<p>Hi all - was wondering how other parents are prepping for the fall? Is anyone planning on bringing their daughter on the 30th to set up their room? we are local and could make two trips and it seems like it might be a less hectic way. I've also heard that the local stores are mobbed that week due to all the colleges in the are!</p>
<p>My parents are coming with me and helping me move in on the 30th. We’re all pretty worried about how crowded things are going to be at the stores, but don’t have much choice coming from Hawai’i. The two trips sounds a lot easier!</p>
<p>overwhelmedma: My parents and I are atm planning to do the same thing because making two trips seems to be easier, too. We want to see the room and figure out how much space I have (especially if there is a roommate) and what is needed. We’re planning to pick up some stuff ahead of time, especially if it’s on sale and then buy whatever else we need.</p>
<p>Should lights be brought beforehand or after the move-in?</p>
<p>Composer, there is some lighting in the room already. You might want to see how good it is before you bring your own lamps - I had rooms at Smith with excellent lighting where I didn’t need my own and others where I needed a few lamps in addition to what was provided. This is something that greatly varies by house.</p>
<p>We haven’t gotten that far! My daughter’s still pondering STRIDE scholarships and planning for a cross-country trip for which she leaves in less than a week; she’ll be gone for nearly three weeks. Then after that my sister and her family are coming from Seattle for 2-1/2 weeks. So…that brings us up to early August and THEN we have to prepare both our twins for college after that! Right now it’s just one day at a time! 
I’m happy to hear just how organized everyone else is, though! :-)</p>
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<p>No need to be. The vast majority of consortium first-years (UMass Amherst students) won’t arrive until the following weekend.</p>
<p>We are sending her up with two suitcases and instrument and shipping bedding, etc. since we live halfway across the country. We have opted to spend the time and money on family weekend instead of orientation. Right now she’s preparing to spend a month in DC for an orchestra fellowship, so we’re kinda busy getting ready for that. Piles to be shipped to Smith, however, are beginning to appear.</p>
<p>I’m planning on going on the 30th. It’s about an hour 45 minute drive, so I could potentially take two trips, but that sounds like too much driving for me. I may bike there with my mom and have my dad drive the stuff.</p>
<p>The 30th is definitely looking like an option although for us it’s a 2 hour drive each way. I think Mount Holyoke starts later as we’ll so we’ll have an earlier shot at Target.
Hawaii is tough though:)</p>
<p>My daughter and I will fly to Hartford, rent a car, and drive to Northampton. We will each bring two suitcases (paying extra to the airline for the second) and a carry on. We will ship some items to Smith in advance, and retrieve them when we arrive. Fortunately, we have extended family in the area, and will be staying with them. We’ll visit the local mall, too, probably.</p>
<p>I’m not clear on whether Smith allows all students to move in on the 30th. I had thought that this was only to accommodate students whose flights arrive early. Does anyone know whether the majority of students will check in on the 30th or the 31st? </p>
<p>It’s about a 3 hour drive for us. We’d been planning to drive up the evening of the 30th and stay overnight nearby. But if we can move D in on the 30th, we might push that back. I know she’ll be eager to see her room!</p>
<p>As far as where and when to shop: I think that if you’re within driving distance, it’s much easier to purchase most of what you need over the summer. The Target is on the bus route, so it won’t be that difficult for students to pick up extras on their own once the move-in rush is over</p>
<p>Just as a warning to those who hope to pick up things in Target or WalMart “later”: the stores get stripped of inventory pretty quickly as the five-college students arrive. I suggest that you buy your extra stuff as soon as you arrive.</p>
<p>“Sunday, August 30 from 1 to 4 p.m.
This is an early arrival opportunity which might be particularly helpful for students traveling from a long distance. There is no orientation programming or food service for new students until lunch on Monday, August 31.”
From the Smith website - my interpretation is anyone can come that day but you are on your own for everything beyond a place to sleep.</p>
<p>We live in the West and our D will be attending Smith as a first year. We have no family or friends on the East Coast. What do “far from home” students do over the short breaks such as Columbus Day weekend? What day and time do travelling students leave on Thanksgiving or Winter Break to go home (airport)? What happens if they cannot leave (weather)? For students that need to ship cloths and other items - how soon is that done - and to where is it shipped at Smith? These may seem like mundane questions - but they do lead to “puzzlement” around the house. Insight from current parents or students appreciated.</p>
<p>My D has never come home (we live about 5 hours away) for the short fall break. Twice, she stayed on campus, and once, she went with friends to NYC. </p>
<p>As for Thanksgiving, that’s a tough one. Some professors cancel their Tuesday classes, and others do mean stuff like schedule quizzes on Tuesday. My D has caught rides home, so her schedule has depended also on those of the students traveling with her. She has left Tuesday morning, Tuesday afternoon, and Wednesday morning, depending on the year.</p>
<p>Since exams are largely self-scheduled, it makes it a little easier to schedule flights home after exams. Most leave the day before they have to vacate the house, although some leave the morning they get kicked out. (I think they have to be out by 10 am that Saturday.) One year, the weather was indeed bad, and they extended the house stays for another 24 hours because so many flights were delayed.</p>
<p>All mail gets delivered at the campus center. Your daughter will get a box address, and when packages arrive, she’ll have to ask for them at the desk and carry them cross campus to her house. It’s possible that there is another way, so the cross-country parents may need to chime in.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the helpful information! It’s great to hear from all of you experienced parents.</p>
<p>We’ll be driving 18+ hours to drop my D off. We plan on arriving on Saturday and hope we can help her start to move into her room on Sunday. Probably one of a few driving trips to Smith, but we hope to do a bit of vacationing on the way there. </p>
<p>Does anyone know whether the beds are regular twins or XL or perhaps a mix of both? We’ll be picking up bedding somewhere along the way.</p>
<p>Mix of both. My D’s first house had regular beds. The one she moved to and stayed in has XL.</p>
<p>Thanksgiving was the most problematic. Your D should find out as early as possible what each prof’s plans are for the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. At least once, D flew home on Wednesday when she could have flown home on Tuesday had she but known. Flying Wednesday tends to be more expensive and the longer one waits the higher the airfare…though D swears by StudentUniverse for the best deals.</p>
<p>For the shorter breaks, as MWFN says. D visited a friend in NYC one time, Boston another, nearby family, etc.</p>
<p>Dad1991, I don’t know where in the West you are. One thing to do is to check out what the best flight connections are. We live in the LA area and D’s most common options were changing planes either in DC or at O’Hare. She didn’t find O’Hare to be that bad and the advantage over DC (or Atlanta) was that at least she was spending time working her way West. She once beat a snow storm that shut down O’Hare for a while but never actually had flights disrupted…she would have coped.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you have any other lonnnnnng distance questions about Smith.</p>
<p>The post office does have rolling carts you can borrow (for up to an hour) to help transport boxes across campus. They’ll probably offer them when you pick up your boxes at move-in.</p>
<p>And don’t forget about the Southwest rapid rewards program for college students…
1 free round trip award with 8 segments instead of the usual 16. And, they give you 2 segments just for enrolling. Have to be a college student b/w the ages of 18 and 23, I believe.</p>