<p>Entertainersmom, I’ll PM you later about those auditions–unless major changes have been put in place, the timetable’s slightly different from what you’re thinking. Auditions for most fall shows just took place (no cast lists listed yet) and spring auditions usually are in November. The good news is, it’s pretty easy for them kids to get to stores for last-minute shopping, and we did buy a number of room items (fan, lamp, etc.) after we got there. It’s also been easy to find a friend with summer housing who was willing to store a few odds and ends, so it all won’t have to be hauled home. Ack,ten days till move OUT day–the first year has already gone by so fast!!</p>
<p>Lots of good advice from others. I had never heard of vacuum bags until last year, but they helped us cram a lot more stuff into our car. The downside of vacuum bags is that they make the bags and boxes really, really heavy!</p>
<p>My son has told me that he brought way too many clothes with him. If your kids will be dancing almost every day, consider bringing twice as much dancewear and half as much regular clothes. Boys taking dance classes will need several dance belts, which (if you haven’t dealt with this garment before) are not what you might think they are. Dance clothes will dominate the laundry process.</p>
<p>In terms of sticking around after arrival, my son made it clear that he wanted to say goodbye at the curb. I had to insist on seeing his room! So, because his school is in upstate New York and his younger sister was still on summer vacation, we drove from Ithaca to Niagara Falls, and had a mini-vacation before driving south again. It was actually a good thing because we weren’t immediately returning to a suddenly quiet house. </p>
<p>For those like the OP moving their kids to NY: you don’t need to bring all the sheets, towels, and other dorm supplies with you on the plane or pay to ship these items. They are easily purchased in NYC. Bed, Bath, & Beyond has a service in which you can pre-order items online and pick them up when you arrive, but I found it just as easy to select from the ample stock in the store. </p>
<p>We have a large-ish family so we generally brought existing linens from our own house rather than buying new, but there are always some purchases (light bulbs, trash can, extension cords etc.) that need to be made for the room. If you’re going to a remote location (such as when I dropped my niece off at Bard last August) you do really need to plan out in advance how to get everything to the dorm room. New York is different–you can find everything you need there easily and as cheap or cheaper than at home.</p>
<p>Another poster, above, wrote of suitcase storage–yes. It’s an issue. One of my kids goes to school in NY where in the high rise dorms all the living rooms are piled high year round with the luggage that belongs to the international and far-flung students. If I were to design a dorm, I’d include space for storing luggage. If the dorm room has no common area, it could be burden to keep the suitcases, so don’t bring that hard-sided luggage. Go for duffels or other easily-collapsible suitcases.</p>
<p>I have two daughters in college in New York. In the case of the younger one, we moved her stuff and and she practically pushed us back into the car. Anything she needed for the room she got herself during orientation (she’s the kind of kid who’d be happy sleeping on a mattress on the floor.) It really depends on the kid. One of my daughters, moving into a school in Cleveland which was nowhere near any kind of store where she could purchase necessities, wanted us to stay and help organize her room; we also made a trip in our car to Target (and I was glad to be needed.) But be prepared for “goodbye a the curb” as Prodesse says!</p>
<p>Yeah, I bought some cheap but big suitcases at the thrift store for under 20 bucks with the thought that we’d use them to get him there then donate them to another thrift store there. He’ll have a sturdier regular sized bag he can take back and forth for visits. </p>
<p>But… I hadn’t thought about move-out. I didn’t put two and two together to think through that really these kids are moving in then moving out 9 months later then moving back in… does this go on this way all four years?</p>
<p>Cheap but big is great as long as big doesn’t mean too big. Domestic flights have size and weight restrictions that you’ll need to pay attention to. It’s much less expensive to pay for an extra bag ($20 ish) than it is to pay for one that is oversized or overweight ($100+). </p>
<p>Move out needs to be thought through as well. That’s another good reason to pay careful attention to what you bring as well as what you acquire. If he is going back to the dorms in the fall, everything he has will need to go to storage and depending on what storage service you pick, you can end up paying by the suitcase, box or item. We used collegeboxes.com last year for storage and will again this summer because they pick up from the dorm room and deliver to the following fall’s address but it also means you do pay by the drink instead of just renting a storage space for a flat monthly rate regardless of how much you stuff into it. It’s also more expensive but we found that it’s worth it to us because it means our daughter can manage the move in/move out by herself. If you go for a by the drink storage option, it’s a good reason to let the nice roommate who lives nearby whose parents load up the minivan, bring the refrigerator etc. Summer storage is also a good reason to leave some of those suitcases you are bringing with your son. He’ll need a place to put all of his stuff when he moves out in the spring. My daughter keeps hers under her bed and stores her seasonal clothing that she doesn’t need in them until she does and then rotates it out. </p>
<p>Eventually some kids get apartments with a 12 month lease and the move out becomes less of an issue. However the “getting of the apartment” in NYC is a whole other animal and one that likely requires parent participation (lease signing) so for those of us that live so far away, it’s pretty daunting. That subject could be it’s own thread but walk before you run. Right now worry about dorms. :-)</p>
<p>Times3 - Yep, knew about the fall show auditions, thinking about the Spring 
</p>
<p>mountainhiker - Southwest flies out of Portland!!</p>
<p>The extra suitcases will fit under the bed and perhaps even inside each other and/or store other things. If he can store them there, keep 'em handy for later use at move out. Numerous summer storage companies will start marketing to the kids at Pace (and elsewhere) starting after Spring Break, so you’ll begin to see what options are out there. </p>
<p>Another thing about getting an apartment–if you sublet it for the summer you still need to temporarily remove much of your stuff so the subletter will have room for his/her stuff.</p>
<p>Acting students probably need a wardrobe that is 75% black. I know many acting classes require the student to wear tight fitting black clothes. So similar to dancers who need a lot of dance clothes, actors need their blacks in a large enough quantity that they aren’t doing laundry too frequently.
In general too - My son is a sophomore (in the sciences, not the arts) and I would say more than half of his wardrobe is still here at home. They don’t need everything they own at college. </p>
<p>Great advice from all! i went to NYU during the stone age but mailed my boxes there. that worked out great. here is a hotel we stayed in during a trip to pace last summer and we liked it. it;s in brooklny but only about 3 or maybe 5 subway stops away from pace <a href=“http://www.hotelindigo.com/hotels/us/en/reservation”>http://www.hotelindigo.com/hotels/us/en/reservation</a> read haflokums info carefully on airports in particular. Totally agree with taking a taxi from airport to pace(or hotel). will be too cumbersome to have suitcases on subway or other public transportation. there are not going to be places to buy things near pace like there is elsewhere. there are lots of small stores in area but nothing like a big dept store(at least I can’t think of any) nor is there a mall in teh area like we are used to in the rest of teh country. So runnning out and getting big things once you get there does not work as well at pace, or NYU for taht matter, as it would other places. as I think of more things, i will let you know. </p>
<p>There is a lot of big box retail at 14th st Union Square. Also Century 21 has housewares and is a bit further downtown (near the WTC memorial)</p>
<p>you would have to take a taxi from 14th street to pace depending on how big the items are but it’s not too far so the taxi cost would be ok. the housewares near WTC may be within walking distance. is he in one of the manhatten dorms?</p>
<p>Yes in Manhattan. I know Pace has had some sort of arrangement with bed bath and beyond in past years that involved a free shuttle and a coupon. Also, when I was at Century 21 during campus visit earlier this year, they offer a delivery service to nearby hotels so might also be willing to deliver to a dorm. Their service did cost though. </p>
<p>There is a Bed Bath & Beyond in Tribeca that offers FREE busses back from the store to Pace – they will LOAD all your packages into the bottom of the bus. VERY easy. Take advantage of it. </p>