Going to college with two suitcases?

Looking over the packing list supplied by the college I don’t think it will take more than 2 suitcases for dd to take her stuff to school. Plus a backpack / laptop bag.
She will get a chance to swap out for winter stuff before the end of the semester. Even if not I imagine she could take enough clothes for the semester if the winter coat didn’t go in the suitcase. And she will be on the meal plan and will buy her books after reaching campus so I can’t imagine what more stuff she would need to take from here.
But I hear other parents talking about renting vans, shipping boxes , arranging local pick up from BB&B … the dorms are furnished and not really big enough for more furniture so I am not sure what is going on.
Am I missing something? Has anyone else packed off to college with the equivalent of 2 check-in bags and a carry-on? (And personal item)

Bedding, pillows, mattress topper, towels?

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My son and nephew can easily head to college with 2 suitcases and a backpack. But girls are another story. Maybe your DD is different but shoes, hair dryer and similar non-compressible accessories can easily fill a suitcase. Add in bedding, a desk lamp, string lights, etc. and you can easily fill a box from BB&B…

Blanket/comforter, sheets, pillow, and towels will take up a lot of room.

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Our kid moved across country with four suitcases…but one held nothing but linens(sheets, towels, comforter). Plus, we also bought bulky things in the college town (pillows, desk lamp, seat cushion, etc).

Certainly two suitcases will be enough for clothes and some personal items. But I’m not sure you can fit bed linens, toiletries, and the like into those same two suitcases.

The reason folks go to BBB is to get those bulky things. We also made a trip to target to get toiletries.

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we drove our S20 to college last fall; but he flew home.

when he flew home, we encouraged him to think about his packing - as each suitcase besides the two underneath ran $150/pc to ship. We asked him to think about his towels, sheets, hangers, pillows, old shoes, etc. If they were all still decent, and worth $150, bring them home. If not, we’d get new things for the next year.

I guess I’d encourage you to think of it all backwards from what he did returning home, and using free shipping for bigger bulkier things from amazon. moving to an unfurnished apt. is a completely different ball game though!

Yup, this is pretty much how I went off to college each year. Said goodbye to my parents and hopped on a train with a couple of suitcases. (There was a station right by campus.) Anything I didn’t bring with me I could get either on campus or at local stores.

A kid heading to a rural college may not find it as easy to stock their room, though, at least without a car.

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I am sending my younger one to sleep away camp for two weeks with more than that. They need two blankets, three sets of sheets, four towels and a pillow, can’t imagine that all fits in two suitcases. And think about how often and how well they do laundry in a public facility where machines may be hard to get

Yup, this is pretty much how I went off to college each year.

Glad to hear this! I didn’t want to assume that just because I went to college like that 30 years ago, that’s how it should be done today. But I at least want to know that it could be done without any problem. I had not thought about the heavy blanket / comforter, which could occupy half a suitcase on its own.

I am also trying not to be a “helicopter” (very hard for me) or would have tried to find out what temperature the dorms are set for in winter.

ah, yes. good point.

not familiar with mattress topper though - what is this for?

Mattress toppers go on top of the mattresses to make them more suitable for sleeping. Let’s just say…dorm mattresses vary in terms of comfort. You can get a down alternative topper, or a foam rubber topper, or a memory foam topper. But they all take up space.

One of my kids was very lucky. We had ordered a topper to pick up at BBBin her college town. But when we got to her dorm first, she happily discovered that the mattresses were brand spanking new…so she got an extra thick mattress pad instead. But even a mattress pad will take up a bunch of space in a suitcase.

Re: dorm temps. This also varies wildly by dorm…and sometimes by room. My second kid lived in a dorm where the temps were hot in one room and cold in the next room over. First kid lived in a dorm where they had to keep the windows open all winter to keep from boiling.

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You could arrange to have some bulky things shipped to the college (from Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Target etc.). You can contact the school to find out when you can have things shipped.

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Yes…these arrangements likely need to happen. The OP was wondering why…I’m hoping he or she has gotten the answer!

if the mattress was new what was the advantage of having a mattress pad?

D20 went off to college for the first time last fall. Her college did not allow parents into rooms to set things up and we were concerned with her being bogged down with more than she could manage alone. I compiled a list of the absolute minimum items she needed knowing she could not come home before the end of the semester and we could not bring her additional items. She ended up with 2 27-gallon storage totes, one of those big blue Ikea bags, her mattress topper in the original shipping box, and a backpack.

Dorm mattresses are not like home mattresses. They tend to be covered with a plastic or vinyl covering (like a waterproof covering for a crib mattress) that is nothing like the soft fabric cover at home. My D finds it “loud, crinkly, and slippery” and wants something made of fabric to make it feel more like her bed at home.

Yes, my son went OOS and into a dorm room with 2 checked suitcases and 2 carryons (backpack and tennis bag). Came back for summer with the same. I saw people pulling up with full U-Hauls at move-in. Crazy! You only need what you only need.

Take a duffle bad and put said bedding in there… Amazon is great also if he can’t get around to get somethings.

There are people on CC who speak of flying SIX family members with TWELVE suitcases in order to deliver their freshman to college. My kid said that if he were flying, he would have expected to have taken two suitcases plus a carry on and a small backpack as his “personal” item, and be dropped off at the airport by us, and have gotten himself to campus on the other end. But we’re lucky - we’ll be driving him to school, less than 2 hours away. For 6 weeks sleep away camp, my kid took a rolling duffel bag the size of a large suitcase, plus a small backpack, plus musical instrument case. That included linens and towels, pillows and down comforter with cover,but no mattress topper. He never mentioned needing one.

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For four years, our son hopped on a plane to boarding school with a backpack and roller bag. He checked one large suitcase. Everything else he needed (that first year especially) was purchased online and shipped to the school just prior to the start of the school year or purchased at the school store after he arrived. Seasonal clothing was swapped out by him or us at Parents Weekends or school breaks.

For college, he took only one duffel bag (all the Army allowed):

So, definitely doable and probably preferable. Boys are easy.

Comfort. Plus…we always put mattress pads on our mattresses unless they are memory foam.