<p>I'm posting this in the parent's forum because I feel parent's might know this...</p>
<p>What do you do if you live far away from your college and instead of driving you're flying in? This is what I'm doing - and I don't know what to do about bringing stuff.</p>
<p>Like..I can pretty much only pack a few days worth of clothes and toiletries since I'm going on a plane. What do I do about all the stuff I need to bring? How do other people do this who are going long distances and have to fly? Just buy everything once you get there?</p>
<p>Fed Ex ground will ship packed suitcases as luggage cargo, USPS costs more and requires them to be boxed.</p>
<p>Bed Bath and Beyond will allow you to select you order in one location (like a Bridal registry) and pick up in another (near to your school). It is not prepaid, so you can decide after you arrive that you really don't need a particular item.</p>
<p>At the end of the year many students will share local storage units for things you won't need at home for the summer.</p>
<p>"At the end of the year many students will share local storage units for things you won't need at home for the summer."
Wow, great idea, have to suggest to D. Other thought I had was making friends with kids living locally, having summer jobs in the college town. Might be willing to "rent" a little storage space too.</p>
<p>Some schools even have businesses in the area who will pack and store your stuff over the summer. That way you only have to ship at the beginning of Freshman year and the end of Senior (and by then you won't want much of that stuff back!)</p>
<p>Chintzy, are those businesses run by schools, entrpreneurial students, or outside concerns (just curious)? And if you know the name of one or how to search for one near D's school on Google, would you PM me? Thanks. I'm thinking I may use them.</p>
<p>NJ-Mother, I don't know where your child goes to school, but at Wash U there is a student run business that provides that option and a friend just told me about a similar service offered at Syracuse. My S, a rising senior at Wash U used the service the first year, but this year rented a small storage unit with friends. I think it's harder in more urban areas and at schools that don't provide the service. My D is able to store a small amount of stuff in a storage room in her dorm as she is returning next year to the same building. She will ship home 2 duffel bags worth of stuff and check 2 bags on the plane. We'll just have to pay for the extra bag. What we'll do next year when she'll probably be moving out of the dorm I have absolutely no idea. Maybe the lease will start in June and she can move in before she leaves for the summer...ah, back to the sublet dance (we also have an older S who graduated last year...been there done that with summer and study abroad sublets...fun, fun fun!).</p>
<p>Runnersmom, I found that D's school has a student-run moving and storage service under the school's auspices. I never would have looked for it if CCers hadn't brought it up.
Thanks!</p>
<p>Are you going by yourself, or will a parent be going along? With a parent in tow, you can take advantage of their baggage allowance (well, depending on the airline), the ability to rent a car and to gather much of what you need once you arrive rather efficiently.</p>
<p>If you are going alone, consider how you are getting from the airport to campus and how much stuff you can reasonably haul and handle on your own. How difficult will it be to get around and gather stuff once you are on campus? (Depends on the location of your school - for one of my children that is a bit of a problem as it's rather "rural"). If it's going to be hard, you may want to shop and send to campus before you leave home. Just make sure you have the necessities with you when you go in case anything goes astray.</p>
<p>I think just about any college these days has some sort of storage arrangement in place, whether college run or otherwise. Where there is a need, some smart business person is going to fill the void. Even at the rural college setting, my child had multiple options for storage.</p>
<p>email your roommates (if you have dorm assignments already) and see if he (they) are closer and can bring more with them. That's what my D did. Roommates brought the big stuff (the TV, microwave,mini fridge) she bought a lot of the little things they needed once she got there. Bring few clothes, then have your parents mail you whatever you need. A lot of kids bring too much -- girls in particular!! -- you'd be surprised how little you'll need in the beginning: bedding, toiletries, a few clothes, your computer/printer/music set up.</p>
<p>My S packed two large rolling duffels that he took on the plane and carried a backpack with some extras and his laptop. The duffels had all his clothes, shoes, etc. in them. Then we did the Bed Bath and Beyond thing where you choose the items in your city and they are waiting for you in the location closest to your college. They had everything ready to be picked up when we arrived. We bought all sheets, towels, hangers, laundry basket, comforter, mattress pad, pillows, lamp, fan, etc. there. We bought a TV at Target and split the cost of the fridge and microwave with the roommate which we bought through a company called dorm supply also recommended by the school that set up their trucks right on campus. Check to see what your school offers as most I would imagine have these things made easy for the students.</p>
<p>When he left in the Spring, the college had a company at the school available to pick up your things to store for the summer. They mailed out brochures from the company to each family. We used them to store most of his stuff for the following fall.</p>
<p>Check with your school on summer storage. My daughter's school had free storage. Limited room in locked secure storage and then as much as you want to leave in boxes the basement rack storage in either your old or new dorm.</p>
<p>Before graduation, my daughter had to go collect up stuff she had never taken out of storage in her junior year dorm.</p>
<p>Fed Ex Ground can be a good option; it's less expensive than one might think. i think my nephew shipped things f yourom memphis to san diego this way.. I also shipped a bicycle from PA to CA an ebay transaction) using FedEx ground and it worked well.</p>
<p>if you go onto websites of ups, fed ex, etc. you can get estimates. For Fed Ex, you can even print out labels and either drop off packages at a shipping center or arrange for pickup from your home.</p>
<p>Some colleges (or local businesses that work in cooperation with the colleges) have a setup where you can have stuff shipped to your dorm so that it will be in your room when you arrive. Naturally, you pay extra for this above and beyond the standard cost of UPS Ground or similar shipping.</p>
<p>If this is not available or if you don't want to pay the premium, you need to make sure that your stuff is shipped to you in such a way that it arrives after you do. This also means that absolute essentials (such as bedding, if you're not using the Bed, Bath, and Beyond system) must go with you on the plane.</p>
<p>I am skeptical of plans that include doing lots of shopping for essentials right after arrival. Some colleges keep their students very busy during Orientation Week. It might be hard to find time to shop. Also, whether shopping is practical depends on whether you are in an urban or rural area and how good the mass transit is.</p>
<p>For the summer, a self-storage unit works well if you share it with several other students. But one kid's stuff usually won't fill one. At some colleges, there are companies that will store smaller amounts of stuff for you and even pick it up at your dorm (again, for a price). My daughter used one of these services to store two things over the summer -- a large office-type chair and one large box. This is much too little stuff to justify a self-storage unit. </p>
<p>If you join a fraternity or sorority, you may find that you will be allowed to store things in the chapter house over the summer. This is one of the unexpected perks of going Greek.</p>
<p>Look for the airlines that still let you check in two suitcases. (I know Southwest does.) Even at $25 for the second bag, it could be cheaper than UPS.</p>
<p>I would pack minimally for the flight and ship the rest and have it held. You can also go to a store like Bed, Bath & Beyond, purchase your items and they will pull them from stock at the store near your destination. Rent a truck when you get there and go pick them up.</p>