringing a dolly this yr, it is a very smart move (poor Astro she is going to be running between dorms this yr!)</p>
<p>Todays add on to the list</p>
<p>FUN THINGS</p>
<ol>
<li><p>There is a bus for $25 that takes the kids to NYC, they are known to be bored and just hop on it for the night!</p></li>
<li><p>Metro…BUY a Metro Card, aka Smart Card. The Metro is right outside the campus and the kids will take it on th weekend. Smart Cards are re-loadable, $25 should last them for at least the semester. </p></li>
<li><p>Buy McDonalds gift cards…again reloadable. There is a Mc D’s in the Union. As I have shown before my money saving ideas (sodas, snacks, change jar) I use those savings to buy Mickey D cards. He meets his friends for lunch every Thursday and uses the card. It is also great for g parents when they want to send something small, they can go to any Mickey D and get it in any value and slip it in a envelope, kids love free food!</p></li>
<li><p>Ratsies…I call DS and ask him to be in his room at X time during mids and finals. He now knows it is because I have pd for Ratsies wings to be delivered. Here is the link:[Ratsie’s</a> Pizza & Subs - Menu Items - Campusfood.com](<a href=“http://www.campusfood.com/menu/items.asp?restid=1103&campusid=133]Ratsie’s”>http://www.campusfood.com/menu/items.asp?restid=1103&campusid=133)</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t buy their(UMD) mid-term/final basket Send your own. They tell you the date that it will be delivered, I mail to coincide, but he gets “CRAP” that the others don’t. For $25 bucks including shipping. Here’s what he typically gets compared to theirs. I will tell you everyone on his floor that gets the UMD basket goes to his room to trade.</p></li>
<li><p>Bag of BLOW-POPS ($3)</p></li>
<li><p>Bag of SWEDISH FISH ($3)</p></li>
<li><p>Bag of M & M Peanuts ($3)</p></li>
<li><p>FUN DIP ($1)</p></li>
<li><p>Betty Crocker ind. brownie mix ($2)</p></li>
<li><p>HOMEMADE PUPPY CHOW * ($4)</p></li>
<li><p>Multi-pack of GUM ($2)</p></li>
<li><p>MOLASSES ICED COOKIES (his fave) sub w/your childs fave ($3)</p></li>
<li><p>SILLY STRING ($3)
Shipping @$3 dollars. Total = $26 $1 more for things that are them instead of the same for a tin that includes PENCILS!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Puppy Chow Recipe
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
8 cups Crispix cereal
2 cups powdered sugar</p>
<p>Melt the peanut butter, chocolate chips, and butter together. Pour over the cereal in a large kettle or bowl and stir well. Pour the powdered sugar into a large brown paper bag and add the cereal. Fold the bag to seal and shake well to coat evenly.
SHIPS WELL in TINS(I use disposable foil tins from the grocery store)</p>
<p>The kids love it. DS joked that his friends swarm him when he gets mail b/c they know it is the “good stuff”.</p>
<p>Remember mail is a highlight, it’s not hard to send silly things! A bag of lolli-pops and a large envelope costs@$4, but the smile that you will never see is worth $4000!</p>
<p>BTW even though it isn’t finals I just placed an order of 30 wings for DS ($20 including tip), just to let him know I am thinking of him!</p>
<p>a note about recommended books:</p>
<p>i agree don’t buy a book immediately if it’s recommended, but sometimes when things are recommended it’s a misnomer. for one of my math classes the worked out answers to all of the odd problems was a recommended book. i bought the book and immediately became the most popular kid in my math class. it was very useful. also, in another one of my classes, one book was recommended but as it turned out, the book was actually required to do all of the homework. so, check over what the recommended books are before you ignore them.</p>
<p>Bulletandpima,</p>
<p>You are amazing!! What useful information!! Thank you so much!! Keep em’ comin’</p>
<p>good list, pima! </p>
<p>Keep in mind that it will most likely be hotter than h*** on move-in day, too. Your new freshman is going to be stressed out due to the whole process, you’re going to be stressed because you’re leaving your kid, everyone is going to be hot and tired and there are soooo many people around… Most family encounters I’ve seen that day are not the stuff of Norman Rockwell portraits. Just bite your tongue if your kidlets don’t want to listen to motherly advice! (I’ve got the scars on my tongue to prove it!!!)</p>
<p>Haha, I won’t be shuttling between 2 places… D1 knows the ropes, will have all her stuff in College Park, and we are usually WAY too snarky to each other when she’s moving in. I’ll be nurturing to D2 until SHE gets sick of me too. </p>
<p>Our wedding anniversary is the day after move-in-day. We’re planning to take a very leisurely path back home from MD. Hmmm. VA beaches? Outer Banks? Mountains in VA? Blue-Ridge parkway all the way into NC? Maybe planning that will take my mind off of how quiet it’s going to be when we get back home <em>sniff</em></p>
<p>OK—back to the helpful hints on this thread!!! (sorry)</p>
<p>Without a doubt it will be SWEATY…SHOVE 6 people with suitcases, dolly carts and bags under their armpits in a 4 X 4 elevator and within an hour it smells like a bad gym locker! Let’s just hope it doesn’t rain like last yr…that makes the odor on the elevator even worse :eek:</p>
<p>Astro have you thought about the resort on the WV/VA border, it has Golf, spas, restaurants. It is wold reknown, I just can’t think of the name, for some reason Green something is sticking there!</p>
<p>One tip for move in day–afterwards, go to the Diner and get some MARYLAND ICE CREAM. Perfect way to reward yourself.</p>
<p>I’ve only had to do the real move in/out twice–when I started freshman year and when my little brother started freshman year (and he lives on the 8th floor!). Then I became an OA, so I got late stay for the end of spring sem and got to move in early for the fall. Now my little brother is carrying on the torch and being an OA, so moving him out and in will be easy too!</p>
<p>Granted, I still have to find a way to move all my stuff from Commons 5 to Commons 3 this August. Should be fun.</p>
<p>We live about 40 minutes from campus. What do you think about the idea of bringing only the bare minimum on move-in day, and the rest a few days later? </p>
<p>What would the bare minimum be?</p>
<p>Laptop
Fans
Snacks
Fridge
Bedding
Books
A few sets of clothes
…</p>
<p>Later - TV, video games, rest of his clothes, more snacks, etc.</p>
<p>^That’s a good idea. I do it sometimes.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You’re an amazing parent!</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for their amazingly helpful posts!! Keep it up, please. </p>
<p>Can anyone explain the student ticket program for football, b-ball, etc. How do we get tickets, when does the process start, and so on. I should think that the process for getting football tickets would start sometime in the summer. </p>
<p>Thanks for the help.
Go Terps.</p>
<p>tickets.umd.edu</p>
<p>You get your student ID at orientation and log into the website. About 2-3 weeks before a game, you request a ticket for the game. For football 99% of the time, if you request a ticket as soon as you can, you get a ticket. Then a week before the game, you get an email saying you have to claim your ticket. You claim your ticket by logging and clicking the link. Then you print out the ticket on game day.</p>
<p>Basketball is the same process, except the tickets are as guaranteed. There’s a lottery for high demand games, and the more games you go to in the beginning of the season, the more chances you have in that lottery.</p>
<p>I read that the first day of classes is August 31st, but when is the actual “move-in” day?</p>
<p>Astro & pima - thanks so very much for all your wisdom! I run home everyday and go to this site first, before checking email! As I said yesterday, I will cut & paste to remember everything.</p>
<p>I, too, am wondering about move-in day since we are coming from sunny CA. Need to book flights, etc. So much easier moving DS 3 years ago just 2 hours from home.</p>
<p>LY for freshmen, there were 2 move in dates. Honors, Gemstone and Scholars moved in on Thursday. The general class of 12 moved in on Friday. First football game was Sat. Classes started on Monday.</p>
<p>DS’s friend moved from Oregon. He arrived Weds., went over to the dorm and asked if he could move in that night. They allowed it. Makes sense since the RA’s are in the building and it meant that was just one less person to check in.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for other dorms, but this is how Centreville worked.</p>
<p>When you arrive the student checks in, signs paperwork, gets keys and if you are in one of these dedicated programs picks up their tee-shirt.</p>
<p>To get ahead of the game as they are in-line to check in, get in-line for a bin if you need one. They will have to hand over their id, but by the time you get to the front of that line they are already finished with checking in.</p>
<p>Only confusion was that Centreville has a North and South dorm, thus make sure your child knows if their room is on the North or South side, since there are 2 check-ins. and 2 sets of elevators (you can’t cross over to either side once you are on that elevator)</p>
<p>For faster movement on the elevators enter through the basement, if you try doing it from the lobby, by the time it hits your floor it is full, so you have to wait for it come back down empty, than ride it to the bsmt and go back up from there :eek:</p>
<p>On Thursday night the kids had a mixer/social. The beauty for Scholars, gemstone and honors is they can go to the bookstore that day or Friday b4 everybody else arrives!</p>
<p>For those coming via airplanes, DS’s friend was also able to get his mailbox number early and had shipped via UPS a lot of his stuff, (i.e. sheets, blankets, pillows, etc). It was there waiting for him. They elected to do this in fear that special items would be sold out when they got there, i.e. mattress topper.</p>
<p>TODAY’S TIPS</p>
<ol>
<li><p>BUY the best mattress topper out there. Their mattresses are equivalent to a prison bed! We bought the quilted topper for @$50. Don’t buy the down b/c the feaths become an issue, plus some people have allergies.</p></li>
<li><p>I also got a lightweight blanket from JCP, and had his initials embroidered on it (it was free). I did this because the kids are known to drag their blankets on cold nights to other rooms or the lounge, makes it easy for him to go MINE!</p></li>
<li><p>By darker color bed linen or expect them to toss it after a few months if they become the hang out room. Sodas spill, feet leave dirt and kids don’t think about washing it every week, you’ll be lucky if they wash it 1x a semester!</p></li>
<li><p>Buy/Send Lounge pants for the guys. The dorms do get cold. He requested them for Xmas, b/c he had none (always was a sports shorts type of kid for night)</p></li>
<li><p>Butterfly chair for the girls, guys like to hang in the girls rooms b/c they have comfortable lounge stuff, plus it folds up easily and they can take it to the floor lounge to watch the away games. At least on DS’ floor they all watch the away game together</p></li>
<li><p>If you went to orientation, no need to do Parents weekend, instead go to homecoming. They do not have football games during Parents weekend. If you decide to go to either of these weekends book the hotel by Sept. You can buy tickes close to the student section so they can ang with friends and you will just be seperated by an aisle. Tickets for students are not assigned, it is General Admission…</p></li>
<li><p>If you go to the game…TAILGATE! Also walk down early enough to watch the team march in!</p></li>
<li><p>BBALL games, as it has been stated earlier even though Comcast is big, it’s not big enough to hold everyone for big games (Duke, UNC). The more often the student goes to games the earlier will be their entrance time for the big ones. During Winter Break DS went to 2 games with his brother and Dad, so he could get more points, by doing so he had the earliest entrance time for the Duke game, and was able to hold a seat for his friend from NJ.</p></li>
<li><p>More fun stuff that I send. Water balloons. The guys supposedly behave and not drop them from the 7th floor windows, but instead play football with them or just get together to have water balloon fights against the girls, or other floors. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>My new fun thing that I am sending him isthe big bouncy balls…he lost one (bounced out a window…OOPS). I also got him those balls with suction cups so when they throw them it sticks to the walls without damaging anything.</p>
<p>Best aisle to find stuff is the party favor aisle in Target or Wal-Mart, it’s cheap(small water pistols a bag of 4 costs $2, lasts one time, but they have fun with it). We might want to believe they are young adults, but the reality is they still have that inner kid in them. 3 cans of Silly String are gone within hours of him getting it.</p>
<p>Think outside of the box. Pack or send light weight small things that are unique.
- Nerf Basketball for the dorm (get the one with suction cups)
- Frisbees
- Rubics Cube
- Jenga
- DVD’s (he took Monty Python, Family Guy, Scrubs, stupid guy stuff)
- PLASTIC BOWLS They need them for the microwave popcorn, chips, etc.</p>
<p>Another gift that is great for them, is a subscription to NET FLIX. You can pay $9 a month and they can watch as many movies as they want on their laptop or computer. It also allows you to watch from any computer, which means your kids at home can log in also and watch a movie on the home computer/laptop. Don’t buy the program that can be delivered, the dvd can be played on the computer, but they lend them out and forget who they gave it to! We did buy the home delivery, in addition, but it can only be sent to our home address, not his at school!</p>
<p>I think too many people spend too much time on making sure they have what they consider essentials as a parent…PURELL, Tissues, sm. trash bags, swifter re-fills, dryer sheets, etc. Not enough time making sure the kids have what they want…fun stuff!
In my experience, DS still has the original box of his dryer sheets, but he is on his 2nd shipment of water balloons (spring is here) and 3rd shipment of Silly String! </p>
<p>The main reason to not worry about the parent things is because the Student Store has it and they can buy it whenever, however they don’t carry the other things I have mentioned, and having the fun stuff creates friendships. When we moved in DS, as I stated I sent cases of soda, gatorade and water. His floormates also had a fridge, but nothing to put in it…the folks forgot that, but they did have sev. boxes of Kleenex and rolls of paper towels. </p>
<p>Jnrsmom you have to cut and paste again!</p>
<p>you just keep on going, pima! D1 has reminded me that I have severely backed off on care packages sophomore year, and they have been missed!!! I sent her a ridiculous amount of Easter candy…she said she put it on the kitchen table with a note (in German of course—in the Language House!) for all her apartment mates to eat freely. It’s a week later and the basket is STILL full!!! So, put in your “remember” list to keep on sending the silly stuff after freshman year!!!</p>
<p>It seemed like on move-in day there were several “waves”…the people who live close (or came from far away the night before) are there very early, then there’s another big wave when all the NJ/NY people get there from driving down that day, then it’s a steadier stream for the rest of the MD people to move in the rest of the day. Oldest D was adamant about wanting to get there “first” (but then chose all the most beat-up furniture to be fair to her roommies!), even though they’d already worked out who was getting the top bunk, etc.</p>
<p>Pima you are correct for move-in. I checked with Residence Life and Living Learning (Honors, Gemstone, Scholars) move in on Thursday August 27th. All other freshman, Friday, August 28th. Guess we will also have to go up a day or two before since we’re coming from Texas. </p>
<p>Awesome suggestions. I don’t know how we can take so much flying in from Texas. DS says he will order and have things shipped. I’m not letting him take his SUV the first semester. I wonder if we can ship things in advance? Any idea?</p>
<p>I’m assuming that “Honors, Gemstone, Scholars” includes Honors Humanities as far as move-in dates? I’m still a little confused about Gemstone/HH - is that the same? I feel out of the loop for being such an involved mom! But DD leaves tonight to fly out to UMD for the weekend activities, so hopefully she will learn lots more and share with her Mama!! </p>
<p>She insisted on going alone, saying that in 4 months she will be on her own anyway. How could I argue with that? 
She knows only 1 person there and is staying in ‘his’ dorm. That was a hard one to take, also. You are staying with a boy??? “Yeah, Mom, he said I could have the bed and his roomie is going to be gone for the weekend. We are just friends.” Well, I know that to be a fact and she is not looking to be involved with anyone at this point - wants to start the college years not tied down. She has a very good head on her shoulders, so I’m not worried…just seems a little weird, but I know that DS does this in college, but she is my GIRL!!</p>