Dorm room specifics??

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Iowa
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<p>My son has not received his housing assignment yet, beyond knowing he's been admitted into his chosen LLC. This tell us which dorm he's in, but not much else. Depending on whom you believe, he'll get his roommate etc by July 18 in a hard copy mailing sent to the house.</p>

<p>I know he'll learn his roommate at that time, but does he learn anything meaningful about the dorm ROOM? My wife's nesting instincts are going wild, and she wants to know all the particulars about what's provided in the room. We see the floor plans and "panoramic" views (which mostly make us dizzy) but she's looking for a little more detail.</p>

<p>Has anyone received their housing packet? What do you actually learn?</p>

2

<p>I have also been admitted into my choice of llc. I have been told that housing assignments will start to go out after July 15th. Like your son I only know the hall I will reside in. Besides what is posted on The University of Iowa website I doubt you will be able to recieve more information. Best option is to probably call The University of Iowa housing department for specific questions that will not be answered when you recieve your sons full housing information.</p>

<p>What additional answers are you looking for? Perhaps I know/ could find it.</p>

3

<p>Same situation here, but little useful info to add. Also in a LLC and in wait state until some time next week. The date I’ve heard is July 19, and I assumed this is the date that letters are mailed. </p>

<p>Good topic, BeastMan. I really doubt there will be any more specifics than what is in on the web site. I suspect you are looking for details like the depth of the closets, size of the chest of drawers, available wall space, roommate contact info, etc. so things can be pre-purchased. I think the best bet to try to get these details (other than roommate) is to look for a YouTube video that shows more details for your specific dorm (available for some dorms), and to try to combine data from multiple sources. I think my D’s strategy will be to take a minimalist approach, and then go to Target, BB&B, etc. once she has moved in and sorted through things with her roommate. </p>

<p>A few things I’ve learned, at least for our D’s dorm – rooms do come with waste baskets, I’ve heard many students do not connect land line phones, bulletin boards seem large, all beds start lofted, beds come with mattress cover. To me, the size/config of closets is the biggest unknown. </p>

<p>One more suggestion to get more details – have S/D post specific questions on the UI Housing Facebook Page – someone from UI Housing is answering many questions promptly and with some detail.</p>

4

<p>My son hasn’t been in the dorm for a couple of years, and he’s a bit of a minimalist, but here’s what I remember needing to get at the last minute. Target and Walmart in Coralville are packed with stuff for dorm rooms, so you’ll be in good company doing your last minute shopping. The following relates mostly to Stanley Hall, where he lived freshman year (he had singles the next 2 years).</p>

<p>There is one ethernet box in the room, and it is close to the door. If the person on the far side of the room needs to plug in his computer (I’m not sure what the wireless situation is at this point), make sure to have a good long length of cord. I believe we ran it on top of the built in bulletin board. Bring duct tape! You should also be prepared with extra extension cords.</p>

<p>The beds are lofted, which means there is room under the bed for the desk. This makes the area dark, so bring a desk lamp. Some kids string miniature lights around the bottom of the bed. We also found that he needed something to put his printer on, so we got a set of plastic stacking drawers.</p>

<p>There should be room for a side chair and/or floor pillows, but I would wait until there to make sure. I think they are important for socializing - with lofted beds, that leaves only desk chairs to sit in. A nice area rug really helps make the room feel warm.</p>

<p>The lofted beds mean no place to put glasses, watch, book, ipod, etc. We got something for him, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it looked like. Google “loft bed caddy” for a good solution. You’ll also want a clip on reading light. </p>

<p>I don’t remember much about the closet space, but like I said, my son doesn’t have much, and whatever space there was was more than sufficient. The dressers are very small - 3 drawers - so you may end up getting more plastic drawers things for the closet.</p>

<p>Hope this is somewhat helpful.</p>

5

<p>I would take a look at the housing website to find information on room dimensions for each building and to plan ahead (they also have virtual tours/360 degree views etc).</p>

<p>[Residence</a> Halls - University Housing - The University of Iowa](<a href=“http://housing.uiowa.edu/departments/reslife/residencehalls.htm]Residence”>http://housing.uiowa.edu/departments/reslife/residencehalls.htm)</p>

<p>A majority of the rooms are doubles so it’s a safe bet that he will be placed in one of those. Hope this helps!</p>

6

<p>jckazoo, thanks! very helpful info there. I also just found this link, with pics from Burge and Mayflower if that is helpful for anyone:
[University</a> of Iowa Housing’s Photos | Facebook](<a href=“Redirecting...”>Redirecting...)</p>

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<p>I did not notice these until just now, so thought I’d post it in case anyone else missed them and is interested – 42 housing photo albums (actually same link as above, just did not realize how many albums were linked in to this!):</p>

<p>[University</a> of Iowa Housing’s Photos | Facebook](<a href=“Redirecting...”>Redirecting...)</p>

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<p>An example of piecing information together – looks like vacuum’s are available (hopefully at all dorms) for check-out, so one more thing off the list of things to bring/buy. </p>

<p>[University</a> of Iowa Housing’s Photos - Early Move-in Monday 8:15am | Facebook](<a href=“Redirecting...”>Redirecting...)</p>

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<p>Since I am jealous of all of you just starting your Hawkeye experience, I’ve been thinking of a few more things that might be helpful. And by the way, just a correction to my post above - I realized that my son was in Slater his first year, not Stanley. He was in Stanley his 2nd year, in a single. Slater did not, at that time, have carpeting in the rooms, so having an area rug or 2 is more that a nicety, I think it’s a must have. (But check to see if they’ve installed carpeting.)</p>

<p>Here’s something both my sons found to work really well, regarding showering. Instead of using bar soap in a sloppy plastic container, use bottles of body wash. Buy a 12-pack of cheap washcloths (Target sells them), and use one washcloth per shower.</p>

<p>The laundry facilities are large and very nice. And would you believe they are computerized? You can check online to see if any machines are available, before trudging down to the basement. And you can also check to see if your machine is done. These kids don’t know how great they have it!</p>

<p>On check-in day, be very patient. Step one is getting a parking place. Then, your kid has to, by themselves, check in, get a room key, go over the room with a housing aide to check for furniture scratches, paint chips, etc., and then get a cart for hauling stuff (they have to surrender their ID card until the cart is returned). You may be waiting awhile for a cart to become available, and also for the elevator. All in all, it’s not too bad, and all the staff people are very nice and helpful.</p>

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<p>Thanks funyet and jckazoo for your helpful posts. I am hopeful to get a better sense of things when we get our packet but in reality it won’t be a huge deal if we don’t. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you walk through Dormland Overload in Bed Bath and Beyond but then you realize, hey, if my kid doesn’t actually fold clothes before stuffing them into the dresser does he really need all these organizational dooodads? Answer: no. And indeed anything can be purchased from the Coralville Target as well as the one 2mi from our house. </p>

<p>The photo albums are fun to look at but of course my son’s dorm isn’t shown, except for its new bathrooms, which is, ummm, great I guess.</p>

<p>jckazoo, your observations are super helpful. Thanks a million. We picked up the elusive Lofted Bed Caddy today at BB&B and it works just as you say! Student was unimpressed as it requires no electricity, but wait 'til he sees it in action!</p>

<p>I laughed when I saw the reference to online laundry monitoring. I have to admit that in an outburst of geekdom I found the very web page you mention and found sort of a pathetic delight in watching the animated machines jiggle away. A sad commentary about how I spend my time! Student again unimpressed.</p>

<p>It is our plan to move in noonish on Wed. I am naively hoping that mid-day will be less busy than 8am and Wed will be less busy than… than when, exactly? Who knows? It’s just a hope. Wife and I will be around until the following morning, then we’re off!</p>

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<p>Thanks for the posts everyone. Great info. As RWE noted, the University of Iowa Housing Facebook page has a wealth of info. Look it over if you haven’t.</p>

<p>A couple of items:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>If your S or D are in Burge, check to be sure that their rooms have dressers. I’ve been told that most Burge rooms do not. Also, the “sample” Burge room that we toured last summer was without a dresser. We’re going to purchase an inexpensive set of plastic drawers for her to put in floor of her closest. Hillcrest and Stanley did have dressers.</p></li>
<li><p>When our older S lived in a dorm, we purchased a small, inexpensive metal bunkbed ladder (5’ tall or so) that we then strapped to the end of his lofted bed with heavy duty plastic zip ties. His loft had very wide steps that, due to his room layout, he couldn’t easily use. The ladder made it alot easier to get into bed rather than having to awkwardly step onto his desk and then pole vault into bed.</p></li>
<li><p>Our S is an active sleeper. To keep him from rolling out of bed and hitting the floor, we purchased a good quality 4’ long 1" x 12" board that we then sanded smooth. This slid down between his mattress and the bed frame on the “room” side of his bed and kept him from falling out. Not sure if this will work in the U of I dorm beds but I suspect it will.</p></li>
<li><p>For all you first-time college parents, futons are exceptionally popular IF the room is big enough to accomodate them. They are relatively inexpensive, promote newly made friends to drop by and “hang out” and, in a pinch, serve as an extra bed for when high school buddies come down and visit. They can be a pain to pack and transport (especially for you OOS parents) but there are at least a couple of stores in Iowa City that sell AND deliver them directly to the dorm room. The only problem is getting them back home or into storage in the Spring.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, I heartily second jckazoo’s ethernet, extension cord and duct tape comments. Make sure to get cords that are long enough. It always seems that you’re a foot or two short. The Univ. book store sells dirt cheap ethernet cables that I think are up to 20’ long. Finally, as with many other “dorm necessities” posts on CC, 1 or 2 heavy duty, multi-outlet power strip / surge protectors are also a must.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>We too will be moving our D in early. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to get there until Friday, 8/19. Will try to be at the dorms at 7:30 AM or so. It will probably still be packed with minivans and SUV’s but hopefully we’ll beat at least part of the rush.</p>

<p>Good luck to everyone on their move-in days.</p>

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<p>Big19Padre, thanks a lot! do you recall who sells futons? It’s on our list in spite of the bulkiness.</p>

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<p>jackazoo and Big10Padre, Thanks for all the added information – really helpful for newbie’s like me!</p>

<p>I have a few follow-up questions (I know, way too detailed) – we will be flying in, and need to leave right after D moves in, so trying to get this right the first time. A trip or two for her and roomie to BBB/Target will surely be needed and good way to explore Iowa City, but I do not want her scrambling to stores too many times first week of classes:</p>

<p>1) Phones – how many students connect landline phones/answering machines? I’ve heard few do, but seems nice to have an alternate way to call in/out in case of other issues (esp. if it is a land-line service in case of long-term power outage)</p>

<p>2) Do all dorms have that $15’ish service to check out movies, get vacuum cleaners, etc.? I would like to take vacuum cleaner off our list of things to get. </p>

<p>3) Planning to get a multi-function printer for room. Deciding between barebones USB printer/copier/scanner, or one w/wireless/fax/sheet-fed, etc. Thinking simple is better, so current default is the simple USB unit. Questions - a) is getting a system with a fax machine helpful (although they can always scan and email or go to the IMU)? Seems like it would help if anything needs to be signed by student and sent somewhere b) anyone have experience hooking a wireless printer into the UI wired/wireless network? Even though the dorms are wireless enabled, I think a router may still be needed to make it work, and a wireless printer seems like a potential support headache?</p>

<p>4) Since we are out of town, think best for D to rent fridge/microwave rather than have more to deal with summer storage. Sound right?</p>

<p>5) Any suggestions on closet organizers that work well for the UI dorm-style closets (here is the closet she is likely to have, with each person having her own section, plus one shared section - [University</a> of Iowa Housing’s Photos - Stanley Room | Facebook](<a href=“Redirecting...”>Redirecting...))</p>

<p>6) Pictures from home – better to have one or two framed (maybe 18x24) multi-picture type frames to hang somewhere, or better to bring individual family/friend photographs and attach to existing bulletin board or new purchased bulletin board.</p>

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<p>RWE, you are on it! Are you for hire as a move-in consultant?? :)</p>

<p>Target: you’ll be glad to know that they don’t want our darlings to go to too much trouble to find their store in Coralville. See the shopping trip scheduled during Welcome Week:
<a href=“http://welcome.uiowa.edu/events.html[/url]”>http://welcome.uiowa.edu/events.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I’m interested to hear input on your questions also. As for vacuums, I have heard talk of sending the hand-held ones. What do they really do, anyway? Not sure.</p>

<p>Printers: I challenged the geeks at Tech Connection about their value but they said they’re quite useful for copying. This doesn’t answer your question of course but I throw it out there anyway.</p>

<p>Where did you land on the computer purchase, by the way? The Mac option was really picking up momentum as I recall!!</p>

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<p>BeastMan, thanks for the added input. Saw the plans for the Target excursion, although limited confidence in DD clearing social calendar for (and/or remembering) this. Sounds like a good bonding experience w/floormates, though, and with under-21, seems like a nice diversion!</p>

<p>On PC, the MacBook floated to to the top as the best overall soln, but she does not want to worry about theft, and have not managed to get her to the Apple store yet. I suspect she will keep her 2 year old HP notebook for another year and (I will) upgrade XP to Win7 and get her a new high=capacity battery.</p>

<p>On vacuum, yeah, had been thinking about a hand vac, or one of those stick vac’s until I realized she may be able to just check one out at the front desk. May still get her a small vac if she wants one.</p>

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<p>Anyone know if parents generally leave the next day students move in? I plan to move in on the 19th, and have orientation at 8:30am on the 20th. It states that orientation should be complete like at 5-5:30 and I explained to my mom how she can leave at that time and return home around 12:00am. She seems like she wants to stay until the 21st and mention how it seems like I want her to drop me off and keep going. I am just trying to save her time and money, and sorta be happy that she is leaving me at The University of Iowa.</p>

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<p>Coolbrezze, I will try to provide a response drawing both on what I recall as a student being dropped off 3 hours from home, and what I am feeling as a parent about to drop off a student for the first time, and at an OOS school much further away. Others may chime in with very different views, as no right or wrong answer. </p>

<p>The easiest thing to address are the mechanics. If you are arriving on the 19th, try to get there as early as you can so you can get moved in, and leave time to quickly gather any basic necessities that you realize you need after seeing the room. Then maybe have an early dinner and get some sleep before your important and condensed registration. On the 20th, based on the Iowa single day orientation link, looks like things may wrap up for you as early as 3:30-4:30. So it may be possible for your mom to participate in all activities, have a bite to eat with you, and be on the road by 6:00. </p>

<p>Now for the harder part, you are touching on a topic that is very personal and family-specific. How drop-off is handled depends on the personalities and family dynamics. In general, I’d say the “typical” routine is student arrives with parent, moves in, possible quick bite to eat, followed by (possibly tearful) goodbyes. Tearing off the band-aid is in some ways easier and less painful than slowly pulling it off. This is what I am doing – arrive a day early, on move-in day I will be flying out that evening. </p>

<p>That said, your mom will very likely be feeling some combination of tremendous pride, excitement, trepidation, curiosity and very mixed emotions. The magnitude of each of these is very dependent on the individual and your specific situation. Speaking for myself, drop-off will be one of the proudest, happiest and emotional days of my life all wrapped up in one. I was going to use the word sad, but I think emotional is more like it). </p>

<p>So depending on many factors, she may feel more comfortable staying over night in a hotel, and then maybe connecting with you on Saturday morning to make sure you are all settled, especially since I believe neither of you have seen the campus. She may also be better off driving after getting some rest and not having to drive home late at night after a very draining experience. </p>

<p>At the same time, you will surely want to connect with your floor-mates, get books, explore your new habitat, participate in Saturday/Sunday welcome week activities, etc. You might think about something like this:
Thursday - move in, get room all settled – quick run w/Mom to Target/BB&B/CVS to get any last minute things you realize you need after move in; Early dinner; Explore campus with mom
Friday - Connect w/mom for breakfast and go through orientation; early dinner with mom, then you can hang with floor-mates if it makes sense, mom can get some sleep
Saturday - meet mom for an early coffee/breakfast and see her off. One things that may be fun for both of you is walk the route you will follow from dorm to classes and back to dorm. Helps you and she may somehow feel more connected. </p>

<p>This way you’d have some time with both your mom and floor-mates, and she would be driving home rested and in full daylight and knowing you are all settled. </p>

<p>Again, no right or wrong – do what seems right to you, for you and your mom. And make sure you wait and wave when she drives away. My sister didn’t, and my parents bring it up at every opportunity. As the youngest, I made sure to keep waving until the car was 3 miles away. :)</p>

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<p>On this topic of drop-off, I agree with RWE that it’s very individual and dependent on the specific family’s dynamic. I know of one mom and dad who brought their bikes with them when dropping daughter off with the intention of turning it into a mini-vacation of several days’ length. Not surprisingly, this made a difficult experience more difficult for everyone. Also not surprising is that the crying began for this family days before they left for school and frankly didn’t stop for most of the first semester. </p>

<p>Our plan is to arrive for move-in about 11am Wed and leave the next morning. This timing is ideal because our son begins a two-day seminar class Wed at 5pm and thus is immersed immediately into campus life with no time for sitting alone in his dorm room wondering what just happened. After getting him settled Wed afternoon, wife and I have that evening and the next mornnig to get him anything that he clearly needs. We can also explore IC a little and get a decent rest before driving home (4.5hrs) the next day.</p>

<p>So I think the immediate departure CB proposes for mom is maybe not ideal because it puts her on the road for a LONG time in one day and also gets her out of town when she might be needed, either to buy dorm essentials or to assist with some aspect of orientation. It would also, as RWE points out, not give her a chance to see campus. I think the next-day afternoon departure for her makes the most sense.</p>

<p>As a parent, I can say that this will be an emotional experience but I will not convey to my son any sense of sadness or loss. Everything we have done for him since the age of 5 - countless daycamps, summer schools, Boy Scout camps, HS choice, etc - has pointed to this day. He needs to be able to confidently leave the nest with no fear or trepidation. We will miss him and he will miss us but I think we’re all in agreement that this is an essential part of his becoming an adult, and anything that calls into question the wisdom of this launching forth is not allowed in our house.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the replies.</p>

<p>My mom will not be driving as she resist to do so her niece will drive for her instead.</p>

<p>Since I am making most of the reservations to meet her needs and saving her time and money it appears my mom will leave on the 20th. Simply put she wants to save money and the longer she stay the more it will cost. One major thing that will likely influence her choice is transportation. She does not want to put any more miles on her vehicle and price to rent a car increases by renting period and weekends.</p>

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<p>Excellent advice shared by BeastMan (helpful for me too!). </p>

<p>CB, your plan sounds great. Since your mom will not be driving home alone, she should be fine, and I agree with both Beastman, and with your plan that a quicker break is best for all in this case. </p>

<p>Try to take advantage of the limited time you do have together to show your mom the campus and to get everything you need, take some pictures together for her to have as a memory of the campus, to show friends/family and to have in her home. Then once she heads home feeling confident you are safely ensconced in your new home, you will both have some nice new memories, she will feel good about your new home, and you will be free to enjoy welcome week and focus on getting settled and prepared for Monday AM. </p>

<p>Good luck! Can’t wait to hear how it goes, and what your initial impressions are!</p>