Hi! I will be a freshman in the fall and desperately need packing advice since I am coming from Los Angeles.
How early in the year am I going to need to start dressing for the snow/cold weather?
What kind of clothing do I need to bring?
Do I need a lot of jackets/coats? and how thick?
When should I start packing?
Literally ANY advice is welcome.
You will need some warmer stuff by the end of September. But don’t overpack or even buy much new stuff – Amazon Prime is your friend! You can get a six month trial free as a student (but don’t forget to cancel at the end if you don’t want to pay after that). You can have your parents send more stuff, and pick things up at the holidays.
My kid did get some shoes that would work well in rain and light snow (they do shovel) before she left for college in a snowy location.
@intparent Thank you! Do you have any suggestions for the shoe brands I should look into?
Well… my kid found a pair of Clarks she liked. But I’d suggest you go to DSW and look around.
Hamilton has a distinct and fairly long Fall season. If you look at the climate data for nearby Syracuse, it would appear that any snow or extremely cold temperatures would be infrequent through November:
Month | Avg Daily High | Avg Daily Low
September | 73 | 52
October | 62 | 43
November | 48 | 34
(Central New York does, however, experience weather. That is, even during a warmer month, temperatures on particular days can be quite frosty.)
If it suits you, consider buying locally. You will find that central NY merchants are quite familiar with appropriate clothing for the area. As an added benefit, you would be supporting your new home economically.
@merc81 Thank you! this very helpful 
It appears you will start with a summer-like month, a beautiful fall foliage month, then a transitional month before the beauty of true winter.
Wishing you luck at Colgate.