<p>In general, do you see more internationals coming on their own, with all their luggage; or, do they come with their parents?</p>
<p>Not sure if it's worth my parents coming, to be honest... but, then again, I will have plenty of luggage.</p>
<p>Also, how much luggage does the average international student bring?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Plenty of luggage? Why is that? I’ll only bring clothes & laptop.</p>
<p>At my college about half of the international students arrive with their parents, and it seems to be primarily a financial decision. (Students from wealthier backgrounds often arrive early and have a family vacation in the US before college starts.)</p>
<p>I’d say that the average is 2 suitcases per student. Most students can handle that much luggage themselves, but it helps if you can take a taxi from the airport instead of relying on public transportation.</p>
<p>Not worth.</p>
<p>My dad really wants to come with me to the U.S. It’s kind of adorable, actually. I told him that it would be fine if I went by myself since plane tickets are freaking EXPENSIVE (it’s CRAZY!) but he insisted. So, yeah. XD</p>
<p>@ Kulix13</p>
<p>I think too that I will need plenty of luggage</p>
<p>Yep. My aunt’s going to be helping me move-in. Hopefully it won’t be too much of a head-ache.</p>
<p>Do both parents come to drop the child off or only one parent? I don’t know what would be easier - parting with them in my home country or parting with them on the first day or orientation. Maybe… saying goodbye at home so that tears are exhausted by the time I arrive. :'(</p>
<p>My own opinion: it doesn’t make much sense for your parents to fly to the US just to drop you off. If they want to come, maybe you could start with a family vacation in the US to make the trip worthwhile?</p>
<p>I had my dad come with me when i went to the states. i think it’s easier to say goodbye to one parent at a time, and it was a huge help to have him come… I had two suitcases with clothes (1 for winter and 1 for summer), and one suitcase of other stuff that didnt fit but that i still needed (eg towels, some books etc)
there’s a lot of stuff you need to buy for your dorm and it’s helpful to have a parent who can drive you around in a car (we rented one) because depending on where you are the public transportation might not be that good and stores like target are kind of isolated and hard to get to.
i have a few friends who came without parents and they really regretted it… but i think a lot depends on whether you’ve been able to visit your school beforehand as well… i hadnt and so the change came as a bit of a shock, and it was nice to have some support from back home xD</p>
<p>Re college shopping: if transportation is an issue, there are two options to look into. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>College bookstores often sell college essentials at the beginning of the year (bedding, trash cans, lamps, cloth hangers, etc). </p></li>
<li><p>You might be able to order things online and have them shipped to your college address. My bedding was waiting for me when I arrived!</p></li>
</ol>