<p>This is what you need for a dorm room - two weeks of clothing, a few dressier clothes, good walking shoes. Tell her to take four pair of shoes max. Bedding and other supplies can be picked up at a local Bed Bath and Beyond. You go to your local BB&B and walk around with a scanner and scan whatever items you want to pick up in Rochester. Everything will be waiting for you there. Also, if you change your mind on some of the items, you can return them right there and then. I cannot stress enough that, no matter what the size of the car, don’t take too many things to school. Since there will be four people in your Corolla, I would definitely rent a bigger car. You can do a trial pack a few weeks before to see what will fit, but I don’t see any way around not renting a bigger car, even with space bags and other ideas posters have suggested. Good luck!</p>
<p>When our DD returned from her four years of college cross country, there were three of us flying (she was not). We had six suitcases for her to fit ALL she had accumulated into. We were clear…if it didn’t fit, it couldn’t come home…and would have to be left behind, donated or given away. She managed to fit it all into the bags…which DID fit into the trunk to our car (a midsize sedan…a bit bigger than a Corolla)…for the drive from our airport home. </p>
<p>I know the OP wants to take the sibling along and I do understand some of the reasoning for this…however, the OP also said it was orientation. What will the sibling do during the orientation sessions? The parents will be at their sessions (which would bore the living daylights out of most siblings), and the sister will be at her sessions (which he won’t be able to go to). Some schools DO have activities for siblings but will this family want this sibling to go his separate way without one of them? I would make a special time to say farewell before the move in/orientation weekend…and them also then plan a trip with the sib to the college several weeks in once all is settled…so he could see his sister in her new place. That frees up one seat in that Corolla that could hold a suitcase.</p>
<p>Shipping a trunk is not a bad idea. You can send it by bus, train, or air. Walmart sells them here (I’m in the south) for under $25.00. Fall/Winter clothes can go in it. The whole family can fit comfortably in a rental car. I would not take your personal car as the trip may take a lot out of it, plus you will be risking it breaking down. If money were not object, the rental van would be a great idea, but I get the affordability of it all. It’s expensive to rent, and then you have to pay for gas, hotel, meals, etc. Costly for sure.</p>
<p>I vote for shipping some stuff and getting the bedding and bulky stuff there. And even in Rochester, she won’t need winter clothes on day 1. You can even ship that stuff before you leave, so you can help her retrieve it while you’re there (at some schools, like my son’s, they have UPS trucks on campus at designated times during move in so you can go to the truck to get your boxes.) You should check the school’s website or info they’ve sent to see if they have any details about this.
Good luck! And also - the less you bring, the less that comes home in the spring! :)</p>
<p>I did’nt read the thread so this might have been said already. </p>
<p>Do not pack clothes in suitcases…use those bags that suck the air out. You will be able to bring comfortors and pillows in as little as 8 inches of space. Do the same for all of your clothes. Stop at a Walmart or similar store in the area of your college to pick up office supplies so you dont need to transport this stuff…do the same with your toiletries and food stuff.</p>
<p>OP- try to avoid the displays at Target and Bed Bath this time of year that show “Dorm Essentials”. Trust me- there’s no place to store most of the stuff in most dorm rooms, half of it never gets used, the other half either goes back with Mom and Dad after Parents weekend or goes to Goodwill in June.</p>
<p>Your D absolutely does not need winter clothing for Rochester in August. She won’t even need it in September (but by October will want a down comforter and heavier weight clothing.) </p>
<p>If it were me- I’d pack her up for a two week trip. The things most people forget are the things she really needs which take up no room- an extra copy of her eyeglass prescription; a xerox of her social security card or passport if she’s going to start a job (either on or off-campus- both will need to fill out an I-9 for her); one piece of paper which has a summary of her meds (if she takes anything) and her immunizations, last tetanus shot, etc. </p>
<p>The winter clothes you can box up and ship to her in September, the sheets and towels you can buy locally, you can do a quick run to walmart when you get there to get her a supply of bar soap, shampoo, etc.</p>
<p>The rest of you fit everything you need into a medium sized duffle bag- and voila- room for everything.</p>
<p>We saw parents moving kids in with a year’s supply of shampoo, bottled water, snacks; upholstered chairs and appliances; enough framed posters and wall decorations to outfit a motel. By the end of the day half of it was shlepped back downstairs and into the cars to get it back home- there simply isn’t enough room if every kid in the dorm decides they need an entire semesters worth of consumables, plus all the creature comforts, plus their entire winter wardrobe.</p>
<p>You will be shocked to see how kids dress even when the weather gets cool.</p>
<p>For my money- pack her light and plan to ship the winter stuff. Worst case, she has a few orders from Drugstore.com or Walmart.com (and can split the shipping costs with other kids who need things) as fill in. But I wouldn’t dump the sibling in order to fit a winter coat that won’t get worn for two months, nor would I invest a lot of money in special dorm room furnishings until she actually sees how much storage she has (never enough) or how much stuff her roommate has (probably too much.)</p>
<p>Funny story about the vacuum bags. DS’s dorm rooms were of the smaller variety with very small closets and virtually NO storage space. Each student got two drawers in he ONE dresser. When I was walking down the hall just looking around, there was a family with a TON of stuff all piled on the bed. The mom told me…“we packed it all in those vacuum bags and it fit into our baggage just fine…but now that we’ve unpacked it, it will NOT fit into the storage in the room.” They were figuring out how much of it they were going to be taking HOME with them. The unvacuumed stuff just didn’t fit into the available storage. SO while it might help you get it into your car and to the school…remember that it will become full size once you open those bags.</p>
<p>Even my daughter was able to pack lightly. Her motivation was that she knew SHE was paying for storage during the summers when she came cross country to come home. Storage is by the box and sq ft. Less costs less…and she knew it.</p>
<p>What the vacuum bags really help with is the bedding - we used them for the whole bedding ensemble. Comforter, sheets, mattress pad and pillows. I hope the OP also knows this is not new to Freshman - many will over pack, some will under pack, but most will surely NOT use all they bring. Try not to worry - it will end up working out.</p>
<p>I definitely advocate packing lightly. But OP should still consider that car rental may bring peace of mind if there is concern about reliability of an older car. The down side would be the fact that the teen would not be allowed to drive it.</p>
<p>My daughter graduated from Rochester and assuming you are going for Parents Weekend, you need not bring all the winter clothes with you in August. You can bring snow boots and heavy winter coats in October. She should have a fleece type jacket for fall. My d’s freshman year roommate was from upstate NY and she said that it doesn’t usually get cold until after Halloween. My daughter’s senior year it was fine through Thanksgiving.
With both our daughter’s we were able to swap our car for a friend’s minivan or larger vehicle.
I did not bother with parent orientation-it is not a requirement, although it was our second child heading off to college. You can certainly wait and do drugstore shopping when you arrive there, although that alone won’t solve the packing/shipping issue-same with the Bed, Bath pick-up. You do need to pick that stuff up and get it to campus for move-in.</p>
<p>We have a Toyota Prius and our daughter’s college is a 19-hour drive. So … we rented a Dodge Grant Caravan from a local car rental firm (these are pretty popular - we had to get our reservation in early). The rental /gas was about the same as our plane tickets would have been Because a majority of students at her college do not live within driving distance (including many international students), there are three options for summer storage. If you wouldn’t die if something turned up missing, you can store boxes in the attic or basement of the dorm. College security also has a “secure storage” room: you sign valuables in and sign them out. This is for items of value like electronics. Then, a student group on campus has a storage service. Large, athletic guys drop off boxes and tape at your room and return at a pre-arranged time to haul your stuff to off-campus storage units for $30 a box. In the fall, your boxes show up at your room, hauled in by the same large, athletic guys. A number of campuses have these services as fund-raisers for athletic teams, etc.</p>
<p>Ship some stuff FedEx Ground, non-rush. If she doesn’t have an address to ship to, wait till she gets there (she probably has one already). We shipped 2 very large boxes for $50…we did have a 50% discount, but without it, would have been $100.</p>
<p>OP, like many other people, we had to fly to D’s college. We weren’t able to take even as much as can be crammed into a small car. Believe me, it can be done. It just requires a little more organization and planning.</p>
<p>First, and most important, pare the list WAY down. When in doubt, don’t take it. Remember, she’s not going to Outer Mongolia; if she discovers she needs something she didn’t bring, there are stores in Rochester. :)</p>
<p>Second, ship everything you can, especially the bulkies – winter clothing, bedding and pillows, towels, shoes. In fact, you might as well ship most of her current-season clothes; have her keep out a week’s supply, and ship everything else a few days before you leave. Use the Post Office’s Parcel Post; it takes a few days but is cheaper. For small, heavy items – books, school supplies, CDs, batteries, desk items like staplers – use the Post Office’s Flat Rate boxes. These are the best thing since sliced bread, and they also come in handy for care packages. If she has a printer, I’d take that to UPS; they will insure it if they pack it.</p>
<p>Third, visit your BB&B and check in at the bridal registry office. (I’m not aware of any other stores that offer this wonderful service for college students.) They’ll show you how the program works, arrange to have the items ready for you at the store in/near Rochester, and send you home with your list. Pickup couldn’t be easier; you take your list into the store, they bring the items to checkout, you pay and load them into the car. This is the best way to deal with big things that it wouldn’t make sense to ship, as in, the shipping would be more than the item costs. Full-length mirror, garbage can, room fan, desk lamp, bedside rug, picture frames, bulletin board – stuff like that. </p>
<p>Fourth, don’t leave home without a detailed list of things to buy once you get there, and plan on spending an afternoon at the Rochester Target. This would include toiletries, first-aid kit, snacks for her room, a game or two (I recommend Apples 2 Apples), laundry detergent, kleenex and paper towels, any cleaning supplies like Windex and a feather duster.</p>
<p>Fifth, see #1. Most college kids and their parents over-estimate the amount of stuff that will be needed. My D wanted to take every one of her 50 t-shirts; we finally agreed on a two-week supply. Storage is very limited in most dorm rooms, probably far less than what she has at home. </p>
<p>Sixth, don’t worry, Mom. 
Many have travelled this road before you. Make lists!</p>
<p>BTW, in most cases, I would join those who say to leave your son home. But since he’s on the spectrum, I think it’s important to make sure there’s space for him in the car. If you ship alot of stuff, and shop for most of the rest in Rochester, there will be room.</p>
<p>We live in Rochester, I’m not sure what school your daughter is attending, but there are many shopping options in the area, especially if she’s attending the U of R or RIT.</p>
<p>Our son is a junior 5 hours away so I know what is involved in moving a kid. Plus he has summer research on campus again this summer…we move him in and out of dorms multiple times. I suggest kids learn to pack light! </p>
<p>The U of R and RIT are close to Henrietta, this suburb offers a lot of shopping options. Both schools offer a campus bus that takes kids to various places, so she’d probably be able to easily get to the mall in Henrietta. Many local kids go to these schools and have cars and often offer to take kids to the stores.</p>
<p>It might pay to come a day early, and plan to head to the Henrietta area to shop. Rochester has crisp fall weather, but is not really cold until after Halloween. Dick’s Sporting Goods store sells a variety of fleece jackets and that’s what kids rely on. A fleece jacket and a campus hoodie would get her through the fall. Definitely will need good boots, hat, warm coat later in the late fall/winter. There’s a Lands End outlet at the mall. Bed, Bath and Beyond will hold items for you and you’ll be able to pick up items as she needs them. Also have her register for an Amazon prime account (free to students with .edu address) and she can order odds and ends as she needs them, and have them in two days. </p>
<p>And check out what her roommate brings that could be shared (ie, mirror, fridge, microwave). The fridge very tough to haul back and forth. </p>
<p>Good luck, don’t worry, and let me know if we can be of any help.</p>
<p>LasMa - I am printing your post for your excellent shipping options! You just saved me research on the cheapest and easiest ways to ship things out. Love CC - the voices of experience…</p>
<p>Furnished dorm rooms are * so much* easier than when they move into an unfurnished apt.
When D1 went to college we had an extended minivan with a ton of room. Left the dog & D2 @ home.
D2 went off to college and we took our Jeep with the box on top ( & the dog), but D1 was living on her own.
Family weekend is more fun to visit anyway- the kids are settled in & not as stressful.
When D2 moved into her apt, we used a truck, plus I drove the Jeep with the box, since we had to bring her bed/desk etc.
Can’t wait until Labor Day when she will be moving from that apt into a house.
:rolleyes:</p>
<p>I’m really loving this thread, thank you all.</p>
<p>How much $ does it cost to ship a fairly large (maybe 50 lbs) box cross country? Aand what is the best carrier to use?</p>
<p>I just checked ups.com which gave me $65.13 via ground delivery.
I probably won’t be doing that … after all this back and forth on this thread – which has been very entertaining – I’ll likely have my daughter take less - which shouldn’t be hard (i’m lucky, she’s not attached to material things at all and would wear the same things over and over if i didn’t tell her not too - so I expect she’ll do just that at school).</p>
<p>This has been very helpful. I really like the train solution, that may be our method once we get past freshman year. We are wondering about the best way to get a good basic bicycle back and forth. We are driving - it’s about 800 miles - so I suppose that we could purchase a bike rack, but the only time it would be used is back and forth from school. I’d probably prefer to ship it if there is a reasonably priced way to get it there undamaged. Anyone have any experience with that?</p>
<p>If your child doesn’t already own a bike, what about buying it there and then storing it there?</p>