<p>Hi - I will be an Elon parent in the fall and I was wondering...since many kids traveling quite far to attend Elon, what do they do with all of their "stuff" in the summer? Do they store it, ship it home, or take the long long ride to pick it up?</p>
<p>Freshman and sophomore years I drove the 11 hours each way in August and May to bring and collect my daughter from Elon. It was a good opportunity to go for pizza with her friends and get to know them too…plus we had lots to talk about during those long car rides! Junior year, she had enough friends living off campus to be able to store her stuff at one of their homes. Still needed to borrow a car to move everything. She flew home on Southwest with 3 large suitcases and also mailed one large box. This year will be graduation and the final “move out”…the years go so fast!</p>
<p>There are a bunch of storage facilities nearby that the students share…very reasonable…</p>
<p>A bunch of sons friends chipped in on a storage facility so that he did not need to bring everything home. It was actually reasonable and worked out well.</p>
<p>Freshman year we brought most of it home, and left a few things in D’s friend’s off-campus house. Sophomore year D rented a storage unit - she shared it with a friend and split the cost, which wasn’t bad. There are many near campus. Just be sure you know if the unit is climate-controlled or not - you don’t want to leave electronics in a non-air-conditioned metal storage unit over the summer in Carolina for 3 months.</p>
<p>This year D is living off-campus and staying in her same apartment for senior year. We don’t have to move anything! Yay! 
On the downside, we are paying rent for 3 months when she won’t be there…</p>
<p>I have read that it makes it easier to purchase items at local WalMart or Target, etc… but my S has a lot of “stuff” already (mini-fridge, dorm chair, etc…) Anybody have any suggestion about shipping and then storing until we arrive? </p>
<p>Lafalum84 - is it common for Juniors to live off-campus Jr and Sr year? And if so, I guess all rentals are 12 months so that it would be common to pay for the 3 summer months?</p>
<p>HockeyMomMA - yes to both. </p>
<p>Currently about 60% of all undergrads live on campus, most of them frosh & sophs. Most juniors and seniors move off campus. As an incoming freshman parent this made me nervous, but the kids quickly become good at deciding where they want to live, finding roommates, buying furniture from seniors and making the whole thing work on their own (with mom & dad’s money, of course!)</p>
<p>Even the “on campus” apartments actually rent for 12 months. Costs more, but makes it more convenient to move in when you want and store your stuff there over the summer. </p>
<p>As the college expands housing (now with Mill Point and the upcoming International area near Lake Mary Nell) I believe more juniors and seniors will be able to stay on campus, but at this point the vast majority of them are off-campus in apartments and houses. </p>
<p>Rents near campus are pretty reasonable, but some places want a 2 year commitment. My daughter’s 2 BR 1 BA apartment is 3 blocks from campus and only required a 1 year commitment. Her share of the rent is $485/mo and includes all utilities except cable/internet. </p>
<p>As for shipping and storing before freshman year, I recall the mailroom would hold up to 3 boxes for freshmen to be picked up on move-in day. I think the information will be on the new student/orientation webpages later this spring. That’s how we got D’s futon to campus.</p>
<p>To add to the valuable information Lafalum has provided, apparently one can ship to a local UPS store and they will hold merchandise for your arrival…</p>
Use the website http://elonsummerstorage.com --They deliver spacious bins for you to pack, then pick up and securely store those bins once you’re done packing them, then re-deliver them to your new dorm, apartment or address in the fall! All the details are on the website and they are a college parents dream come true!! Especially if you live out of state! They even store oversized items like futons, beds, refrigerators etc.
USE THIS WEBSITE http://www.helpustoreit.com/
They make it really easy by sending you a box to pack your stuff, picking it up and then delivering it to you next year. AND you can get 10% off if you use this code: 10ELON1
The company was started by an Elon alum, so it would be awesome if more people started using it!
Ideally, and this is the case more often than not at Elon, students end up living in the same place for 2+ years. The housing system is pretty well tailored so students won’t lose their apartments or spaces. Storage spaces aren’t cheap, especially in a smaller town with high demand. If you can, try to find a friend(s) who’s staying in their apartment and don’t mind her leaving her things there for the summer (if you’re nervous, obviously nothing valuable.) Elon will let students lock their rooms so no one can access them during the summer. The downside is just making sure the apartment residents will be back on campus before or at the same time as you, so you can access your things from their locked room.