<p>i didn't find a thread like that for int'l students, and i'm sure i'm not the only one here who needs a good piece of advice on how to pack wisely. i really want to limit myself to one suitcase. if i, for example, leave all my winter stuff and most of my shoes at home, how much will i have to spend on them in the US? </p>
<p>and in general, what to take and what is better to leave at home?</p>
<p>p.s: i'm going to central PA, if that matters.</p>
<p>yeah… i’m bringing two suitcases (one big and one small), around 2 weeks worth of summer clothes (goin to florida), my PS3, electronics (laptop, ipod, phone, shaver etc), 3 pairs of gym clothes, 1 pair of gym shoes, 2 pairs of normal shoes</p>
<p>also gonna buy a bunch of stuff when I arrive there, my college also has a system where u can get stuff before hand so I’ll get a bunch of those things sent to my room before I arrive (bedsheets, microfridge, hangers, towels, etc)</p>
<p>Well I mean if you just want to pack everything in one suit case you could… but why?
If you are taking only one suitcase, I suggest on just packing extreme essentials first (basic clothing, underwear, toothbrush) and then buying everything in the states. i don’t know how much you would spend on your clothing because it really depends on the person. You could buy really cheap stuff at good will if you don’t care. MY dollar store actually sold jackets for 8 dollars (they actually were pretty good quality, it was just that they were selling it over the summer) so it really depends.</p>
<p>I usually travel with one big and one small suitcase in general hahaha even with all my stuff in the storage… and when I go back, I take back 2 giant suitcasses, one small suitcase and one carry on bag. That might be because I’m a girl and I like my clothes.</p>
<p>I would take some light food (in case you don’t know where things are when you first get to college and you need to snack on something), 1-2 shoes, general clothing (pjs, socks, comfortable clothes, etc), toothpaste, toothbrush, cleanser (well I would because I like to take a shower soon as I get to college after 24 hour flight rather than shopping for it), towels, and perhaps bedsheets. I had to spend several days without bedsheets so I had to borrow them from my roommate.</p>
<p>1) Order things from online (Amazon, ebay, etc) and get them shipped directly to the school
3) Expect to buy some things once you get to your school
2) Don’t just bring one suitcase! I’m not international and I certainly will be bringing more than that. Bring a carry on and one to stow in the plane.</p>
<p>yeah but the thing is that i’ll be traveling completely on my own (mean i can’t rely on anybody to drive me to the airport and such), and i will first need to fly from my place to the capital of the country. so that’s a separate flight… i like my clothes and all, but i just physically can’t carry more than one suitcase with me… haha</p>
<p>of course i will have a carry on bag with me as well but…</p>
<p>^well wouldn’t you ship your suitcases off when you first get on the plane and get them again in the airport when you land in the US? I go from Korea -> japan -> US but I just ship it off in Korea and don’t see it again until I get to the US.</p>
<p>I can’t carry more since I’m a small person but I just struggle for awhile in the airport (until I get a cart) then I put it in the airport van and they drop me off in front of my apartment. The end.</p>
<p>Here’s what you do: take only clothing and your laptop. Basically, necessities from home. Arrive near your college a few days before and book a hotel. Better yet, ask the college to make an exception, explain your case, and see if you can move into your dorm a few days earlier. Spend a couple of days buying everything you need. Only take one suitcase with you on the plane.</p>
<p>Most colleges will have some kind of a shuttle service and if you’re at a hotel, cab it to the meeting point and people will help you get your stuff into your dorm.</p>
<p>Here’s the deal, its gonna be pretty cold in Central Pennsylvania. Winter is gonna be in soon. If you’re packing one suitcase, its probably gonna be under 23 kg. Unless you plan on buying warm clothes in US (which is an expensive option for most of us internationals), I really don’t think one suitcase will be sufficient to fit in a pair of snow boots, a heavy jacket, sweaters, woolen caps, mufflers etc etc, along with your regular packing (especially since you don’t wanna leave behind your current clothes)</p>
<p>I’m an int’l, and my plan is to take along as many things as possible (because they are REALLY cheaper over here!). So, I’m packing up two suitcases and I hope that’ll give me sufficient space to fit in all my desired stuff. :)</p>
<p>@uyulove
well, not exactly. i need to fly from my town to moscow with russian airways. then i need to get to a different airport there in moscow and ship everything off again and fly from moscow to kiev to new york and then get my stuff back. and i’m a small person too… :)</p>
<p>@bluebubbles
thanks for the advice! unfortunately, i cannot book a hotel since they all require a person to be at least 18 years old to check in, and i’m only 17 now.
but a good thing is that we internationals move in five days earlier for the special international orientation, so yeah, maybe i’ll have a couple of days to buy everything. i just hope it won’t turn out to cost me a ton of money. :)</p>
<p>I travel to many places and I have a samsonite 35" rolling duffle with a top and bottom compartent. I often have to bring bedding and clothes and this duffles holds alot. Get two one for bedding and one for clothes. </p>
<p>Or you can get a trunk and a duffle, either way that shold be good. enter samsonite 35" duffel and you will find it online. I am super tiny and shipped of my two huge duffles then crried backpack and 35 pound duffle through some huge airports, so its not that hard and usually you just get your stuff at the end.</p>
<p>Just waiting to buy everything is an attractive plan, but keep in mind that you’re going to have to do something with all that stuff in the spring when college is over. Some universities let you store stuff in the dorm for free over the summer, with various restrictions. However, if you can’t do that, your only options are to take everything home with you, or somehow get rid of it.</p>
<p>I ordered all my bedding online (bedbathandbeyond.com FTW) plus most places have delayed shipping so it gets there when you do. Thank god I am traveling with my mom so I have three suitcases instead of two to stuff with my stuff, also a girl so want to take all the clothes I can haha.
Shipping ONE box with like my winter blankets and stuff, thank goodness I have uncles who live about 30mins drive from my school where hopefully I can store stuff during the summer.
Really can’t figure out how to fit my entire life into 3x18kgs. thats really not alot if you think about it, I think my shoes weight 18kgs on their own <em>yes I have a lot of shoes</em> ARGH I don’t pity you with one suite case at all.</p>
<p>I have like 3 73cm ones, just bought a new one actually 
polycarbonate silver Antler with four wheels <3 I love it!</p>
<p>haha so you all think i’m crazy huh?
thank god i don’t have to care about bedding - i offered everything from residence hall linens and they’ll ship it to my school.
i don’t have that much shoes (rather, i am obsessed with bags haha). that’s winter stuff that i’m more worried about. i have a 65 cm Jump suitcase… i guess maybe i’ll just try to send a package with some of my winter clothes to my school, since we’ve already got our mailing addresses.</p>
<p>You could always have a suitcase you check in and then a backpack (instead of a suitcase) to take on the plane with you. That way if you needed to you could carry them both at the same time.</p>
<p>A tip that I’ve learned is to roll your clothes instead of folding them. You can usually fit a lot more in that way.</p>
<p>Before backpacking, I spent a few days watching myself.
Everything I used- that started with a toothbrush and ended with flipflops- went into the backpack (or at least a decent alternative).
That cut it down to the bare necessities, and I only had to add first-aid stuff, charcoal tablets, layers for rain and snow, and my tarp.</p>
<p>The things for college shouldn’t be too different. I bought stuff like stationary and books on my travels, and that’s the same stuff you shouldn’t take with you.</p>
<p>If there’s a choice, use a backpack or some suitcase with wheels. Carrying your life with you gets really heavy
Btw, try vacuum-bags. (Some work with the regular vacuum cleaner) They really help to reduce the space your stuff needs.</p>
<p>If you can, send winter clothes to your residence. They have a really bad space*cost for new ones (along with bedding) ratio… But make sure that winter clothes at wherever you live is suitable for wherever you go - I was born in the alps and where I am now there’s barely snow… :-)</p>
<p>Take the things that you can’t fit into your one soutcase and ship them to your dorm. If you send all of your cold weather clothes that way you can ship them surface and it will be relatively cheap. Check into Fed Ex or UPS, you’ll find that you can send a pretty heavy box anywhere for a resonalbe price if you can settle for a 10 day delivery instead of 3 day air shipment.</p>
<p>Only bring your clothes. Everything else (bedding, electronics, room stuff, etc.) can be purchased when you get here. Don’t waste time bringing a bunch of t-shirts, socks, or underwear because those can be purchased here for very cheap and you’ll get lots of free t-shirts from campus events anyway.</p>