Moving In...

<p>Hi again, I know the 2016's have their facebook page but for some reason my D doesn't want to ask these kind of questions so if you have any feedback about what to bring - here are some of my questions, silly as they seem. She's in Norris:</p>

<p>Is there a trash can in the room?
Is there a water fountain in the hallway to fill water bottles and make coffee (she needs her am cup)?
Do students typically need under the bed storage bins or is dresser/closet space enough?
How many surge/extension cords should she bring? She'll likely have a small room fridge (for the coffer creamer and water bottles)?
Any other tips? We're definitely packing very light because I know we can run to Walmart, but sales are good now and I want to get what I can here.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>And one more - what size fridge? The 1.7 cubic foot seems small so we’re thinking of the 2.7 one - order online and pick up at Walmart…</p>

<p>Hey mommaoftwo,</p>

<p>Congrats on your daughter heading of to Grinnell!</p>

<p>Just to be safe, make sure she checks with her roommate to make sure there won’t be 2 fridges, assuming she’s okay sharing it with her roommate as 2 fridges would be a little much. Otherwise, anything under 3 cubic feet should work fine, the 2.7 is the perfect option, actually. </p>

<p>There won’t be a trash can in the room, she’ll want to bring one
There will be water fountains in the hallways, she may also want a Britta or some other type of water filter if she wants to be able to fill that up in the bathroom sink and keep in her room
One or two extension cords should work, as well one outlet power strip, they usually have 6 outlets and will be handy around her desk with extra electronics.
A fair amount of students will store things under their bed, but it depends on how much stuff the student has so I would wait and purchase something cheap at Walmart. </p>

<p>Feel free to PM me with any other questions! More than happy to help and best of luck with everything.</p>

<ol>
<li>There are trash cans in the hallway, but bringing a small trash can is a good idea.</li>
<li>Yes, and water from the tap at the sink too.</li>
<li>I didn’t even fill all the storage space they gave me. You get a closet, a desk, and a dresser.</li>
<li>I don’t think you need extension cords, but it’s a really good idea to bring a power strip.</li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks Everyone - this helps a lot! We’re planning on doing the order online pick up at Walmart thing so what she doesn’t need after she gets the key we don’t need to bring back.</p>

<p>If you think of any other “oh I wish I knew this” thing let me know!</p>

<p>I brought underbed storage for my s, but I wanted him to have a first aid kit and a tool kit. It would be silly for every student to have these things. Word gets out about who has the hammer or the bandaids. I’d say stay minimal because everything needed can be acquired in Grinnell. Kids with cars share them and the college also rents them out by the hour, so kids can shop. There is a nice little grocery store only a few blocks away and they have all kinds of things a student might need.</p>

<p>thanks! I figured she could borrow the hammer from someone but will definitely have the bandaids! I love the little grocery store - she’ll need to get the cream for her coffee if nothing else. Getting excited! Less than 2 weeks…</p>

<p>A fan in Norris is pretty important especially if you are on an upper floor. In the winter the dorms have the heat on full blast and the upper floors can be extremely warm.</p>

<p>My son was in Norris first year. It does have ac which is nice. My son didn’t mention it being too hot in winter (and he was on the top floor) but we did get him a fan for white noise. He had a great time in Norris.</p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback on Norris. My d stayed there on a recruit visit and was happy to be there. I think she likes the distance to the rec center and the sense of community. She’s on the 3rd floor. Does anyone know if there’s a fridge or microwave on the 3rd floor or only on the first? Also is the staircase in the middle (her room is right in the middle). One last ? for the day - are the bathrooms single sex?
Thanks! One week…</p>

<p>I don’t know anything about Norris in particular, but bathrooms in dorms are gender neutral, but you can usually ask for a single sex bathroom to be designated if you don’t feel comfortable.</p>

<p>Also, you probably already know this, but there are floor plans on the site. This page has Norris’ floor plans: [Floor</a> Plans - Norris Hall - Residence Life and Orientation | Grinnell College](<a href=“http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/reslife/reshalls/norrishall/floorplan]Floor”>http://www.grinnell.edu/offices/reslife/reshalls/norrishall/floorplan)</p>

<p>Thanks I saw the floor plan but it wasn’t coded so I couldn’t figure out exactly what some of it meant.</p>

<p>Bathrooms will be voted on at the beginning of the year, and the most conservative vote wins. The only exception to this is single-sex floors and gender neutral floors. </p>

<p>There are stairs in the middle and at both ends of Norris. There is a kitchen on the first floor. She will probably want a fridge in her own room if she wants to keep fruit, milk, yogurt, britta water, etc.</p>

<p>I believe my son was on Norris 4th floor. They had a full size refrigerator and microwave and comfortable seating in the hallway in the middle of that floor. I don’t think the other floors had that, but there was a well equipped kitchen on the first floor. S and roomie did have a mini fridge in their room and used it. The bathrooms I saw in Norris had very private stalls for showers and toilets so it wouldn’t matter much whether or not they were single sex, but they did vote.</p>

<p>One sweet thing was that they had a calendar in the hall with everyone’s birthday. The SAs had also made special name tags for everyone’s doors before they got there, with fun graphics and quotations.</p>

<p>Thanks for this! I’m starting to get a handle on this. Will definitely want her own fridge. Hoping being in front of the stairway isnt too noisy!</p>

<p>I don’t think being near a stairway will make any difference re: noise. If she has noisy roommates, a fan will help.</p>

<p>They try to match up first year roommates based partly on sleep schedules. My son reported that he was a late night guy and he got a roomie who also was a night owl. Worked out great.</p>

<p>Oh oh, my D said she was neat even though by my standards she’s a complete slob? Her poor roomie if she’s a neat freak!</p>

<p>My son is a slob at home, but was relatively neat when he had a roommate, so it might be ok.</p>

<p>Good to know. Maybe peer pressure will kick in!</p>