I’m starting to think about how move-in is going to work for my D and I in September. It looks like we will be flying. Do we send boxes beforehand? Do we shop after we get there? Should we fly in a few days before, rent a car, and stay out in the suburbs and hit places like Ikea?
What do most people do when they aren’t able to drive from their home town?
Thanks!
We used collegeboxes.com to get as stuff there ahead of time. Once you arrive, Target is nearby for anything you discover you need afterwards.
Last year we flew, too. We shipped boxes (via UPS but any service with good tracking would work) and tracked them so we knew for sure the boxes were all there prior to when we flew out. At move in, the boxes were available at the dorm - easy. When you’re shipping, keep in mind some of the dorms don’t have elevators so only pack boxes of a size and weight that you’d like to carry up a few flights of stairs.
We flew Southwest because they allow two 50 pound checked bags per person without additional charge in case we wanted to bring things with us. Turned out we only checked a single bag but it was nice to have the option for more. It was slightly more expensive to ship most stuff beforehand and only check a single bag but I really enjoyed knowing the boxes were already there (no worries about lost luggage) and not having to haul much through the airport or on campus.
We stayed at an Airbnb room/suite right on the edge of campus, which was great so there was no hassle with parking a car since we could walk to things. I found it easier to not have a car and walk, uber or use public transportation.
Although there is a Target in Hyde Park, it’s a mini Target and will be picked clean early on so I wouldn’t rely on it for much. Don’t remember what was on our list of last minute things to buy at Target, but of the half dozen items the only thing Target had left on their shelves by that point was a package of batteries, the rest of the list items were out of stock.
We were lucky to have a good friend who lives in the Chicago area and who generously agreed to let us ship stuff to her in advance for storage over the summer. On the morning of move in, we basically loaded the stuff into a rented large SUV and took it to the dorm. Also, you can ship stuff to the dorm for them to hold the week prior to move in (but not earlier)
My wife actually helped my D with the move-in, so I am speaking from memory, but she said there were multiple Target stores that were UBERable. One was out of stuff and the other fully stocked (no doubt the one further away from campus).
And there is the Jewel/Osco (of the Albertson chain if you are not familiar with the name) at 60th and Cottage Grove that just opened in March. It is more of a grocery store but it should have a lot of life essentials on the Osco side of the store. For students staying at BJ or South, it is an easy 5 to 10 minutes walk.
https://local.jewelosco.com/il/chicago/6014-s-cottage-grove.html
If you have Amazon prime, consider buying everything online and ship a few days before arrival. Especially the bulky stuff. Prices are cheaper too.
I believe there is also an Amazon locker in Hyde Park.
Thank you for all of the suggestions! Good to hear that UChicago will store boxes up to a week prior. So if move-in is on a Saturday, and if we have boxes sent ahead of time, we probably don’t need to be in Chicago too much prior to that date, unless we want some free time in the area. I’m thinking we would fly in on the Thursday before, and then I would fly out on Sunday evening. Does that sound about right?
Walmart on 47th and Cottage Grove.
Move-in will be on a Sat. 9/21 I believe.
You might want to show up a day or two early so your DC can pick up books at Seminary Coop. If you order ahead of time, they’ll be waiting for you at the counter.
Fly-in on Thurs. is fine. There will be a parent reception following Convocation and procession on Sunday so if you want to attend that then make sure to allow that extra time before your flight.
“I believe there is also an Amazon locker in Hyde Park.”
There are but lockers are size-restricted. Best to ship right to the dorm. Also, no need to purchase too much too soon. Essentials for the first couple of weeks, and more later on. For instance, there will be no need for a heavy comforter in Sept/Oct. - that can be ordered on Amazon or BBB and shipped later on.
Thanks again everyone! Good tip about pre-ordering books. We are heading up there next week for the overnight event for admitted students so I imagine we’ll start to get the lay of the UChicago land.
By the way, do note the housing calendar (which does not exactly align with the academic calendar): https://housing.uchicago.edu/dates-and-rates/
They annoyingly don’t let you in if you arrive even half a day earlier.
^ That’s correct. Just like for pretty much every other university, you can only move in beginning on “Move-In Day.” A half-day earlier would be like 9 pm the night before LOL. Not sure anyone would be around to help.
Son is a first year at Campus North. This is our move-in experience there and only there.
Here is what I remember from last year that may be of help:
We arrived one hour into the process. Traffic was a little heavy but not unbearable driving from the East. The printed directions they give you to the drop off spot work great. Had no problem unloading our stuff. There were four of us. My son (the student), his sister 16yrs, my wife and me. When we pulled into the spot, Son went to check in, while Mom, Daughter and I dumped everything in a nice pile on the side walk. I then drove and parked in the parking garage next to North. It appeared that there was plenty of parking in the garage both when I arrived and then the next day when we drove back for the rest of orientation. The elevators and carts became the bottle neck in the process pretty quickly. I came back from parking the car and my daughter was standing guard over the pile while my son had checked in, and my wife and he took one load up. We eventually scored a cart and was able to move the rest up in two trips.
They have the process down. My suggestion is to use it. I did see some parents who thought they knew better (go figure) and thought about doing it differently, but they were often more upset then those of us who followed it.
There is some cool RSO fair near the Bartlett Dining Commons and a we did a Library tour in the afternoon, but at 5 PM the families are politely shooed off campus and the student orientation really begins. I really suggest getting a hotel in the loop and enjoy an evening in Chicago. We went and got deep dish pizza and saw Hamilton, and enjoyed are newly sized 3 person family.
The next day there were more parent programming events that did a good job, but I can’t say I learned anything new or something that I would have really missed. We had lunch with our son one last time, then the Opening Convocation and Parade. They really want you to say your good byes at lunch and maybe be crazy obnoxious when you see your child in the parade and let them begin to assimilate the kid into all things UChicago. We went to the after parade mixer and there were appetizers and adult beverages. It was ok, but a little sad for us. As we were walking off to get our car out of the garage, we saw some student/parent groups, but that was by far the minority.
All in all, a good experience, but if you can’t make it, don’t beat yourself up. You can watch the opening convection on YouTube, and other than the Alumni President’s welcome it is the same convocation every year. Everything you hear in the parent “seminars” your student will hear during the week.
Thank you @BrianBoiler for the play by play! Very helpful!
One last question for those that fly. Do you all buy one-way tickets for your student at move-in? Unfortunately, we live in the middle of nowhere, so Southwest Airlines is not an option. Our only feasible choice is American into O’hare. Do airlines even do open ended round trip tickets anymore?
We assumed our kid would be back for thanksgiving and Christmas, so we got round trip tickets. Ticket 1: out for move-in, return for thanksgiving. Ticket 2: Return to U Chicago after thxgiving, return home for Christmas. And so on…
My preference is to use O’Hare- lot more alternate flights if one is cancelled, better food options while you wait
@lilchaz Our daughter is a third year, and we always purchase one-way tickets. We wait to find out when her last final is before we book her return flight because for every break, she has finished early. For example, this year for spring break, she was home a week early.
Our kid got finished with work last quarter on Friday of 10th week (1 week early) - no exams, and no late paper due dates. She hung out with friends for a bit and flew home Monday of exam week. One-way tickets can be annoyingly expensive in some markets, but maybe you only have to do it once? Because after you bite that bullet, you’ll be scheduling round trips home and back again. (Return from summer could change, if your kid is an O-aide or something like that.)
To get there for Move-In, we tend to drive or do a one-way (unless it’s really expensive). For Breaks and Thanksgiving we then book a RT (outbound is home, return is back to school) for each one. That allowed me to book in October for Break, once our first year figured out the exam week schedule.
My daughter’s first quarter also had a very early wrap up due to most of her final papers due during 10th week. Her last final was Monday of Finals week. I flew her home on Wednesday - Tues. was a sleep-in/recover/do laundry-clean room sort of day. Her finals week got a lot more reasonable after that first quarter. Kind of a baptism by fire!
We drove out on move in and will most likely drive for move out this June. However, we have family in Indiana so we kinda role it together with our annual summer vacation to see them. On the holidays and break we buy round trip. Midway is closer by about 1/2 hour in normal traffic but as stated O’hare seems to have more options. I’m fortunate enough to travel for business so I use United frequent flyer miles to fly him back and forth to the Philly area at breaks. Ohare is a United and American hub. I’d try to buy round trip as one way is about 3/4 the price of round trip.
My son also uses public transport to get to and from the airport and hasn’t really had any issues with it. I think he said it is a bus, train to train and takes a little over 1 1/2 hours. All of the public transport (not the Metra) is covered by a transport pass you get on day one (obviously won’t help you on the way to campus the first time.)