<p>Someone a few pages back had asked for a link for a “What to Bring to College List”. There are several on CC, but I found this one that a very type-A girl had composed last year. Y’all should take a look. This is something I could actually see my DD writing. Can you say OCD? 
At least nothing has been overlooked!</p>
<p><a href=“http://lauralee.name/dormspreadsheet.xls[/url]”>http://lauralee.name/dormspreadsheet.xls</a></p>
<p>^jc40: Thanks for the link. I agree. She is certainly thorough. I’d love to see her “separate list” for clothing/shoes! I could also see my DD doing a list like this!</p>
<p>:cool: 
</p>
<p>Oh my gosh, my son just got a job! Hallelujah!! He will be a pool attendant at a 5-star hotel – cold towel or frozen grapes, anyone?</p>
<p>jc40: thanks for the link! I was the one who asked…I want to do a list for my D, but don’t know what is needed in a dorm.</p>
<p>Thanks for the support. I agree that it was just a weird phone conversation, and doesn’t mean they wont get along.</p>
<p>BengalMom, does he have to peel the grapes? Congratulations on his job!</p>
<p>We are sort of having an issue with son’s roommate. He is one of son’s good friends from HS (actually since kindergarten). Neither he nor his parents have offered to supply any of the ‘shared items’. I mentioned to his mom that they would like to have a fridge/microwave/rug and she didn’t say anything. My husband is getting upset and wants to call the dad (husband knows the dad better than the mom - I don’t know either well) and say ‘this is what the boys want/need for the room, what are you willing to provide?’ Money isn’t an issue as their son got a full ride to the school (merit) and they were looking at $50k schools. They’ve had both their kids in a $15k a year private school since K5 - so we know they could afford a $100 fridge.</p>
<p>I’m at a loss here - I don’t mind providing those things for son because then they will be his to take with them for the next 4 years. It’s highly unlikely they will room together all four years. Also - I know these people tend to be minimalists and not very overly involved in their kids’ lives and are likely to say that their son doesn’t need those items. How do people usually handle these things?</p>
<p>missemily even if your D & her roommate aren’t best buddies, they’ll have the opportunity to make lots of new friends among the other students on their floor. And your D will have friends/acquaintances from her week on campus this week, so she’ll be starting school with at least a few people she already knows. How’s her week going so far (I hope I have the week right)?</p>
<p>DS2 has texted his roommate.
Me: “why don’t you just give him a call?”
DS2: <em>blank look</em> <em>eyeroll</em> “No one calls, Mom”</p>
<p>I don’t even ask about coordinating bedspreads.</p>
<p>Bengalmom - congrats on your S’s job!</p>
<p>MomLive, I usually just buy everything myself in these instances, I know the other kid benefits but I hate conflict and if I think it is something my son needs or wants and I can afford it I just take care of it, your son will have the things for the rest of his time at school.</p>
<p>MomLive: I think it’s appropriate to restate to the roommate’s parents the “shared items” the boys want/need, including a desire to share the cost. Have your husband make the call if he knows the dad better. If not presented in a way to suggest conflict, it may be okay. Maybe one buys the fridge, one the microwave and split the cost of the rug. I would at least make the effort. Just my opinion!</p>
<p>BengalMom: HUGE CONGRATS to your S on his JOB!!. And as a pool attendant, maybe some nice tips will be part of his experience as well! So happy for him! :)</p>
<p>Very </p>
<p>missemily, when my D received her roommate assignment her freshman year, she called the girl to get acquainted. It was quite an uncomfortable conversation for D, as the roommate hardly spoke and was obviously quite shy and quiet. This made D even more nervous than she was before calling. When she gets in a weird situation like that she tends to get a bit wound up and talks a lot to make up for the other person’s lack of conversation. </p>
<p>These two were quite different, especially in their decorating ideas. My D is really into color, with a brightly striped comforter, turquoise sheets and towels, a multi-color 5-light lamp from BBB, a bright blue chair, and a pink desklamp. She put several posters and pictures of landscapes on the wall. The roomie had one gray blanket on her bed, and absolutely NO decorations or color whatsoever, for the entire year.</p>
<p>Their room was divided down the middle, so it was funny to walk in and see the polar opposites. They were never really friends, but they co-existed fine. But now, the bathroom horror tales D told are a different story! :)</p>
<p>Thanks for the congrats for my S’s job. I think he’s pretty excited. Especially for the tips, ks! :D</p>
<p>I hate to admit it, but this is his first real job (other than lawn mowing and tutoring). It will be great to finally have him making his own money. Let’s hear it for growing independence! :)</p>
<p>vballmom - We are going to connections day on Saturday and she starts her week then. She is SUPER excited about it, and the program seems really exceptional. I am expecting her to have some “friends” from the program, and actually she already has some upperclassmen friends who went to her high school, so I think she will be ok. I don’t think she should worry about what this girl is bringing - just get what she knows she wants and not worry. If they end up with duplicate stuff they can either keep it separate, or she can have us bring home whatever it is until next year.</p>
<p>Bengalmom - that sounds exactly like what happened with my D. I only heard about the conversation several hours later but my D also said something about expressing that she wished the summer was over and it was time for college, and somehow the roommate made her feel stupid for saying that. The whole thing was just akward.<br>
By the way, congrats on your son’s job!!!</p>
<p>It will be interesting to see how different the two sides of the room end up. My D is going for bright orange and yellow to decorate her room with. We need to find some stuff for her walls - I would love to find the big bright letters to spell out her name. My partner is worrying about clothing - will she have enough shoes/shorts/pants/etc…funny how different parents get obsessed about different things.</p>
<p>My D is in a coed dorm with coed hall bathrooms, although the rooms themselves are not coed. So it should be interesting!</p>
<p>Hi everyone. Thanks to KS, BT and Psychmom for the wishes for a good night’s sleep. I’m happy to say, the good wishes worked. I just woke up! (Jk). I’ve just been busy catching up on stuff that didn’t get done yesterday. </p>
<p>So many pages to catch up on, since I checked in so late!</p>
<p>Loved the pics of the UGA dorm rooms. Not sure whether I’ll pass them along to D. They might give her too many ideas. </p>
<p>Received my first batch of dorm stuff in the mail today - pillows, mattress cover, pillow protectors and a mattress topper. I also started picking up toiletries, school supplies, and some other stuff that shouldn’t need D’s approval. While she cares a lot about her comforter and decor, I don’t think she wants to deal with the other stuff.</p>
<p>OMG about the girl and her mom who took it upon themselves to fully decorate the room without the other roomies ok! What nerve!</p>
<p>MomLive - hope the roomie’s parents are cooperative about sharing the costs for the “shared” items. </p>
<p>BengalMom - congrats to your S on his new job! Cold towels? My S tells me that one of the local country clubs provides heated towels! He was very impressed. </p>
<p>KS - glad your D was ok with her school bus ride. My D went on a camp trip today too - also on a school bus. Luckily, her trip was only about an hour each way.</p>
<p>BT - glad your son’s baseball game went well.</p>
<p>jc40 - will have to check out that list.</p>
<p>LIMOM: Glad you got some rest! And sounds like you are well on your way with the essential dorm stuff. Hope your D’s school bus ride was “okay” too.</p>
<p>:cool: </p>
<p>Thanks, KS. D’s school bus ride was “fine.” :)</p>
<p>^same thing! ;)</p>
<p>Roommate thing: For orientation they randomly assign everyone roommates for the 3 day event. My roommate was really nice but she knew a lot of people at the orientation since people from her school also were at the orientation. I knew no one. She skipped some of the events to go downtown which I didn’t really see the point of the orientation. At like 9:30 I was going to head to our room but I could here loud talking of people I didn’t know in there. I hung out in the lobby of the dorm with some people until like 12:30 when I knew those people would be gone from my room. It was incredibly awkward.</p>
<p>MomLive, I think your husband is definitely entitled to call the roomie’s dad and try to figure something out. You should not have to supply everything.</p>
<p>BengalMom, your daughter sounds like my kind of girl - I love color! There were girls on my hall last year who had a room like that - the one girl basically had her whole side of the room in one color/pattern and the roommate had her side of the room in a completely different color/pattern. The room could have been split down the middle with a big black line!</p>
<p>missemily, I feel for your d and the awkward phone call. Phone calls in general are awkward, especially with a stranger! How mean that the roomie said things to make her feel dumb. I’m sure once they can speak to each other in person things will go better.</p>
<p>The thought of coed bathrooms cracks me up! That would be something. ; )</p>
<p>S2 gave me access to the bill pay and I can get on the incoming 2014 site, but I don’t have access to a bunch of other password-protected stuff, which is fine by me. Once we’re past the setting-up-billing/notifications stage, I’ll bow out.</p>
<p>We do ask for the FERPA/HIPPAA/medical POA/general POA releases, with the understanding that we will use only if S is in serious trouble or in danger of harming himself or others. Thankfully, we have not had to invoke any of that with S1.</p>
<p>ETA: We get grades, too – Chicago does it since they assume we are taking him as a tax deduction. </p>
<p>Mathmom, I assumed the knives weren’t kosher, esp. in that format! Silverware is one thing, a big rack of hardware is another. I did get him a Dead Fred as a surprise consolation gift. (Kind of like The Ex, only for pens and pencils.)</p>
<p>artloversplus, S1 will be a third year at Chicago. Ask away or PM me! S2 almost went to Chicago, too, but decided on Tufts. Ditto mathmom’s S2.</p>
<p>I asked my son what he would be wearing as he makes his way from his room to the coed bathroom and he said “just a towel, and don’t get me one of those velcro towel things” I suppose if I send a robe along that it will just end up as a Halloween costume or be given away.</p>