<p>I would contact housing. It’s either the Friday or Sat before classes start. When my older son was a frosh, it was Friday…then I think it was moved to Sat, but not sure.</p>
<p>Thanks “mom2” - I really appreciate your input on this post and my other one :)</p>
<p>Move-in for new freshman has been the Saturday before classes start for the last three years. If Saturday doesn’t work for your family, he should also be able to move in on Sunday with the returning students.</p>
<p>Just to make sure everyone is clear on this, if you live close the “move minimal stuff in for OA/AA and then come back next week with the full load” idea is fine, but not at all necessary. Dad drove DS and all his stuff down from Chicagoland for OA move in, helped him unpack and get settled (with the requisite drama), and then drove home the next morning. We didn’t see him again until Christmas. They are plenty busy during OA/AA week and when that ends the rest of the kids move in so everyone is there for WOW week. If there was some big parent’s thing all the other kids were doing then he sure missed it without a notice. Lots of phone calls during the OA/AA week as it did get pretty quiet at night with the other suitemates not yet there, but nothing unexpected.
Also a huge plus to have the whole area empty to triage his stuff as he unpacked it where he wanted it. I can’t imagine doing the drop off two times.</p>
<p>^^^^I agree. We live close (2hr drive) and we didn’t do the two stage move in. Fully moved D in early for AA, ran to Target for last minute items and left that evening after taking her to dinner. We did return the weekend AFTER classes started, but only because the first day of class was her 18th birthday and we wanted to take her out to celebrate. </p>
<p>Now, moving out…H has decided we will do that in two trips :/</p>
<p>The dates for Move-In have been announced:
[Move-In</a> 2012](<a href=“http://movein.ua.edu/]Move-In”>http://movein.ua.edu/)</p>
<p>I do not know exactly when AA/OA will begin, but they move-in days for that are Aug. 9-11. Please check the schedule. Due to construction on campus, there are some road closures that will affect move-in.</p>
<p>If you have any questions about which buildings have move-in which days, please call us!</p>
<p>Hope this helps,
Janine Gascoigne</p>
<p>We too are from Phila area. I am getting anxious over move on too. My thoughts are husband and daughter would fly down and move in before Rush starts on Aug. 10, then I’d fly down Aug. 16 or 17 th for bid day. Any other parents thinking of doing this? Do you think i need to be there for bis day? I am wondering if I will even get more than a glimpse of my daughter those days as she will be very busy. Blu Hen, what did you decide?</p>
<p>Money4mice…Go to Bid Day!!! It is an experience like no other and one you do not want to miss! I will tell you that you will not get to spend large amounts of time with your daughter but you will get to enjoy the several hours that are the “Bid Day” experience. All of the sororities will take their pledges “on retreat”. They will either leave Bid Day night or the following morning. My suggestion is you fly in Preference Day not before (remember that Pref won’t end until evening …my DD was finished about 8pm). You might be able to spend a couple of hours with your D late that night. Bid Day will start early on Saturday August 18th. I had heard that there is going to be a closed football Scrimmage at the stadium at 11:00am (don’t quote me on the time) and so they were going to move Bid Day times up to perhaps 9 am…anyway they will open bid cards…run to the houses, get their Bid Day buddies, do pics (I also heard the upperclassmen pics are going to be before the actual Bid opening so that the only pics will then be just the new pledges and full house pics) and then the sorority Bid Day brunches and meals will be held along with parent info meetings where you most likely will get your parent packet…at least that was the plan as of two weeks ago when I was in Tuscaloosa for A Day and met with the girls. After the actual Bid Day festivities are over you will have a few hours with your DD. IF she goes on retreat she will need to pack and get ready…IF she does not leave for retreat then she most likely will have to be back at the sorority house early evening for a ritual or pledge meeting. Many of the sororities will then take their pledges to their brother fraternity house and “introduce” them. Anyway so I would not plan spending time with you DD the evening of Bid Day ( am using the info I have from several of the sororities I am affiliated with and help…so this may not be true for EVERY sorority on campus but it’s safe to say it’s probably true for most of them). I used the evening time (DD didn’t leave for retreat until the following morning but had ritual and then was at a fraternity) to do my DD’s laundry. I had LOTS of company in the Tut laundry room…it actually was fun. We mom’s ordered pizza and all shared our recruitment stories…am still friends with several of them and we get together to tailgate when we come for football. In some cases once your DD returns from retreat she may only have 1 day before classes begins and with sorority meetings and all time can be cramped. My DD has said many times that doing her laundry was very helpful. If you are planning on going to Bid Day I would call for a hotel room ASAP…if they aren’t already gone they will be gone soon. I will be there for the whole week “helping”…and am SO excited to experience this again…even if it’s from the other side. PM me for more info if you want it!</p>
<p>What is the best strategy for maximizing hanging space in a dorm room? If a girl is in a single room in an honors dorm, is it possible to fit in a clothes rack? Can you “bunk” the single bed and put a clothes rack and shoe rack beneath?</p>
<p>Haven’t tour UA yet (next month!!!) but other dorms I’ve seen have tiny closets…and DD is a clothes and shoes junkie.</p>
<p>The closets in the honors dorms are actually quite large compared to the traditional dorms. We were able to fit my daughter’s whole wardrobe into the closet in her honors dorm. She isn’t particularly a clotheshorse, but does have lots of performance clothes (she’s a music major) in addition to her regular college student wardrobe. </p>
<p>The beds in Ridgecrest South loft higher than the beds in Riverside and Lakeside. You couldn’t fit an additional clothing rack under the beds in their highest normal lofted position in Riverside or Lakeside (though you can hire a company that will come in with the university’s approval and loft the bed higher for a fee in those dorms). In Ridgecrest, the highest bunked position would probably accommodate a clothes rack.</p>
<p>Even if it was just llofted enough for a half-height rod (for skirts, tops, etc. and maybe a shoe rack - those 5 inch Steve Maddens take up a LOT of room!) it would be a big help.</p>
<p>I feel fairly sure that by paying a visit to a hardware store or perhaps the Container Store you could find or fashion some sort of bracket that could be used to provide support for a tension rod beneath the bed to hang some clothing or a short shoe rack.</p>
<p>Several parents have asked about the pros and cons of renting a moving van to bring their students to college. Please do not plan on doing so, as our move-in process, including parking lots, are not prepared for large moving vans. I recommend that you take advantage of shipping items to the Paty Package Center and then plan to purchase other items once you arrive. The advantage to waiting is that you see what roommates have brought and your student gets a very clear idea of how much the room can (and cannot) hold. There is usually astudent trip to Target scheduled during Week of Welcome, so even if you have already left, your student can take advantage of that trip with other students.</p>
<p>Alicia Browne
Housing and Residential Communities</p>
<p>H will drive S to UA (about 11-12 hours) to move in and I am getting things as them I see for him room. I love looking at the pictures of the rooms on line, especially the ones which are definitely decorated and homey…definitely girls rooms/suites. My question is do boys decorate at all? Besides getting bedding, would anything else be appropriate to buy for a boy’s room and the main room. In the shared common space, do boys basically leave it “as it.” How do they even decide who (and if) will put a tv in that room? Just curious. Also how do suite mates decide on how to share and clean the space; does UA help guide them on this at all?</p>
<p>If you pre ship to Paty how do you get it from there to your dorm room? How far ahead can you pre ship to Paty? If you pre order things online to ship to stores in T-town such as Target or BB&B how long will they hold them?</p>
<p>We found it helpful to put painter’s tape on the floor at home using the dimensions of the room and furniture. Anything that couldn’t fit in that area at home didn’t make the trip to campus.</p>
<p>If your child will be traveling alone and require and overnight stay in a hotel, you may want to consider this little item, especially for daughters. It is a tiny little door security alarm designed to be used on hotel room doors. It is loud enough to wake the occupant of the room, but not loud enough to be heard by people sleeping down the hall…no worry about people running from the building if it goes off. It provides a little extra peace of mind for girls traveling alone. We found it at The Container Store for about $12.</p>
<p><a href=“Travel Accessories – Luggage Pros”>Travel Accessories – Luggage Pros;
<p>kjcphmom: My son had me purchase a blackout curtain (in crimson, of course) from Wal-Mart so that he sleep in nearly complete darkness. He also wanted various posters for the walls. So it did dress the place up a bit. As for cleaning, well, good luck. The best plans say that everyone will agree to take turns dumping the trash, doing the dishes and cleaning the bathroom. That does not always happen. You quickly discover if you want to room with the same kids the following year. My son and one of his roommates will be together in the fall for a third straight year. They are not allergic to cleaning or taking out the trash, but the pair will admit that they have had roommates in the past who rarely help with the cleaning. </p>
<p>My best advice is that you should make certain that your student knows how to do laundry, wash a dish and clean counters and toilets.</p>
<p>kjcphmom
We operate with the KISS principle and moved son in from California. Sent packages to Paty(printer and some clothes), ordered linens on line, didn’t worry about the walls…he can decorate as his life evolves. Now, two years later, I love to Skype and see what’s up in his room. He has reminders, foreign language prompts, a couple of posters, etc… Moving is no big deal because he is comparatively unencumbered; linens making up the majority of storage space! He and his roommates have had fun. Mementos are in the living room area and posters have found their way! I agree with MOMREADS. We flew in and took the new linens to the laundromat so son could wash them and they’d be fresh for his bed. We made one Target and one grocery run and I was headed back to the west coast. </p>
<p>I’m amazed at the lengths people go to for dorm rooms but recognize some people are happier that way. Also, I have decided God knew what he was doing when he granted me a son: the things the girls seem to require fall just short of requiring a personal shopper and personal assistant. You know what you and your son need. And there are resources close by if he has forgotten something.</p>
<p>The rod from the HW store was my thought exactly…as an architect, the hardware store is my drug (that, and IKEA) … no Steve Maddens for me!</p>
<p>Here is a great curtain rod that we bought last year. Also, bought a room-darkening curtain for my D. </p>
<p>Levolor® Decorative Twist N Fit Rod (7004244448) - Curtain Rods - Ace Hardware</p>
<p>Here’s another curtain rod
<a href=“http://www.walmart.com/search/search…=4044&se=kaos&%5B/url%5D”>http://www.walmart.com/search/search…=4044&se=kaos&</a></p>
<p>Here is a photo on CC that shows Malanai’s S’s old room with bookshelf idea.
The University of Alabama - Videos, Photos, and Visit Reports <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/vibe/the-university-of-alabama/?entry=image_0_67jlsusl#ugcImageMaster[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/vibe/the-university-of-alabama/?entry=image_0_67jlsusl#ugcImageMaster</a></p>