<p>i live really far away, so planning the move-in day activities will be somewhat of a hassle. and i have a few questions to ask everyone's opinion</p>
<p>How are you guys (esp oos, but not necessarily) getting to usc on 8/20? are whole families gonna be there, or is just the student going alone? What exactly goes on during the whole welcome week?</p>
<p>we're thinking about either me going to usc alone on wednesday and then the family coming later on friday, or me going with the whole family on thursday instead, since the family can't take many days off</p>
<p>oh, and if parents do bring the students, how long do they generally stay in los angeles, and what do they do during that time? mine are thinking about staying the weekend to do shopping, etc. but i'm not sure if i'll have time to be with them esp if welcome week has a lot of activities</p>
<p>We are from oos, about 1600 miles away.
The whole family (D, sibling and parents) are flying to LA on the 18. On the 19 we will go shopping for bulky stuff we do not want to carry on the plane (ie. desk-lamp, printer, fridge, etc).
We will help D to move-in on the 20, and come back home on the 22 :( :( :(</p>
<p>I'm from oos, and my family and I are going to fly in on the 20th. They'll stay for a couple of days and do some shopping and touristy things and then leave. My parents can't stay for a long time either because they have to work.</p>
<p>Is there a downside to arriving on the 20th? I can see the need to go shopping for larger items that will not fit on a plane, but does that really need to happen beforehand? We can always drop D off, figure out what she needs, get it for her and drop it off later in the day.</p>
<p>I'm oos- kansas city. My mom and I are taking a road trip to Cali in a rental car. We plan to stop along the way and visit my great grandma in Colorado and go through Las Vegas, etc. We plan to arrive on the 20th. My mom want to stay for a couple days and then she'll either drive back home or take a plane</p>
<p>I'm from Chicago and my dad is flying out with me on the 17th or the 18th. We're sending everything that I want to bring from home to the UPS store in LA (apparently they store it for a fee?), then I'm taking all my clothes and stuff on the plane and buying everything else out there.</p>
<p>P.S. Tuitionsaver, no need to buy a fridge, every USC room comes with one!</p>
<p>im coming from chicago, & i think im flying out on the 18th and will spend a day or two shopping for items that arent able to be shipped or mailed for under a million dollars. i think some stores offer servies where you pay for the items at a store near you and then pick them up at the LA location...i know bestbuy and target do this.</p>
<p>just wondering, what items are people bringing or buying (especially ones that cannot be shipped or mailed). I've been trying to make a list of essentials (the room is small).</p>
<p>We are waiting until after orientation to figure that out. My guess is that they will have some suggestions and possibly a list for the students, and D will have spent two nights in the dorms so she might have a better idea of what she needs/wants and how those items might fit into the small space. We are also hoping for a bit of guidence on what laptop to purchase.</p>
<p>I notice that the Apple store usually has a back to school special for college students. We have an Apple Mac which works great and is very reliable. I suggest waiting until August to buy a laptop when the specials come out.</p>
<p>D bought a laptop at USC already when she visited them. It was on sale, $600 less then when she originally wanted(Apple Mac Pro). She absolutely loves her laptop. She could not wait until August. The laptop that are on sales went fast.</p>
<p>Usually Apples sales for college start in June and in the past includes a deal with an iPod as well. If you get a Mac, buy the AppleCare so that you can get it fixed at the authorized center beneath the student store, if needed.</p>
<p>For out of state: there will be linen ads coming your way soon, and although limited, may be your most convenient way of getting your linens and such delivered to campus and waiting for you. Beyond beddings the most useful items are storage bins. The Target is the closest of those kinds of stores. Realize the USC is located downtown, so don't expect the typical suburban type stores to be nearby.</p>
<p>There are also bus trips to Target during the first week before classes that students can sign up for. My d just finished her first year at USC. She lived in Birnkrant. Lessons I learned--you don't need snacks or food for the room because students should be encouraged to use dining meals and dollars. First semester she had over 30 meals leftover and $150 dining dollars. Second semester, she used all her dining dollars and had less than 10 meals left. That was due to a concentrated effort to buy her snacks (bottle water, yogurts) and extra food with the dining dollars and get her fruit at the cafeteria. I am ordering water delivery for her for the coming year as she has a hard time drinking out of the tap water.</p>