Parents of the HS Class of 2018 (Part 1)

@MACmiracle we bought used as long as you could find one in decent condition. Its good for them to go through the college bookstore and see the differences in books. Bought new workbooks for language class. Told D if she wants to rent shes responsible for the return hassle. I wonder if they charge full proce for a non return. A couple other resources besides amazon are textbookrush and powells books.

@1399HdJ I live in Central Texas which is dominated by HEB however, there were actually two brands that offered up mug cake mixes - both Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker had a version on the HEB shelves.

Duncan Hines also had these really cute resealable, squeezable, foil frosting packets. Similar to the new trend in applesauce and toddler foods that come in those squeeze tubes. I got an assortment of frosting, caramel drizzle and strawberry drizzle to go with the mug cakes.

@MACmiracle DD’s bookstore is also a B&N and they price match to Amazon. DD bought several books then ended up returning them in exchange for the digital versions with codes. She returned two books and re-bought saving approx $200 overall.

@melvin123 I can see where the lack of privacy could be a real issue. I for one never liked communal anything but I am super private when it comes to bathroom habits around others. Maybe its time for your DD to pair up with a friend, she can’t be the only one who feels uncomfortable, maybe she can find another resident hall mate where they can go at the same time so they don’t feel so isolated.

My D bought used, new, rented, whichever was cheaper.
She rented from Amazon and Barnes and Noble, it was easy. She would come home for winter break and print out a return label and send the book back, then the same after finals in the spring.

Amazon student prime is free for 6 months. Free 2 day shipping.

That said, for my son we ended up preordering his books from the campus book store. I researched and the books were either not available or more expensive elsewhere and since he needed them for 2-4 semesters, and possibly student teaching, we bought them new.

I did get one book from Amazon.

Used books make sense sometimes, but if the professor requires the online access code, you will have to buy it separately, a new book includes it. It just depends.

We also get books directly from the publisher. For example, this semester we got my daughter’s engineering book directly from Pearson. It was going to cost $140 for the hard copy and code from the bookstore at Duke. We got the e-text directly from the publisher for $103, along with the code and they shipped her a hard copy as well. We have also gotten them from Amazon (both rentals and used and new) and from other used book sources. We also put in the ISBN and search. I never pay the bookstore price without searching first. Duke’s prices seem to be much cheaper than my older daughter’s school (U of SC) but I still like to find the best price.

We had our son do the free trial of Amazon Prime, because it made it so he could get the last book he needed quickly and cheaply.

One thing to think about with ordering from Amazon is the line in the post office to pick up packages. At Clemson my daughter (as of Saturday) had not picked up her books yet (1 and 1/2 week into classes
Yikes) because the post office had a 2 hour wait to pick up packages. So if bookstore matching that may be a better option.

I will be interested in seeing how long it takes her to pick the first care package I mailed yesterday
lol

Wow @burgdad, that’s crazy!!! My D bought all of her toiletries etc on Amazon and had them shipped to school, so day after move-in she picked them up from the mailroom. She was in and out by the time I drove the car around the block.

Yes in move in day we were able to pick stuff up we shipped with a very short wait. However, when the entire school is picking stuff up instead of half of the freshman class it is a different story. But ridiculous nonetheless.

That sucks @burghdad I know that my oldest has had to wait in line for a while before at USC for packages, but not quite that long. I have shipped two things via Amazon to my daughter at Duke so far this year and they are actually delivered directly to her dorm room door, so she has gotten them within the Prime window.

Wow, at UTD packages at delivered to each dorm at the front desk no wait at all.

Hmmm
delivered directly to dorm room
That sounds like a good system.

DD’s packages get delivered to the front desk of the residents hall, an email is then sent to the resident to come retrieve. They can’t get their package until that email has been sent but the turn-around has been same day. For DD’s B-Day I had a cake delivered, she was notified immediately, maybe because it was perishable.

D gets her mail the same way as @SnowflakeDogMom’s D does. @burghdad, I can’t believe the entire campus has only one pickup location!

I got D18 a “mailbox” at Bama because it looked like we couldn’t send Amazon, etc packages direct to her. I didn’t want to spend the time to figure out all the details so I said, screw it, just get the box. I’m erring on the side of overdoing things this first semester/year. We’ll reevaluate things later on when we have a better feel for what’s necessary.

We ordered used from amazon over the summer, and brought the books up with her. She saved ballpark $200 over ht best used/rental price at the school bookstore.

At URoch, the students don’t pick classes until orientation, literally a few days before classes start. Then you go to class and find out what books you need. Then it’s a scramble to get the books before too many classes are held and you’re behind. Doesn’t give you a lot of time to shop around. My daughter ended up buying most of them used on Amazon. This semester she didn’t need anything with an access code, so that was good.

We spent quite a bit on DD’s first semester books, close to $500, BUT several of them listed codes. IF they need the codes then they are stuck w/ the expense.

She is also a bit of a worrier and didn’t want to wait until the first day of class. Also, if waiting, the books may not be available on campus, then they do need to have them shipped. That can take some time and they might not even have them until the following week.

I did have her rent one from Chegg, but it did have online access until the hard cover came, so that worked out well.

Also, her school has a comparison chart to other sites and their prices, so you can decide if it’s even worth it to shop around.

First semester is always a learning curve. I am hoping she can cut way down on those prices next semester!

@droppedit Exactly - this is like the test run, our kids learn, we learn etc.

Parents Weekend was a blast! I highly recommend it. (It is tough to drive away, but we are counting the days until Thanksgiving!)

Hard to believe tomorrow will be two weeks since we said good bye to D18. Been busy working,trainng the new puppy, catching up on all the things that did not get done while getting D18 ready for launch
well full admit here all the things that did not get done since she began senior year, D20 asked for help with rolling her uniform shirt sleeves this morning and I commented how tight they were
she said “Mom I have not had new shirts since Freshman year.” Oops! Just one example of all the things I need to focus on with my forgotten child. I am actually pretty excited to have her as “only” right now! It is a really special time and I know it will fly by.

As far as D18 first week was a little shaky but very busy and this week I hear more confidence in her voice, even in her texts, though last night I know she was homesick. I did a little texting with her but then encouraged her to go to an activity that was happening, only to find out later she was texting with my husband who was in another room. He was thrilled for the attention but I had to tell him she needed to get back to being a college kid. I think it is ok for some back and forth but I don’t want us to morph into the only ones she talks to. She is busy finding work and activities and friends and needs to keep doing while I am happy to be here sometimes I don’t want her slipping backwards.

Finally caught up on CC. Happy to see everyone seems to be doing fairly well
so excited for all these kids!

@melvin123 I am pretty close to Brown (everything is close in RI) so if your daughter ever needs anything feel free to reach out! We have two showers in private bathrooms if she needs a break LOL! Seriously I think my daughter would have withdrawn from school if she was dealing with that. Kudos to yours! Also we have lots of awesome restaurants in RI so if you need any recommendations when you are coming to town let me know. Definitely get those ressies made for Parents Weekend!