<p>My D is going to summer college at Cornell on June 24 and not coming back until August 11. She has only has 4 days to get ready and go back to Cornell for the fall. What items does my D need for college?</p>
<p>warm coats and boots!
She'll get a good idea during the summer college about what she will want to get for her room. A lot of what she needs can be purchased there- trashcans, area rug, etc.</p>
<p>She needs a lot, but not much.</p>
<p>Seriously, I'm convinced the whole question of "what to take to college" is the most overwrought one we face, perhaps worse than "where to apply"!</p>
<p>The truth is: IT DOESN'T MATTER!</p>
<p>Between online ordering, parental care packages and borrowing from roomies, this will be a self aligning situation.</p>
<p>More importantly, what NOT to worry about initially:</p>
<ul>
<li> fridge. Too often, there are too many in a room or suite.</li>
<li> printer. You may not have space, and can borrow one until you see if you need it. My D has done without by choice (If she had asked, we would have bought in a minute...) for two years of the core at u chi (lots of papers.)</li>
<li> TV...</li>
</ul>
<p>She will need basic clothes for the fall, basic bedding, a computer and a charge card or access to parent money. Winter clothes, the mattress topper and all the rest can wait, especially if the alternatives are (1) buying in a rush or worse (2) parental buying.</p>
<p>This list is pinned in the college life forum. Of course no one needs ALL of this stuff, but it is a good reminder of all the little things that may become necessary. I went through this list and jotted about 30 things I might need, some I would not have thought of until the last minute.</p>
<p>Everyone shares stuff at college. No need to panic about forgotten items. Besides clothes, hangers, shoes, laptop, backpack, lamp, alarm-clock, extension cords, bed-stuff, desk-stuff, bathroom-stuff, bulletin board, etc. etc. Not many kids wear winter boots; its sandals, flip-flops and sneakers, even in the snow.</p>
<p>NMD is right. No need for printer, fridge or TV. They watch movies on laptops. There's always better stuff going on in real life than on TV.</p>
<p>Ithaca is a large enough town, and Cornell has transportation to the d/t where you can pick up supplies. You are also less than 4 hours away by car, so you will probably visit her soon enough (Parent's weekend) to bring any forgotten stuff. </p>
<p>Definitely open a college student account in a local bank that has branches/atms on campus. (Bank of America?) Get a Debit card for it.</p>
<p>The only new items we bought were:
calculator
desk-lamp
under-bed storage boxes
digital camera
laptop
Everthing else was right off our home shelves.</p>
<p>I've never seen anyone watch a movie on a laptop at school.. we all had TV's, vcr's, and dvd players. (most people had a dvd/vcr combo).</p>
<p>I also agree with NMD, the more stuff they take, the more stuff they are not going to use (the dorm room does not have much space). </p>
<p>Since she is going to summer program, don't drag a lot of stuff up there as you will only have to drag it back home when summer program is over, just to drag back again for move in day (unless you are going to pay for storage).</p>
<p>She will need the basics, sheets, towels, toiletries (enough to get started there are stores), one of those round folding hampers (can put in dirty clothes, sip up and carry to laundry room). </p>
<p>Bank account, check to see if there are banks close to campus that also has branch near school you where you can deposit money into her account locally if needed. D has a bank of america account where she does her banking (debit card for shopping, direct deposit, work study, pays her bills, has her credit card, etc). In addition we have a linked account with me (that she has had since she was about 14) where I could just deposit money into in the event of an emergency.</p>
<p>IF they are assigned a roommate, between the 2 of them they coordinate who is bringing what.</p>
<p>Purchased D her own personal printer freshman year, never got used, but cause there are networked printers through out the campus and students are given printer allocation.</p>
<p>My D has never had a TV in room (by choice). When she does watch TV, she watches in common room with friends. Favorite program Law & Order -SVU which she does download through I-tunes and watches on her computer.</p>
<p>I agree. Tooth brush and several days' worth of clean underwear are essential. For everything else, mastercard.:p</p>
<p>Actually, since she will be at Cornell over the summer, your d. might want to do some shopping while there and see whether she can purchase items on layaway for stores to hold for her to pick up later.</p>
<p>Wow. I thought I'd be flamed for my less is more attitude. Seriously, having witnessed this process a bit, it is amazing how little of the stuff we think they need gets used, and what they want that we never would have thought of.</p>
<p>I forgot the most important advice:</p>
<ul>
<li> Find the nearest UPS and Fedex drop off boxes and learn how to use their services. If you can get a personal account on either (we could through our insurer, USAA, with a discount, even), you will save hassle and money.</li>
</ul>
<p>I guess my D had a personal shopper (two, actually) to provide her with what she forgot. For her, even easier and cheaper than going online. For us, it was one of those rare phone calls, so worth the hassle and price.</p>
<p>I disagree about the printer. My son (after not having one the last year at boarding school due to a malfunction) insists on a printer for college. They have gotten pretty cheap, though.</p>
<p>D insists on a printer as well. Amazon delivers. We also just bought a $120 USB TV tuner that allows cable or antenna TV, as well as DVD/VCR to play on the laptop. It also acts as a TIVO. It's about 4x6" and weighs a few ounces. She has to have her cable news shows and the Daily Show.</p>
<p>Paulchem- Ithaca has it all- Target-Bed, Bath and Beyond- Wal-Mart and Wegmans (super-supermarket). Probably- just concentrate on the bedding items and some under bed storage bins. Bed, bath and beyond has a great website and you might be able to order things locally and pick it up at the local BBB ( but I am not sure about that). Just remember Cornell gets a 5 day break around Columbus Day week-end, so you don't have to worry about bringing up the heavy clothing until then. There is virtually no TV reception in the dorm rooms, so I would not suggest she bring up a TV. There are a few TV's in the lounge areas in each dorm that are able to get decent reception. As your d will be at Cornell this summer, I am sure the current students will clue her in as to what she must bring up with her In August.
In terms of banking, there are brances of Bank of America in collegetown- which is near the campus but not on campus. I believe M and T may be on campus. There seem to be some branches of M&T on Long Island and maybe in NYC too.</p>
<p>Since alot of kids seem to favor black down jackets (northface etc.) just be aware that they are easy to lose (or more accuarately someone else may walk away with it especially if attending frat party where there a dozens of look alike jackets). So I might suggest that you get an inexpensive type to be used when attending "large functions". Luckily when this happened to d last March, she still had an old down jacket from HS that got here through the rest of the winter. But you might want to think twice before buying an expensive jacket that can be "lost".</p>
<p>Paulchem- just noticed on "Parents Cafe" there is a link to all the old posts on shopping for college freshmen. It will answer all your questions and concerns!!</p>
<p>Bring a room fan up to Cornell for the summer!</p>
<p>Makes me realize how well equipped my son's dorm room is. The college provided the computer/monitor/printer (even though he brought several other computers as well) and also a refrigerator, microwave and air-conditioner (which he also used in the winter because the dorm heat always seemed too high. Plus, it was a single. So for a freshman, he had it pretty good.</p>
<p>He had a small TV which he never used because one of the other freshman in the hall brought a big screen TV and a home theater sound system which he put under his lofted bed. Now everybody watches TV in there.</p>
<p>I know that in the case of the OP, the dorm is for summer college, but that's a great test for what to bring for the real thing.</p>
<p>And of course, no matter how much the kid takes with them, be prepared to get to know the UPS guy pretty well as you continue to ship the other "essentials" later.</p>
<p>My son gets home tomorrow with all his "Stuff" and I don't know where WE'RE going to put everything. It's amazing it all fit into his dorm room.</p>
<p>Dig, My H and I looked at each other when we looked at the OU dorms and said what is this country club that our kids are going to compared to when we went to college. Don't forget the free cable TV with HBO. I also think that the public Ohio universities are trying to out do each other in their REC Centers. </p>
<p>ROFLOL on the kid with the big screen TV and home theater system! Is he coming back next year? Can you imagine moving that thing in?</p>
<p>I agree that it isn't necessary to take too much up to school in the fall. Most everything can be purchased at the school, in town, online or sent up. </p>
<p>Also, what your daughter will need depends, in part, on what dorm she is in. For example, my son was in one of the new dorms at Cornell which was air conditioned and so he didn't need a fan I think all rooms come with desk lamps (his did) - you can check this out on the Cornell website. </p>
<p>I was surprised at how much the Cornell store stocks at move-in time (all of the organizers, racks, stacking milk crates, underbed chests, white boards, surge protectors, computer cables, stuff for hanging posters, laundry bags, etc., etc.).</p>
<p>PM me if you have particular questions about Cornell.</p>
<p>honestly i think everyone should have a printer. it's a pain in the butt to have to walk to the nearest computer lab to print out your paper when you're done with it. i shared a printer with everyone in my apartment and that worked fine. four people can def. come up with 50-100 bucks for a printer.</p>