<p>Now that D. has been accepted and has sent in a deposit to CC(Go Tigers!), we're starting to think about the logistics of delivering her and her things to Colorado Springs. At first we thought we'd make it into a family vacation road trip, visiting friends along the way. The more we think about it, the idea of flying out and spending a few days in the Rockies starts to look more appealing. Does anyone have experience shipping the majority of a student's belongings out to CC (or to some other repository nearby)? Any suggestions or words of warning you could provide would be wonderful.</p>
<p>order all of her stuff at Pack and Store at Bed, Bath and Beyond; pick up when you get there…plan on only clothing to go; get everything else when you get there…Target, Wal-Mart etc…</p>
<p>this is how most people who go to school far from home do it; much easier (and cheaper) than shopping here and shipping…</p>
<p>Would reconsider making this a family trip, the focus should be on the college student. She will be very busy getting settled and wants her parents’ attention on her and not what the rest of the family wants. Most OOS students bring 2 pieces of checked luggage per person and buy the rest in CS. She will not need all her clothes at the beginning of school, she’s coming home for Thanksgiving/Christmas. She should think less stuff is better-gotta store it at the end of spring semester when she comes home. Start saving B,B,Beyond coupons-they don’t expire and you can use one coupon per item.</p>
<p>I drove my S to CC for his freshman year move-in. It was a 750 mile one way trip. We did spend one night in a motel on the way. It was just me and my S. It was very enjoyable, but I made a real effort to not go on and on with “advice” during the trip. I think that my S appreciated my willingness to make the trip because of the amount of gear he wanted to get to CC (hiking, camping, skiing and his bicycle). </p>
<p>Having the vehicle also is a plus when it comes to getting the dorm room stuff that seems to not have been considered. More electric fans and more lighting immediately come to mind. I guess if you fly and rent a car you can do it that way, but being non-mobile is not my idea of the way to do it. </p>
<p>It also worked very well when it came time to part. That is tricky for some. At least for me and my S (and from my observation of others at CC), there comes a point when the student wants the parent gone and the parent risks hurt feeling (the parent’s) if they stay too long. The vehicle allowed me to just get a long hug and leave micro-seconds before we reached that point.</p>
<p>I have friends who drove their D to CC from my same area, but they included an older brother and grandmother in the trip. The friend reports that in retrospect it was NOT a great idea having all those other people along. He said it really fractured his college D’s move-in experience and did not allow the daughter the gradual coming to grips with the fact of college and “leaving” that she otherwise might have had with fewer people adding to the mix of wishes and feelings.</p>
<p>Your trip is well over 1200 miles each way. I don’t know if that amount of togetherness is OK or too much. I guess that is your call.</p>
<p>Why in the world would you want to spend 2 or 3 days each way, careening down I70 listening to bugs splatter across your windshield (heavily as rain through Western Kansas), when you could be enjoying one of the country’s premier vacation states? The Colorado College thing is just a pretext to get you out there.</p>
<p>Ship your stuff in phases as others recommend. Make it a relaxing trip and focus on the orientation experience (which CC does pretty well). Be ready to let your D go (she’ll be busy with registration activities followed by her “Priddy Experience” trip). Take the chance to enjoy the campus, city, and mountains.</p>
<p>Thanks all for your very helpful insight. RE: the joys of I-70 in Western Kansas–we’ve actually done that already, and on reflection, once is enough!</p>
<p>highly recommend the Bed Bath and Beyond option and second the recommendation to save the coupons. we shipped boxes ahead of time from CT the cheapest way possible. A standard square moving box shipped for around $25-$30. They held the boxes until we arrived and then helped us move them in. I also got sent to target to get a “comfy” chair for his room (rented a car). I do not recommend the “dorm room in a box”. they send the flyer over the summer. I recommend looking now for xl twin bedding on clearance. Then you can wash the sheets and towels a head of time and mail them out. Also remember not to bring “all” their clothes. Storage is at a premimum. If your student doesn’t loft his/her bed they can store under the bed in bins. Also something no one mentions but a must is a door stop! I could go on and on but I’m sure you’ll get plenty of advice. I know I wouldn’t drive. you also want your student to learn the airports if they’ll be traveling alone in the future. Good luck, maybe we see you there!</p>