<p>Sadly my school does not have a forum on here. It’s a state school. I only know of the state flagship of having a page on site. That’s why I posted here because I thought maybe another school requires this so perhaps a parent might know. To my knowledge all of the state schools have their own requirements in my lovely state.</p>
<p>fumafoo - have you searched the Parent thread for your school name? Maybe you can find a parent who can help.</p>
<p>In the back to campus vein: Anyone know of a good make of backpack that doesn’t cost too much, protects a laptop well, and seems to be fairly water resistant? (esp from experience) The nice one I got at Costco turns out to fail in the rain test. It would be an extra bonus if it was a bit “girlie”, but not necessary.</p>
<p>Re: backpack. It’s not inexpensive but my d had a north face recon for all 4 years of high school and it’s still going strong. She offered to take it to college but I said I’d get her a new one. She looked at different options but ended up with another recon! I think they retail for $90 but they come in many colors and also in a women’s version.</p>
<p>Re: backpack, dd has a Jansport that passes the rain test and has extra padding for her laptop. This one also is one of the few we saw that still has a mesh pocket on the side for a water bottle or umbrella, and lots of divided sections. We bought it about this time last summer at JC Penney over by the catalog department. They had dozens of designs in a few price ranges, all on sale (with discount, maybe $50 or so). Hope that helps!</p>
<p>This may have been posted - just sharing our experience from last weekend. The hand truck saved our lives 
</p>
<p>We took a convertible hand truck - the handle switches from standard to a sort of cart style. We used bankers boxes (cheap and fold back down) to load everything and just stacked them up on the hand truck. Two hatchbacks, seats down, full with 3 people and a hand truck/hand cart = two trips from the car to the room! In 98 degrees with 100 percent humidity it was wonderful. Of course the elevator and air on high in the dorms was a blessing too. (S was on 3rd floor with no elevators in service when we moved him in…not such a nice experience!)</p>
<p>Also - since we were 5+ hours away and we only had a 2-hour move-in window due to activity responsibilities we stayed an extra night in case she needed anything else. We took a couple trips to Lowes and Walmart both move in night and the next morning before we left for home.</p>
<p>Lands End has some great backpacks - some ‘girly’ - that come in several different configurations. The good thing about them is that they are guarenteed to hold up. If the zipper fails or pockets rip etc., they will allow for return and replacement with no questions asked - no matter how long you’ve owned it.</p>
<p>My dad had a swiss army backpack that my mom found at sam’s club for pretty cheap. It’s got a padded laptop compartment and room for other books. My dad passed it onto me last night to use next year</p>
<p>High Sierra backpack at Costco this week for…$16.99? </p>
<p>I grabbed two even though kids didn’t need it…padded laptop holder and all…I started using a backpack for travel and I really like it…</p>
<p>will it hold up under water? High Sierra is well known for this so I’m hoping…</p>
<p>I’m just curious whether it’s typically Ok for the entire family to help with the move-in or if it’s usually just the parents? My daughter is moving in early so there shouldn’t be a lot of other kids moving in that day.</p>
<p>Hi Coffeelover64, Like your screen name…I am a huge java fan, too! I am of the opinion that whatever works for you and your kiddo is OK. I have moved 2 kids into college, very different campuses (one college is among the largest student bodies in the country and the other is quite small) and living arrangements. Kiddo #1 lived in an on-campus apartment her first year. Dh and I moved her in, with my brother stopping by to hook up all of her electronics. There were 3 other girls in the apartment, each with mom, dad, and at least one sibling. No one got in anyone else’s way as everyone was coming and going at different times. Since dd had her own room it didn’t matter how many of us were there. At some point dh left with my other kiddo and went back to the hotel, and I helped dd set up her room. With kiddo #2, she was in a regular dorm room with one roommate. The roomie had her parents there, and our contingent included my 2 kids and #1’s boyfriend. Bf set up the electronics while we set up her room, and then younger dd and I participated in orientation activities while the older kids went to the beach. For me, having the extra hands to expedite the move in was great, and looking around I certainly did not feel out of place with 3 of us + college kiddo there. In both cases it was the norm to have some family there; I would just say do what you have to do (make bed, hang up clothes, etc.) and then get out of the way (which also allows your kid to get to know people right away). Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for the information!!! Keep the thread going!</p>
<p>Thanks to all for the backpack info. I had bought the Costco one and it looked great, extra laptop padding (new very expensive laptop), suspended laptop compartment so doesn’t bump on the bottom, etc. but the zippers aren’t covered and sure enough, on mild “rain” with the kitchen sink sprayer and contents were soaked. (DD’s college city is known for the rain.) In order to be rain resistant, apparently zippers should have the fabric covering them, and even then an Eddie Bauer one I got yesterday still did not have waterproof fabric (or enough bottom padding) This is going to be a challenge so great to know other ones to go look at. (both of those would have been fine/great if it wasn’t for the rain soaking risk.) Off this weekend to check out Penny’s etc.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info Colcon2010. I’ll bring the brothers, they are teens that can help out, then we wil take her out for dinner and drive home. That’s the plan for now!</p>
<p>Don’t know if this is the best place to post this - We are looking for women’s shorts with pockets. D is on the tennis team and likes to practice in shorts, unfortunately, the current styles of shorts have no pockets (or just a small key pocket). She needs side pockets for the tennis balls - usually 1 or 2 at a time. I have been all over the internet and multiple mortar and brick stores looking for these. Any suggestions? She doesn’t want baggy or really long shorts. Thanks!!!</p>
<p>Columbia sportswear usually have shorts with large pockets</p>
<p>my S buys on tennis-warehouse.com. Probably have good stuff for girls too.</p>
<p>OSF-
Try Reebok dot com Premier ZigTech Short 3.5"
Not sure if the pocket is big enough?</p>
<p>OhioStarFish: Don’t know if you saw my post on the 2015 Parent thread. Target online has many options for shorts with pockets.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the great ideas for tennis shorts!!! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the help! We are planning on a shopping trip tomorrow and I’ll check the online ideas today. Thank you, thank you, thank you!</p>