Depends also on how you are using the word “diverse” - “racially and ethnically heterogeneous” or “divergent from historically white”.
It is possible that the applicant pool for selective institutions may have had more kids of colour who otherwise might not have applied to a four year college at all, or only to local non selective or community colleges.
More white kids, who in other years might have applied to more selective options, may have opted for schools closer to home or for community colleges due to pandemic related insecurity, financial and otherwise. However, that would make institutions, such as local colleges in poorer areas who used to serve predominantly kids of colour more diverse, not less.
I wonder about what is considered diverse as well…if it goes deeper than race/ethnicity…like disabilities, women in STEM, geographical , other creative endeavors other than being “really smart”…
In the spirit of getting everything ordered early, I ordered a desktop surge protector that was recommended above for S21. I offered it to D19 as well, but she felt it was too large for her desk. We found this option for those that might like a smaller footprint on the desk.
About surge protectors…my D used command hooks velcro strips to stick her surge protector to the side of her desk so it was more accessible to her bed and didn’t take up any room on her work surface.
Kids get creative with managing their small spaces ; ). Also don’t forget that they are eligible for free Amazon Prime when they get their .edu email address from their colleges. Nearly everything can get to them the next day so don’t stress if anything is forgotten.
It was on the short list of recommended items from the university. I know there have been a number of power outages related to storms over the years and we didn’t want to take any chances with the expensive laptop. Plus, it helps to have more outlets to plug stuff into (phone chargers, coffee makers, fridges, etc… ; )).
Power strips/surge protectors aren’t required but they’re super useful because they have so many things that need to be charged or plugged in. Monitor, printer, wireless speaker, phone, tablet, earphones, etc. A lot of them have USB plugs built in too.
We have always used surge protected power strips at home for computers, tvs, etc. My kids’ schools do not allow regular extension cords or multi-plugs since they are considered fire hazards. Their res life offices at their colleges say that students need to use a surge protected strip.
We haven’t started shopping for S21 yet. S17 has a job offer (yay!) in SoCal. He lived on campus at Caltech for 2 2/3 years until COVID and then lived at home, so he’s never gotten apartment furnishings. I think that will be our first shopping project, though he’ll pay for some of it and he hasn’t decided on an exact start date yet. (We need to figure out a family vacation after both graduations.)
For S21, I’m anticipating the list of stuff he will want to take up to Humboldt will be long. He’ll likely want his stuff for camping, surfing, snow/snowboarding, bicycle, and some tools/crafting equipment along with clothes and normal college stuff. Can we fit a bike, snowboard, and surfboard on the roof? I think maybe the surfboard stays home. His beekeeping suit can wait until spring, I think. (He’s located a group to join up there already, but bees swarm in spring.) We’ll have to set limits, but so far Humboldt is saying that dorm rooms will be singles unless they opt in to having a roommate, so he will have plenty of space. We plan to drive up with him and leave him the car if DH has a new car by then.
Ikea bags: work well. We used them for moving S17.
Surge protectors: We’ll definitely make sure S21 has them, since power apparently goes out frequently during weather in Humboldt.
Appliances: The dorms at Humboldt come with smallish refrigerator (not mini) and microwave. Will have to look into the appliance regulations. S17 mainly wants his coffee grinder and coffee machine.
Chip shortage: Yes, order laptops & computer equipment now. S17 bought himself a fancy gaming computer in the past year. The fancy graphics card stopped working still under warranty. He got HP to pay for shipping it back, but they won’t have replacement graphics cards until the end of the month. (It’s OK for him to wait – he has a laptop and a school iPad.)
@Snowynyc depending on where you are going, you may want to do so soon. Rates will go up as demand increases. As soon as important dates and the football schedule are announced at my son’s college, the nearby hotels book fast and rates are twice as high as normal. There are quite a few hotels within 10-15 minutes of campus, but those book immediately. Even the hotels 30 minutes away have skyrocketing rates around move-in, Parents Weekend and home football games.
I recently had to book an overnight stay near my older son’s campus (no special event going on). The rate has nearly doubled in price since before the pandemic, and what was normally a 20,000 point stay is now 30,000 points. I’ve already booked all the hotel stays we will need for both of our sons this summer (move in) and fall for some football games. I noticed that at least one of the hotels no longer has availability some the nights we will be there. I figure if our plans change it is easier to cancel than to try to wait and book later.
Talk about head starts, buying shower caddies, surge protectors, etc. I’m more of a “just in time” kind of person. School starts mid-September for D and I’m sure if I/we ordered anything right now, I’d probably lose it somewhere in the garage or house.
And worst case scenario, there’s an on-campus store that’ll have most of the stuff. Or on the drive down, there’s a huge outlet store complex where we can stop too.
LOL. We’re in a similar camp. Actually, we’re in the “I’m sure there’s a Target in that college town where we can buy everything when we get there,” camp.
If you haven’t seen the “GenZ Hospital” skit from SNL this week, I highly recommend you watch. Helped me a bunch in understanding what the heck my kids are talking about.
Surge protectors was something my kids both wanted extras of. Also, Target had these cute little $5 clip on lamps that they attached to their beds or desks. Fans for the hot rooms. BBB had this thing that hung over the bed (if a typical dorm room furniture) that my daughter could put her ipad, computer and books, my other daughter didn’t have a bed like that. Small kitchen garbage bags. Medicine kit - thermometer, tylenol, etc. Suitcase with wheels!! A ton of people love the IKEA blue bags for their kids stuff but I prefer wheeled suitcases since my kids fly and it’s easier to push. THey then put the smaller bags into the bigger ones. THere are so many good college lists around. Stuff you might never think of. The list from my girls is about 6 pages long, lol. It’ll be way shorter for my son. A copy of their passport, DL, SS card, etc also.
My daughter just told me her tower fan “sucks” when I said we can maybe give it to someone that drives to the school so I can give it to my son for his dorm. So…I guess we will not be keeping that.
Most of them use those things on the back of their phones to keep their IDs, credit cards, licenses and like $5 and don’t use lanyards or stuff like that. I had bought a lanyard and mine wound up returning it the minute I left. The girls barely use purses anymore.
@sqzhyg PB Barn (check the college section) definitely has sales. I know I bought our sheets for my girls there on sale. They were really nice sheets. Now of course both are going to full beds so the sheets go in the closet. My son I’m hoping will pick something with a gray comforter because the girls each had a grey set of sheets so I can totally give him those. Tons of command hooks for sure!!
Something else I put in my son’s room here that has made a huge difference for odors. I saw in a local FB group that a ton of people use this stuff in boys rooms, is a product called Fresh Wave Odor Removing Gel. It’s a jar of these pellet things and you take it and just put it in some place like the closet or top of a desk and it just eliminates the smell of sweat, puberty, god knows what, lol or anything…I couldn’t stand how my son’s smelled. This stuff doesn’t smell like anything either just fresh and he doesn’t notice it so it’s perfect. WHen it ran out we just put another one there. Will totally get him some for school.
@homerdog Yes re surge protectors. They have some many devices and older dorms do not have enough outlets.
