Hi, I have lots of questions and welcome any/all advice!
We are flying my son out there to start college in August, he will not start off with a car.
Is it better to bring supplies, ship them or buy them once we get there? (Sheets, towels, etc) And, how much of these does he need. School gives a list, but doesn’t suggest how much of this stuff works well.
Should we plan to open a local bank account?
He will be a new voter, does he register to vote out there or from his home address?
What are we not thinking of?!
Thanks in advance!
If there’s a Bed Bath & Beyond in the school’s area, you can do ‘Pack n Hold’ where you just order the stuff in advance then pick it up. When we tried to buy stuff for our kids dorm rooms upon arriving, the store shelves were picked bare.
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/page/College
For sheets & towels, you need a spare set. Don’t bring more than that. Dorm rooms don’t have huge amount of excess storage.
A local bank acct is a nice to have, but not absolutely necessary.
You can also order on-line at Target or Walmart and pick up at the local store. Bring the minimum amount since most kids over pack. If there is anything he needs later, just ship him the items. I would also recommend a small lock box to keep important papers, extra cash etc… If he plans to bike around campus, a heavy duty ULock is needed to prevent theft. A lap top computer lock to keep that lap top from wandering away. Again depending upon where is going to school, you can find most items locally.
For voting, see below (check the state of the college and where you are currently):
https://www.brennancenter.org/student-voting
For bank accounts, do the banks where you live have branches near the college, or at least ATM fee rebates and some means of depositing checks for those not near the bank’s branch or ATM? If not, it may be necessary to open an account at a bank with branches near the college.
My daughter is doing the opposite, West to East 
We will be ordering on line to pick up at a near by store. Also, she has a bank account at a bank with a branch close to school.