Along the lines of the Before/During Orientation thread, here’s a little info for the July-Aug timeframe:
Between Orientation and Move In
Check out the list of vendors (housing & residence life page) for dorm room stuff. The clamp-on nite stand and hutch pieces from College Savers are really popular/useful and you can rent or buy. Vendors bring the stuff right to campus for move in. Campus Market sells a lot of stuff too, but reviews have been iffy. You can get dorm rugs that get delivered right to the res hall. Also check out the VT Facebook page for free and for sale stuff.
Don’t want to send your kid to school with a bunch of cash, or concerned about how they will spend? Load money into their HokieSpa student account. It’s accepted everywhere on campus and at lots of restaurants, grocery store, etc. off campus via their Hokie Passport card. There’s a list online (dining services page I believe) of off campus stores, etc. that take it.
All the retail you need is in Christiansburg, less than 20 minutes away even if traffic is bad. Crowds are going to be as you would expect.
No A/C dorm? 2 box fans is the ticket.
Don’t sweat it re: bottled water for them to keep in-room (Kroger literally was sold out on our day in 2018 like it was hurricane prep). Your kid is going to get about a dozen reusable water bottles the first 2 weeks and there are filling stations in dorm hallways and around campus.
Find the Hokie Helpers. (And hang out between the dorm and the cart return area – ask first person you see who’s returning one if they would like for you to take it back for them).
Move in early in the week if you can. It will be busiest, but there are a lot of activities for the newbies during the days and evenings and gives them almost a week to meet new friends and do fun stuff before classes start.
Don’t let your kid wear his/her HokieP on a lanyard unless they have an accompanying “I’m a freshman, can you tell?” shirt on. Oh, and remind them that it’s VT, Tech, Virginia Tech, or VPI… VTech and “Vah-Tech” are no-no’s.
Don’t stay too long, do grab an early lunch with your kid, and try not to cry until you get in the car to go home.