Move-in Day / Vassar College

Student Lounge College Life
1

My son is attending Vassar in the fall. We are from Los Angeles. Would love to get advice from other Southern California families/students who are already attending there about:

  1. Which airport did you fly into for move in day?
  2. How did you transport dorm items (not clothing) but things like sheets, mattress topper, lamp, trash can and other heavy items?
  3. What do kids do with these items at the end of the school year? Storage? Donate? Start over?
  4. Is there a website to see what is being sold at the end of the year that we can purchase from graduating students?

Thank you.

2

Try asking asking in the Vassar subforum: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/vassar-college/

For sheets/lamps, etc. Would suggest buying them on Bed Bath and Beyond or the like and picking them up at the store.

Generally students store them… either in a U-store it or in a friends apartment. Have your child try to find someone to share a storeage unit with.

3

I agree with the Bed, Bath, and Beyond suggestion. There is also a Target and you can buy stuff there or pre-order and pick up at the store. My D is a freshman and we are 15 hours away, but I did drive her there for drop-off. She has flown in and out of Laguardia all year, but that is a bit of a pain. To get back to school she takes a shuttle to Grand Central and then the train to Poughkeepsie. You’ll probably want to look into Stewart airport which is much closer, or maybe White Plains. She will be storing her things this summer. There are various storage companies that advertise on campus and she also found a student who is charging a fee to store things for other students. D has mentioned an online group (maybe Facebook) where students advertise free and for sale items.

4

Hello everyone,

I just returned from a whirlwind move-in weekend and want to share what I learned.

Flights:
We flew from LAX to Albany on Southwest to take advantage of the free checked bags (had 4 large ones and a carry-on each). It connects through Chicago Midway. We left on a Sat at 2pm. Our layover was only 55 minutes but the airport is so small that we did not have to run to the next gate. Arrived in Albany at 12a (midnight) on Sunday got the rental car (make sure to get an SUV so you can fit all your stuff) and drove to Poughkeepsie for an hour and a half. Because we were on West coast time 12a was only 9p and drive was not too tiring. I have flown in to JFK multiple times (and lived in NYC) and would not trade it for this. Albany is an easy drive compared to NYC traffic hands down.

Rental Car:
Get an SUV so you can fit bags and things. If you are a family of 4 coming for move in, get a bigger car. I went with my son and we ended up filling both the trunk AND the back seat (yup stuff piled up). Make sure to purchase the toll pass. We went through 4 tolls from Albany to Poughkeepsie on the 87.

Hotel:
Stayed at Days Inn in Poughkeepsie, two blocks from the school. They have free basic breakfast (not great). Buy some fruit to make the offerings a little more palatable or go out.

Poughkeepsie shopping later on Sunday:
Did all the shopping that day when we woke up. Poughkeepsie has Bed, Bath and Beyond (pack & hold), Target and Best Buy. The mall (throwback to the 80s) also has Macy’s, JCPenney and Sears if you are so inclined. We found everything at BBBeyond and Target. Also stopped at the Lowes hardware for bulbs, rechargeable batteries and the like. Buy water bottles and put them in your mini fridge. Bring to move in day.

Move-in Day:
Started at 8a and I recommend starting early. Goes till 1pm. We first picked up all the items we shipped to shipping and receiving so we had all his stuff before driving to dorm. Shipping and receiving is a mile away (Vassar is a 1000 acres big) in the South parking area, not by main entrance. Go there first to pick up stuff then go to the house to move in. Once we got to his house, you will see teams of cheering kids ready to welcome and help you. Your student will go to pick up their ID and keys in the house lobby. i was asked to unload everything out of the car that needed to go up to the room. A House student then marked all items with my son’s room number and taped it to each item. Then I had to move my car to parking lot. We then started carrying bags up. Within 10 minutes all items were in room. Super fast and efficient system. We were done setting up by 11:30a. Your student will then have time to go get their schedule, have lunch, do last minute shopping for forgotten items and be back by 2p for the RA meeting. Parents leave by then. There’s a parent welcome and what not but I did not go.

One thing to note: Not all houses have water for sale. Bring lots of cold water or a refillable water bottle with you because some of the house dispensers only sell sodas. It will be hot and sweaty, make sure you buy a big fan for your kid’s room.

Flew out of Stewart airport with a connection thru Philadelphia. Flights were both on time and got home to LA basically on the same day as move in day (Started day at 7aEST and arrived in LA at 11:30pPST, which basically was 2:30a the next day). Insane. Made Poughkeepsie feel like it was next door.

Overall it was fast and went smoothly. Good luck to all incoming parents.

5

@Vassarmom2022 I agree completely with the process at Vassar. We moved in Monday, as well. The kids mobilized so quickly, and our son’s belongings were in his dorm room within 10 mins. That certainly didn’t happen when I was in college! It was really very seamless. And, lunch was fantastic at the new ACDC.

Amazon is delivering the big fan today :slight_smile:

And, for anyone else considering Vassar - the parent meeting on move in day was actually really great (albeit hot). President Elizabeth Bradley is fantastic, as is the rest of her staff. After hearing everyone speak, I felt even more at ease, and felt as if our son will have plenty of people looking out for his well-being. It truly seems like a special place!

6

Congrats & welcome to the Vassar family, @kjs1992 & @Vassarmom2022 (btw, well done on the v useful post)! Hope your student’s experience is as happy as our collegekids was (just graduated, now v happily settled in grad school).