<p>@iluvpiano, I understand that your mom is trying to guide you as you prepare, but really, she won’t be able to control HOW you do your ironing or whatever once you are at school! I am a mom, and want my D to look good, so I hope she at least uses a steamer. I know I can’t force her to buy an iron and actually use it! Think for yourself and you will be ok!</p>
<p>I spent about $5000.</p>
<p>I spent alround 250</p>
<p>Well, for this year I ended up spending twice as much as I planned. But 200 isn’t bad when most of it’s cleaning supplies.</p>
<p>goodManThinking, </p>
<p>I also think I’m going to have to spend about $5000, which is why I’ve been saving and am going to continue saving for another 8 months. </p>
<p>I have a list of the things I know I will need and a list of things I might need.</p>
<p>^WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU SPENDING $5000 ON!??!?</p>
<p>Trust me. With the way things get damaged and how small dorm rooms are… you don’t want to buy too much stuff.</p>
<p>AUGirl, I am a pretty big tech fan and I’ve been saving up for a 17" Macbook Pro and a decent IPS panel monitor, possibly the Thunderbolt Display since it offers many features and for the same price as Dell’s Ultrasharp series. Um after buying those items, I’d say I would need to buy the usual things: clothes, bedding, supplies, etc…
But I’m hoping I wont spend more than $5000 and can keep it more in the $4000 or below range.</p>
<p>Ah. You’re including computers and clothing.</p>
<p>I thought you meant on decorations/bedding for your dorm.</p>
<p>Even so… I wish I was in your spot. My total after grants and scholarships is about $5000 a year, so if I had been able to save $5000 before coming to school then I wouldn’t have had to worry about taking out any loans. :-/</p>
<p>But I’d be careful with what nice electronics you buy and bring to school. I know of way too many cases of things getting broken and/or stolen. It only takes you being away from your room for a couple of minutes for someone to go in there and take your things.</p>
<p>To new incoming freshman: after going through this with our daughter, I would recommend a couple of things:
1 - If you are not driving to your new college, start saving Bed Bath Beyond coupons now. We packed clothes,computer, and a few miscellaneous things such as a tool kit, doorstop, etc which took the bulk of our 50 pounds each boarding allowance on our flights. We figured that it was cheaper to purchase new there than ship it - shipping is EXPENSIVE!
2 - We saved Bed Bath and Beyond coupons all year (they don’t expire) and when she decided on a school, immediately went to BBB and picked out her dorm stuff. It was really fun! They pull it and pack it in boxes and store it in Boston (we live in So CA). When we arrived in Boston, we took the T to the BBB, they pull out everything she ordered, she opened the boxes and added a few things/subtracted a few things, and we were out of there. You pay when you pickup, and there is no penalty for returning items to the shelves. We took a taxi to a CONDO we rented through vrbo dot com for the same price as a hotel room with all our stuff. Then we headed for Target, and bought a few more things and headed back to the condo to wash the bedding and towels. We took one poster’s idea, and packed all the bedding in big trash bags in order of assembly, so we could make the bed first - really helped with the chaos to have that done. We had made a list from the what to pack threads, and knew exactly what we needed. It was a piece of cake. We did not rent a car, but instead rented a van (like the kind that takes you to the airport) to load up our stuff at the condo, take it to the drop off spot, and put it on the curb. DD left an hour before us, and simply called us when she was ready to meet us at the curb with a key and a cart. All in all, we spent $400 at BBB, about $200 at Target, and $40 for the shuttle service with her stuff to the condo from the dorm. After I flew home, she said she had to return about $50 worth of stuff to BBB, and purchased about $50 more at misc spots (e.g. a differenet extension cord, more hangers, etc). She also called me and asked me to ship a few more clothes from home, which was $80 for ONE BIG BOX! Trust me - buy BBB, and ask all your parent’s friends to collect the coupons. They take as many as you have, and sometimes they even have a “golden ticket” that is worth 20% off the entire order.</p>
<p>AUGirl - Thanks for the advice. I’ve been saving for a long time and haven’t been able to buy anything I wanted, but I think it will be worth it. I really do hope nothing will get stolen. I really want a single dorm with a private bathroom I could share with 2/4 people or so, but that may not come true, but the bathroom part is a must. :P</p>
<p>
When you’re away from your room, lock your door…duh, problem solved of people going in and taking stuff.</p>
<p>On electronics- make sure you see your room before you stock up on desktop computers, TVs, or any other items that are going to take up a lot of space. We didn’t even have real desks in my room, and there wasn’t enough room to bring in our own desk. There was hardly enough space for my laptop. We had a TV, but it was on a stand that we constantly had to move around because there wasn’t really enough room to walk around. Dorms can be TINY, and when you get all your stuff in there it’s even less space. If you want to bring all that stuff you might have to get creative with the issue of having enough space.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that your roommate probably won’t appreciate at you taking up what little room there is with all of your stuff. If you want to make a good first impression talk to your roommate first to see what each of you are bringing. That way there doesn’t have to be a big fight on your first day there. </p>
<p>Not to mention most people end up forgetting about their TV and all that stuff as the year goes on, anyway. It might be hard to imagine living without everything you have at home, but you’ll be so busy with schoolwork and friends that you won’t really think about those things anymore. </p>
<p>Everyone’s situation is different, though, this is just my advice :)</p>
<p>I was thinking about just getting an USB TV tuner since I use dual displays and don’t want to buy a TV or take up more space.</p>
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<p>You can fit more stuff than some people think, if you know how to arrange it. HOW you arrange your dorm is key to fitting a ton of stuff, trust me, I know. I brought my dad’s Ford Escape full plus a small trailer packed full that’s about 5 wide x 7 long x 2 ft deep (and with a carpet roll tied down on top of it), and have had my parents ship me stuff since then too, and all that fits in my 10x15 ft dorm room, with a roommate and all her stuff. That trailer was literally packed to the max, my dad had a plan all drawn out on paper and tried several different arrangements as to not waste any space in there at all. People are impressed when they find out I have 50 pairs of shoes in this room.</p>