My oldest child is traveling to CWRU for his freshman year. We live in south Texas and I was curious how other out of state kids made the move. Did you ship a box in or did you bring it with you on the plane? Traveling by car is not an option for us. We are planning to purchase some things, like a fan, when we get there because there is no point in carrying that sort of thing with us. So my questions are:
Can you/Did you ship anything to the dorm ahead of your arrival? Is that even an option?
Is storage available on or off campus during the summer so things don’t have to be shipped back and forth?
How did YOU handle moving yourself/your child out of state?
I moved my son from the east coast this past year. He worked until 5:00 p.m. the day before the move so driving was not a possibility!
We packed up a number of boxes and shipped them to the school in advance. I also ordered a number of items from Amazon (fan, refrigerator, and Amazon pantry items like detergent, toothpaste, soap, etc) and had those shipped to the school as well. We were notified as packages were delivered and we picked them up the afternoon he moved in. His refrigerator was delayed a day or two because it ended up at the wrong place on campus but they tracked it down and got it to him.
We took a 6:00 a.m. flight on move in day. We checked a very large duffel bag and carried on his full backpack and my bag. I flew back the next day after the parent orientation.
My son is on campus this summer. He joined a frat and will be living there next year. There is storage at the frat and from what he tells me, kids from out of state find places to store their stuff over the summer. Remember there are kids who are not only out of state but international! He did bring his winter gear home and will not bring that back until Thanksgiving.
Glad I could help. Fyi. There is a central mailroom area near the freshman dorms where all the mail and packages are sent. The kids are notified via email and go pick things up. It will not be waiting at the dorm itself. Also, they do have dollies/rolling carts to help you move the mound of boxes!
We arrived early by plane and were in the dorm very quickly. They have lots of volunteers waiting to help you move in. Another advantage was that we did not have a car to unload and park and worry about.
I stayed at the Glidden House on campus which is very close to the freshman dorms and campus itself. Book now if that looks interesting to you. Best of luck!
This is a timely conversation for me. My daughter will be moving from Wash DC to Texas at the end of this month. No family or friends in Texas.
I wanted to drive her to Texas, but the long drive is very impractical. So we are flying to TX. I purchased a one-way ticket for her and a round trip ticket for me. That’s when I knew this move is really going to happen.
I plan to ship items ahead to a local FedEx store. They will hold the packages, free of charge, for up to 5 days. Since she will live in 2 other dorms before settling in the final dorm for fall & spring semesters, I won’t ship a lot of stuff prior to the final move. She will have just enough “stuff” to hold her from June 27 to Aug 20. Maybe 2 weeks worth of clothes, plus the gym/volleyball gear. When she is ready to move into the final dorm…early check in by one day…I plan to fly back to texas and then pick up more stuff for her final dorm room. I will also bring a few more pieces of clothing for her. Thank goodness she does not need heavy winter clothes.
I do plan to buy other stuff while I"m there in Texas like a bike or moped, kitchen/bath/bedroom that can’t be shipped. I’m a big fan of Amazon and she is set up with a student Amazon account.
Godspeed to everyone that are sending their kids off to college.
We are from Colorado and my son at CWRU was able to store everything with a storage company that his freshman dorm alerted him to, after freshman year. After that he manages to store with friends in off campus apartment for free! I let him handle it now. He manages to move round via airplane and one huge suitcase to his summer jobs, I don’t really know how he does this, but it works for him. One thing we found is there is a ONE WEEK gap between when underclassman need to vacate the dorms and when he could move to his Cleveland apartment, but they figured it out somehow. This past year he stayed an extra week in the dorm which helped the "storage process at the off campus apartment’. He is living in DC with one suitcase of stuff. He seems fine.