To be clear, is the recommendation for the Tote-a-ton duffels? We have been debating about driving out (bringing the microwave no longer needed by D16), along with other stuff (guitar, etc.) or just flying/checking duffels and buy stuff on site.
I know from D16, the local shops are a hot mess on move-in weekend, so I would probably send as much as feasible via amazon, etc. It’s about $70 to mail a 40lb medium size moving box from MN to FL. She is in an apt and will be making a household necessities spreadsheet to make sure between the 4 of them they have the basics for the kitchen (can opener, dishes, cutting boards, etc).
@MamaFx3 - yes, I am talking about the Tote-a-ton duffels. Last year, I waited too long for the Ikea bags so went with the Samsonite ones. We were very happy with the quality and price on sale was reasonable. I am hoping to do order ahead for other items. We may pick a store closer to airport for pick up to avoid college town crowds but then again S20 has the early move-in date so we may be fine either way.
Most every kid I know, with all my kids and college dorm move in days, I’ve only known one— my middle kid who has eczema , who washed sheets and linens during move in before putting them in bed. And we felt like freaks doing it. In his case, we bought new sheets and because of skin sensitivities, did wash them with special detergent we also purchased that day before making his freshman year dorm room bed
The usual process has been new bed linens, just placed on the beds. In our case, except for the oldest(who got new unwashed stuff), and that middle kid with skin sensitivities, my kids got older bed clothes we had accumulated that we just packed from our home linen closets.
My DS16 will be handing down his Samsonite Tote a Tons to DD20. They have held up great! Just wish we had gotten the ones with wheels since DS20’s campus does not have carts for student use. Anyone able to recommend a folding hand cart brand ?
He liked the capped small classes and overall small engineering program at QU. It was also the only college where he was able to spend a day on campus, and it was a great visit. Though he won’t admit it, I also think its proximity to home (we’re instate) may have also been a factor.
@Johnny523 I haven’t bought flights because I would no joke just be choosing a random date for departure. We have no idea when S will need to fly to school yet! We fly SW for the most part so no change fees apply but, if the flight is more expensive, you pay the difference so I don’t see the point in buying tickets now. We should have a move in plan by mid-June. Just don’t know how you all chose dates to fly in order to even make a reservation. Any start date out there is almost likely to not be the correct one except for the few schools that have announced fall plans.
D20 chose to attend Duke Kunshan University in China. We will have to wait until late June most likely to find out if she’ll be flying to China, attending Duke University in North Carolina, or taking online courses this fall. I have decided that I need to get her vaccinations now, even if she doesn’t attend DKU in China in August. I have no idea about flights because 1) China is not currently allowing internationals into the country, 2) I am assuming we will have to be quarantined for 2 weeks in China prior to going to the University if we get to go, and 3) we don’t know if they will change the calendar based on the potential/likely 2-week quarantine for the international students who make up ~ 30% of the student body. We are going to try and pack light but I have no idea what that means yet. We are also preparing for the fact that if she does go to China this fall, she will likely stay there until the spring semester is over if they continue to quarantine when arriving from out of the country - that would take up most of winter break. (Sigh) But she is very happy and has no regrets with her decision, despite the uncertainties.
@momzilla2D “Is my D20 the only senior who really is not the least bit upset about missing prom, graduation and all the year-end festivities?”
My D20 was initially very upset at missing prom as we had just gotten her dress. But I think she is more upset because EVERYTHING was cancelled for her. No prom, no graduation ceremony, no all night grad party, no senior trip, no senior beach week, no 18th birthday party, no graduation party, no saying goodbye to teachers/friends in person, no internship program (where she’d already been accepted to student teach at her former elementary school) - this one really upset her as she wants to be a teacher, no summer cruise with grandma (graduation gift), no money earned from her business (her kids tea party business had just taken off) - this one really upset her as she was booked almost every weekend in March/April and would have earned over $1,000 for college.
D20 totally understands the “why” of it all, but that doesn’t mean she’s happy about it. If even one of the above items had not been cancelled it would have helped…but getting EVERYTHING cancelled in the span of less than 2 months is hard. And now looking into summer/fall…the only hope she is clinging to is that she will be able to move into her dorm at MaryWash. Finger’s crossed!
@twokids2go, I feel your pain. D planned to take a gap year in Moscow to study Russian for at least a year, even wrote about it in her mid-year update form back in February. Last Friday, she got an email from the university in Moscow that they might start the program via distance learning and was bummed about it. I have no idea what will happen, the only reassuring thing was her AO writing that Due to special circumstances, Stanford will allow to change plans/elect gap year/cancel gap year and enroll this year up through the fall quarter start in mid September. So keeping my fingers crossed.
Yes, that’s rough not knowing. We just got the email / video from the university president that says essentially, “We are not making any on-campus decisions until the end of June”. I think they are waiting to get more information these next 6 weeks and see how the “opening” of the economy results in any kind of large outbreaks or spikes.
While I can appreciate the conservative nature of not making an announcement until getting further information, I think the decision will probably be inevitable, that they (like UNC-CH right down the road) will allow students back on campus.
With that said, it would not surprise me if they make a formal announcement sometime before their end of June deadline IF most other top private colleges make their fall plans over the next few weeks. For example, if Duke’s peers (UPenn, JHU, Cornell, even Wake Forest) all say they welcome students back in the fall, it will be difficult for Duke to wait to make the announcement 6 weeks from now. The only caveat is if all of their peers have made an informal agreement with each other to not make official fall announcements until they all agree on the best approach (i.e. as a unified group) and the time to announce it. Maybe I’m overthinking this?
We went with the posted move-in date. If it changes and we have to change the flights, there’s no loss, so no reason not to book now and take advantage of the cheap fares.
@Johnny523 : “We went with the posted move-in date. If it changes and we have to change the flights, there’s no loss, so no reason not to book now and take advantage of the cheap fares.”
Does this mean nearly everyone here is flying Southwest?
I looked into the terms of my preferred carrier, and the cost difference between an earlier purchased flight and the future flight would still need to be paid- so no savings.
We booked United because they said change and cancellation fees are not happening due to covid. I don’t really believe them, because they have proven themselves untrustworthy in the past, but I figured worth the risk for the great prices. We went with the posted dates.
(just kidding!)