“Well…is she a 3rd former? If so it seems a bit harsh to dump her off so quickly and unprepared.”
Not at all in my opinion. The schools don’t want parents hanging around after move in day anyway. They have plenty of events set up for new students. Parents aren’t invited.
OP can easily contact advisor/dorm head ahead of time with a heads up as mentioned. OP can arrange for needed items to be shipped ahead of time and order any last minute stuff to arrive in a day or two. No problem. If organized, there really isn’t a need for last minute shopping trips in the area. We never did them.
Even the events held on move in day for parents are largely designed as a way to please parents, keep them busy, and get them ready to say goodbye and leave. The info imparted in them can easily be gleaned elsewhere. Having sat through them many times, I don’t remember learning earth shattering new info.
I would argue that it is important to have a mattress topper, bedding, lamp/desk light, other large objects. I say this because while it may be easier to have her just order them later, she will want them when she first gets to school so she can settle in. They keep all students, especially new students, very very busy the first few weeks of school so she may not have time to order things for her room and assemble/organize her room and get it all set up. This could turn in to something stressful for her so I would have as many large items as you can ordered. Items such as food, not basic and super necessary toiletries, and room decorations can be ordered once you get to school and aren’t urgent. Feel free to pm me with any questions.
I have to agree with @cababe97. DS would’ve never found the time to get his topper on, things arranged etc if we hadn’t made time for it. His room on move out was exactly the way we left it (albeit not as tidy) on move in day. Stuff we had mailed, was still in boxes on the floor…although some were opened and used from the box. SMH. He was so busy his entire year, that all he has done for the last 9 days is read (summer reading) & sleep…and he’s usually a very active kid. In fact, I kept asking him why he hadn’t contacted his friends and he finally said he just needed rest and alone time. He’s enjoying not having every minute planned/taken up.
Sure, get the big items but you don’t need to do that the day of. Do it ahead of time, ship it to the school ahead of time given the OP’s time crunch. I think most moms take comfort in knowing the bed is set up knowing that - at least once! - the bed is in pristine shape. As far as time, though, it is there after check-in. It is also quite common for roommates to reshuffle the room around once or several times and try out different configurations so stuff isn’t going to necessarily remain the way it looked on move-in day.
For the OP, it will all work out. Some kids show up without any parents in tow at all and do just fine.
My girl just graduated from Emma Willard. I sent you a pm about specifics there. She will have an amazing experience!