<p>My niece goes to college in Duluth, MN. It is cold there. The kids do not wear long underwear except perhaps for skiing. My daughter has been known to wear footless tights/thin leggings under her jeans on the coldest of days if she knows she is going to be outside a lot.</p>
<p>One of our kids went to college in Boston. Kids were routinely seen in the winter (when there was snow and it was cold) in flip flops and with hoodies. Pants were sometimes those flannal pajama pants. So far as I’ve heard, none of the college students in Boston have frozen…they all seem to figure out what THEY need to keep warm. My son said that the reality was they didn’t really spend much time outdoors…just walking from building to building. He had layers of clothes…and he did always wear a scarf and gloves in the winter. I wouldn’t spend a nickel on long underwear or anything like that. Send the kid with a fleece jacket of some kind and a hoodie or two. If he/she needs more once they get to the cold spot, they can always order things online.</p>
<p>Here I go again, preaching the benefits of warm, dry socks. Not cotton, as they hold onto moisture and add to the chill. I go for Smartwool socks, but I imagine that those who live in larger metro areas have other choices.</p>
<p>And a hat, scarf and warm gloves.</p>
<p>(we will be in single digits/subzero windchill tomorrow)</p>
<p>Freshman son left the winter jacket and boots he finally bought last Nov in his dorm in Boston when he returned here to CA for winter break in his shorts and sandals. He’s returning to MA this weekend in same. It’s been upper seventies here all week, I’m sure it’s a bit colder there.</p>
<p>4trees, my D who just returned to Boston reports that it is below freezing and more snow is in the forecast. Just like your son, she left all her warm clothes at the dorm because it was “warm” when she was leaving for the winter break! Thank goodness she had the smarts to wear her fleece-lined boots! Christmas gift of a NorthFace fleece jacket came in handy for her return trip.</p>
<p>Just like MidwestMom’s D, I used to wear tights and leggings under my jeans whan it was too cold. Never liked the idea of long undies. Although when I stopped at Nordstrom’s this weekend and saw some really cool H/H tights-like thermal underwear, I wanted to buy a pair (but not for $65 :eek:).</p>
<p>well I read all of the posts just to add–just a regular pair of nylons under the jeans/pants make an amazing difference. I wear some when I visit D in NYC in the winter. NOT that most D’s even own any “pantyhose”. I have long underwear both silk and not–but if I am not going crosscountry skiing or some such thing I prefer the panty hose for warmth. Oh, just remembered that I first did this visiting D at Middlebury in Vermont in the winter.</p>
<p>Brrr…starting to get cold here today! Even with the bitter cold this week (-35 to 40 with wind chill) the kids just wear regular jeans. Ugg boots are plentiful, UnderArmour tops beneath sweathirts or NorthFace fleece and lots of scarves, hats and mittens!</p>
<p>My S goes to school in the UP of Michigan, where they get tons of snow and it’s cold. I would wait until she gets there to see if she will be cold or not. At my S’s school, the dorms and campus buildings were really, really warm. He usually roasted when he lived in the dorms and he’s really skinny so no body fat there. Also his dorm was close to campus and he didn’t have very far to walk to class.</p>
<p>Now that he’s off campus, he wears his long underwear to walk to campus but takes them off once he gets to school. He has a locker on campus to stash stuff.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry yet. My D is the same, a tiny little thing who is always cold. I have a knee length down coat that she would not take back to school. She thinks it’s ugly, whatever, if she’s cold she’ll figure out what to do. She did agree to take back gloves and bought winter boots.</p>
<p>Glad your D has mittens- they keep fingers much warmer than most gloves, especially ones she would find acceptable. It is important to keep the extremities warm- head, neck and hands are more inactive than feet. Son wore his regular running shoes to use the snowblower/shovel when home for winter break- the mostly unused boots from middle school that still fit have been left at home 3 winters now and he was reminded to wear them but refused (he claimed his shoes had enough traction). He never worried about boots for uncleared sidewalks- and winter campuses usually deal with snow well. Also as many have stated, going to and from classes is not a long time in the cold and the exercise keeps one warm. Your D will get warmer clothes when and if she feels the need. Let the mores of her campus be her guide.</p>
<p>I got to Clarkson in wayyy upstate NY and it was -25 below this morning and everybody just wore jeans. Its not that bad, just have a good sweatshirt with a coat over it.</p>
<p>I am from Chicago. Alcohol never freezes.</p>
<p>Our D will study in Moscow all next year, and H is already much more worried about the cold than she is. He is pushing flannel-lined jeans and long down coats, and D says she refuses to waddle around like a walking sleeping bag…as if a 5’ 7" and 105 pound girl could possibly waddle. She did mention that she probably wouldn’t pick up the taste for vodka, but she’ll consider a fur hat and warm socks.</p>
<p>I asked S his plan today as he is headed back to Boston this weekend. Not as cold as Moscow, but like ReneeV’s D he’s only 105 lbs. He told me he’ll be fine with the hoodie he got for Christmas, but would be willing to take a pair of gloves along with him if he can find some he likes out here in CA by Saturday. I pointed to his bare toes in his sandals and mumbled something about how frostbitten toes usually have to be amputated. He told me not to worry, that he walks really fast and once back to his dorm he has a jacket, socks and boots.</p>
<p>I’m from buffalo… Regular jeans get by she will be fine, you can trust my advice on cold weather gear considering I live in the snow capital</p>