Dorms and settling in

<p>I got accepted to Boco off the waiting list…and I’ve been discussing some things with my parents since the acceptance so I was wondering if any one knew the answer to this question:</p>

<p>Is the best thing to do when moving up to Boston to ship most of the things up with you? Coming from Miami I’m pretty much going to be purchasing every thing down here and there’s no way everything can fit into a couple of suitcases…but I don’t know if shipping is recommended. </p>

<p>Also, I don’t know if any one has gotten a chance to actually see the dorms…I got to see the sitting area but not actually the rooms…so if any one knows how the bed’s work…if they are elevated or not…or if there is space to place things under the bed…let me know? Thank you!</p>

<p>hey! im going to be a freshman next year and when i visited all the bed i saw were elevated and had tons of stuff underneath them. of course that wudnt work if you got top bunk</p>

<p>You can order everything you want at a local Bed, Bath, and Beyond and then pick it up at one in Boston. That way you wouldn’t have to pay to ship it all or lug it all with you on the plane, or in the car, etc…</p>

<p>BoCo dorms are unusual in that they are old brownstones hacked into very unique spaces. My D was in a QUINT last year…a HUGE room where each of the FIVE girls had her own loft-style bed (NOT bunked), dresser, desk, and chair, and there were three closets in the room. LOTS of space for underbed storage boxes, plastic stacked drawers, and plastic tubs. The beds were bunked when we first entered the room but two dads with a hammer broke them down (an option for you, too) and arranged the room with a big open space in the center for traffic and socializing. Each room is different but the ones I saw were pretty roomy. Just don’t take a ton of clothes! My D’s bed was by the fireplace so she had a marble and mahogany mantle as a shelf.</p>

<p>Bed Bath & Beyond offers a Back to College deal where you can go to your local store and choose everything you think you will need for your dorm room, and then BB&B will ship it all to the store closest to BoCo. You go pick up (and pay for) the stuff on your moving-in day…if you have changed your mind about anything, you don’t have to buy it, and you can use MANY MANY coupons, even the expired ones. START SAVING THEM UP. It is a great service and most kids used it.</p>

<p>My D took her fall clothes with her but we shipped her winter stuff in October. You will need rain boots ALL YEAR ROUND.</p>

<p>The mattresses are sealed in vinyl so you will want a comfy mattress pad for them but you won’t need a super duper anti-allergy mattress cover.</p>

<p>Once you move in, you can talk with your roommates about chipping in on a fridge…used ones are always for sale.</p>

<p>If you send me a message with your email address, I will send you some photos of the dorms.</p>

<p>I had the chance to walk through every dorm and peek into most rooms this weekend, so I can give more details. The biggest room I saw was the basement quint in Dorm 26, which WAS the MT dorm last year but will be an all-girl dorm this year. The prettiest rooms were on the third floor of 26…the gorgeous mahogany cabinets with leaded glass haven’t been painted and give TONS of storage space. The singles were kind of small but there aren’t many of them. Some rooms had walk-in closets. Most looked more spacious than the cookie-cutter dorm rooms in the big high rises we saw touring other schools. You’ll only be in the dorms for a year anyway so even the worst room should be endurable for that long. </p>

<p>I wish I had brought tension rods, lengths of fabric, and some fabric glue to make curtains on the spot when my D moved in. It would have improved the ambience of the room immensely. You might want to suggest that to your parents!</p>

<p>You need to purchase bed stands to be able to fit items under your bed. Do not buy the stands until you see what kind of bed posts you have as some are circular, some are square, and some rectangular. Dorm rooms are first come, first serve so be in line as early as possible. </p>

<p>I would bring one or two suitcases with the bare essentials then head off to BBB like “Skwidjymom” said. You should get one bed, one desk, sometimes a book case and either share or have your own closet. The closet is standard size length, width and depth.</p>

<p>Good luck</p>

<p>My D is an incoming freshman and has lots of questions which she plans to email to the housing offce. I’ll pass along what she finds out. Is it really true that dorm rooms are not pre-assigned? That is something we are definitley going to ask!</p>

<p>The dorm rooms are preassigned. The beds are not. There are a couple of parents on this thread that has already gone through this and may be a better resource than the housing people. They have their perspective, as parents, we have ours.</p>

<p>My D moved into a quad last year… the 4 girls talked it over and agreed who was taking what bed… I would let the kids figure this out… its important for them to agree, it will help them get along during the year.</p>

<p>When they went in there were 2 sets of bunk beds but they split them up so that each had their own bed and area. You do lose some space in the room but I guess at that age they may be over bunk beds.</p>

<p>Each had a different major by the way (Dance, Viola, Piano and MT) which my D enjoyed a lot. Being with MT kids all day it gives you another perspective and she ended up seeing their shows in the Dance and Music departments which she might not have done had she been with all MT majors.</p>

<p>VAMThMom, tell your D that 99.9% she will have the time of her life, meet an awesome group of kids, get an amazing training… My D who never liked school is counting down when she can go back in September!</p>

<p>I miss-spoke on my earlier post. It is the housing policy that the first to line up has first choice, second to line up has second choice, etc for the selection of beds. If you are in a quad and you are fourth in line you get what nobody else wanted. The kids always shift things around to make it as even as possible and work it out well together but you should get there early.</p>

<p>My D is kind of meek…if we left it to her, she would have taken whatever no one else wanted…which is why her dad waited and was first in line and picked what he thought would be best for her. As it turns out, ALL the beds and positions had their good and bad points and no one was unhappy with their spots in the room. Whatever happens, they are only there for a year…this is a learning experience, as much as the regular classes are…my only child learned PLENTY by sharing with four other girls.</p>

<p>My D is an incoming MT freshman from FL. She doesn’t have any “real” winter clothes. Can anyone give us an idea of what is needed? Also, when will it be needed? It would be easier to bring the heavy winter clothes to her during the Parents Weekend in Oct. Thanks!</p>

<p>PropMiss, your D will need rain boots right off the bat. I never dreamed my D would use them but she did, all the time. Your D will need at least one very warm coat…two would be better because one might get wet and then she’d have another one as a spare. I’d get a longer coat for your D…they tend to not wear heavy clothes to class (so they can move) and she will be grateful if you get something that more than covers her butt! She’ll need at least two pairs of gloves and a couple of hats and scarves and of course snow boots. It gets cold in Boston before Parents Weekend. I had the same thoughts you did last year but I had to ship a few things up to her. You could shop Lands’ End and have the outerwear mailed to her. I sent my D new gloves and hats in February just to cheer her up. Lands’ End stuff is not too expensive, mostly washable, and great quality.</p>

<p>Just checked Lands’ End and they have lots of scarves, hats, and gloves on sale.</p>

<p>Rain boots, snow boots, scarves, two coats. I think girlfriend has a rude awakening to what winter can be! And, as I understand, with the theatre renovation, there will be more walking then normal. Thanks Skwidjymom for the advice.</p>

<p>PropMiss, we’re from Philadelphia and the Boston winters aren’t worse, they just start earlier and last longer…but it WILL be a shock to a Floridian. Your D can wear her lightweight things under her sweaters, and peel down in the warmer classrooms and dorms. She’ll adjust…they all do!</p>

<p>I have an incoming freshman MT daughter, too! I thought the same thing about the theatre renovation - more walking and that they would need a “T Pass”. I spoke with Katie, assistant head of the theatre division, this week to ask about the T Pass. She said that BOCO is planning to provide buses to get mainstage show performing and tech crew students to the off-campus theatre space for rehearsals and performances. I asked if there would be any dance or acting classes there and she said no. She indicated that all classes would remain within walking distance of the main campus.</p>

<p>Vicky, Check with a local Bed, Bath & Beyond. You can pick out the stuff at home and they’ll ship it to a store 4 mins from BoCo.</p>

<p>Any photos of BoCos dorms??? Took the suggestion about BBB…great idea …thanks!!!</p>

<p>All the rooms are different with different set ups depending on the number of students per room. You usually get one small closet, one desk, one small book shelf which doubles as an end table. Most of your stuff has to fit under the bed in containers. That is why you purchase the bed risers. Don’t overdue it. You can always add things.</p>