Random questions from excited pre-frosh (ATTN: Current students)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Dartmouth College
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<li><p>My financial aid packet came with parts that included books and transportation. Does Dartmouth give me books and a plane ticket or do they reimburse me after I purchase both for myself?</p></li>
<li><p>Do I need to bring clothes hangers? :-)</p></li>
<li><p>How are the linens from <a href=“http://www.rhl.org?[/url]”>www.rhl.org?</a></p></li>
<li><p>Do I need office supplies like paper clips, staplers, or a three-hole-punch? Or are those all available at the library or something?</p></li>
<li><p>Where do you buy essentials like toiletries and office supplies? Is there a grocery store nearby (I didn’t see any during Dimensions)?</p></li>
<li><p>Is the bus to Lebanon free? Will I be able to bring stuff like wastebaskets and chairs onto the bus after purchasing them in Lebanon?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>All the questions sound kinda trivial, but I have no idea how I am going to be able to bring/buy everything I need to/in Hanover. Thanks everyone!</p>

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<p>Not a current student (as they have gone home for the summer) But I can answer most of these questions.</p>

<p>My financial aid packet came with parts that included books and transportation. Does Dartmouth give me books and a plane ticket or do they reimburse me after I purchase both for myself?</p>

<p>* Yes, you must pay your own way to Hanover. Dartmouth does not reimburse you for transportation or books. It has been our experience that a bit of your student contribution (summer earnings) are used for this purpose. In short, yes, you must have some start-up money when you get to campus. Even though you may have work study as part of your package, you must first find a job, then your are paid every two weeks *</p>

<p>Do I need to bring clothes hangers? :-)</p>

<p>* Although hangers are not supplied for you, I would not take up valuable luggage space purchasing hangers to bring to Hanover. You can buy them very inexpensively in town *</p>

<p>How are the linens from <a href="http://www.rhl.org?%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.rhl.org?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>* Since you basically need XL sheet , comforters , a light weight blanket, I would suggest simply getting them either at JC penny's, sears, etc. What we did was order sheets from JC Pennys in august, and had them shipped directly school. Picked them up on move in day. This is especially good if you can get free shipping as there is no sales tax on this stuff in NH.*</p>

<p>The parents have a long running shopping list thread in the cafe which you may find useful</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=53990%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=53990&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Do I need office supplies like paper clips, staplers, or a three-hole-punch? Or are those all available at the library or something?</p>

<p>* these are actually personal preference items. If you need them you can get them from the book store but you will find as you go along that you won't. The most I would purchase is a small personal stapler for when you turn in a multi page paper. As a freshman, D used spiral notebooks to keep notes. Now she just takes her computer to class and types all of her notes and has a couple of folders that she uses for handouts.*</p>

<p>Where do you buy essentials like toiletries and office supplies? Is there a grocery store nearby (I didn't see any during Dimensions)?</p>

<p>When you walk down main street, there is a CVS where you can purchase toiletries. Make sure you get a CVS extra value card were you get cash back coupons and assorted other coupons when you make purchases. You can shop the circulars because there are times when they do have 2-fers (buy one get one free). You can also purchase some from topside (but there is a limited amount and topside is a little more exepensive)</p>

<p>Is the bus to Lebanon free? Will I be able to bring stuff like wastebaskets and chairs onto the bus after purchasing them in Lebanon?</p>

<p>* Advance transit is free. Sometime during orientation, your UGA or someone will organize a trip to West Leb, where you can go to walmart so I would suggest doing it there. You can also get a wastebasket in town (realtively cheaply). You will have a desk chair in your room. What you can also do if you are into on line shopping and you see some inexpensive items that you would purchase and have shipped, order your stuff and have it shipped to your self on line.</p>

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<p>Are there any big chain discount stores nearby? I'm thinking Target, Walmart, Sams, Office Depot. I'll rent a car for son's move in, so which big stores are nearby and exactly where are they? Something besides CVS in town, hopefully?</p>

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<p>theres definitely at least a Walmart in WestLeb. Not sure about the others.</p>

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<p>For some students reimbursement for a trip home is part of their financial aid package. Students for whom the trip home would be a financial burden. If you think this might be the case for you, you probably want to contact the financial aid office to discuss the policy.</p>

6

<p>Former SI,</p>

<p>I don't agree with all of your statement. Yes the cost of your trip home is calculated in your FA package. Remember every student has a student contribution (I think for the class of 10 it is 2500) and it would be an extremely rare case if you are exempted from earning it. </p>

<p>I think the cost of the trip home comes out of this money. Students are suppose to work over the summer and save this money of this purpose (transportation, book money when they arrive on campus and other misc. expenses until they get paid form work study).</p>

<p>I believe that this is the money along with work study earnings that is used to pay for plane tickets, books, and misc.items</p>

<p>W3dnesday, I suggest that you do the following: review your FA award letter.</p>

<p>First add these #s (expenses)</p>

<p>Tuition (33,501) + room ( 5895)+ board (3945) the direct cost of your education (43,341)</p>

<p>How is this paid?</p>

<p>then add these # (payments)</p>

<p>Parent's conribution + scholarship + pell/ state grants (if applicable)+ loans (which are directly paid to the school)</p>

<p>THe difference between these 2 sets of numbers are pretty close a wash and off set one another. If there is a shortage it will not be a lot (which can probably be offset by part of the student contribution)</p>

<p>Next </p>

<p>add these items together from you FA letter (expenses):</p>

<p>books+travel+ misc. expenses. (these are the incremental costs of your education)</p>

<p>add these numbers</p>

<p>student contribution (2500) + work study (student $)</p>

<p>Subract the incremental cost from student money and you will find there is a surplus (some which will probably need to be added back make up the tuition difference)</p>

<p>(by the way, when you get the health insurance waiver over the summer, if you are covered under your parent's health insurance through their employer make sure that they get the forms filled out, make a copy for your records and send it back in a timely manner. That way it the charge will not show up on the bill. )</p>

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<p>Nervousmom, </p>

<p>While there is a walmart in west leb, I would not recommend that you soley depend on with the mind set that you will pick up what you need when you get to Hanover. If Walmart has something like bed bath and beyond, where you can order stuff on your end, the store will hold it and then you can pick it up in west leb, utilize that service.</p>

<p>There is a small little shop on main street, I think right before you get to Lou's. We purchased hangers, and little things from there but they carry more cute accessory type of stuff.</p>

<p>First of all it is a mad house</p>

<p>Because students do come up at different times (remember those who are on the last DOC trips come up an move in, so those parents may be coming up and buying out stuff before you get there)</p>

<p>You still have a local population there that are going to the Walmart purchasing the same things that you are purchasing (fridges could be sold out). I remember during orientation the UGA arranged a trip to Walmart and that is when D and roommate ended up purchasing a fridge and a futon.</p>

<p>All of this can contribute to the store being sold out of items when you get there.</p>

<p>As I stated in my previous post, if you have a walmart at home, you can start purchasing some of your stuff, make up your boxes and ship them via UPS (it is really not expensive, you can arrange a pick up and they will come to your house to get the boxes) then you can pick them up from the student post office Hopkins Center mail drop when you get there. We shipped a trunk D's freshman year.</p>

<p>We also purchased things on line and had it directly shipped to Hanover. You can probably order stuff from walmart on line and have it shipped to your son's Hinman box in hanover.</p>

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<p>with the exception of missing the books allowance ($1320), sybbie is correct, w3....your FinAid letter will have a calculation built in for transportation, (assuming you don't currently reside in Hanover or West Lebanon.)</p>

<p>The total on the FinAid letter will be the estimated cost of attendance. Unless the travel portion exceeds self-help portion, no school will reimburse/loan you for travel to and fro since funds are fungible.</p>

<p>nervousmom: there is also a small Sears in West Lebanon, but it, too, could be sold out for move-in weeks. When we visited two summmers ago, we stopped at Sears for a camera battery, but they were out (it was just after graduation). Bed, Bath & Beyond, JC Penney's et al, or UPS are good choices. Other ideas, would be to stock up in Manchester or Concord on the drive up if coming from Boston airport, or [fill in the city, sybbie help?] if coming from NYC airports.</p>

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<p>Blue,</p>

<p>I hate long lines and waits and I believe in traveling lite (D and I have already had the talk about what to carry on study abroad).</p>

<p>attaching the 'Shmen guide which will be helpful</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Eshmen/index.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dartmouth.edu/~shmen/index.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Regarding the RHL, you can shop on your own and get your stuff so much cheaper. You can comparison shop on line at target, JCP, sears, etc.</p>

<p>When I moved D in freshman year, the only thing I brought to Hanover with me was D, her clothes (2 Large LL Bean Monogrammed Duffels, one with wheels), a shopping bag, pillows and a couple of those plastic boxes (one had toiletries to get her started) that slide under the bed.</p>

<p>I had everything sent before I got there and picked it up at the Hopkins Center. Ordered the computer through the school and picked it up from the tent on move-in day and </p>

<p>For US, shopping at home over the summer (did it in stages) and shopping on line and having stuff shipped, gave me flexibility of shopping sales and having more control over what I was willing to pay because there were no last minute suprises.</p>

<p>Keep in mind, in the dorm room there is only so much space. D lived in one of 2 double bedrooms in a 3 room quad in East Wheelock. In the room there were 2 closets, 2 dressers, 2 night tables, 2 beds and 2 desks. D and roommated decided to move their desks into the common room so they could have more floor space in the bedroom. The refridgerator and the futon also ended up in the common room.</p>

<p>Purchased a trunk from Bed bath and beyond at home. In the trunk was towels, sheets, duvet covers ( 2 years later I am laughing at myself for this one and paying the additional $5 per set to have the sheets monogrammed at JC penneys, so she could keep track of her stuff and she sent me a picture of her and her friends going to a toga party with those shame sheets tied over her clothes ), light weight blanket and some misc. stuff she needed. </p>

<p>In fact, right now Sears is having a sale on campus stuff (20 to 50% off) Those pop up hampers are really great because they zip and the kids, can just take the entire hamper of clothes to do laundry (another issue)</p>

<p><a href="http://www2.jcpenney.com/jcp/CategoryAll.aspx?DeptID=25436&CatID=38548&cmCatLevel=3&cmCatID=25436%7C38548%7C38549%7C38559"&gt;http://www2.jcpenney.com/jcp/CategoryAll.aspx?DeptID=25436&CatID=38548&cmCatLevel=3&cmCatID=25436|38548|38549|38559&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>IF you put a lock on it, you can ship a trunk (learned this from the CC parents). D decided to wait until she shpoke with the roommates before deciding on whether or not to get a televison. They decided not to and she does not miss not having one. In fact it means that she hangs out with her friends on Sunday evenings to watch desparate housewives and Greys Anatomy ;)</p>

<p>I would also highly suggest reading the How much allowance threads in the parents forum.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/search.php?searchid=3407585%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/search.php?searchid=3407585&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>mods:</p>

<p>I nominate sybbie for the cc hall of fame, or whatever award you give out. :)</p>

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<p>Awww, thanks</p>

<p>I meant to say that JCP is having a sale (maybe that is why the link did not work) :rolleyes:</p>

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<p>btw: is monogrammed sheets only a girl-thing? [I mentioned it to BlueSon and his retort was that he rather sleep on the Green.]</p>

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<p>No, it wasn't so much of a girly thing as much as it was a mom thing and having D being able to identify her stuff thing in the event that she started doing her laundry then left, and clothes got taken out of the washer/ dryer (I thought it was better than those labels we sewed in for camp :eek: ). D thought it was a bit over the top also and says that she keeps track of her laundry. </p>

<p>Looking back to move in day I remember helping her to set up her room, and everything looked so nice and neat, bed was made, pillow shams (what was I thinking?) and going back for parents weekend and saying can the 2 of you find any thing in here? </p>

<p>I remember at the end of freshman year she put stuff in storage for the summer (I don't schlep stuff home either) and her recently telling me that some of the boxes she never opened all year. She is still on campus as she stayed to hang out with some of her friends, move her stuff across campus for sophomore summer and staying for graduation. </p>

<p>I spent the better part of the week asking are you packed? Her response, I am going through stuff. I think she was moving out of her room last night (was suppose to be out thursday) as one of her friends was going to put her stuff in their car to drive it from down by the river.</p>

<p>What you find out as the time goes by is that they work it all out.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the help. I may get him there with the minimum, see how big the room is and add the frig, bean bag chair, etc. later in the fall. Probably he could "get by" without some of the extras for awhile. He'll be doing a later outing trip, so he'll just stay put afterwards.</p>

<p>Question: Do parents bring kid up for outing trip and then again for move in? Or is it best to send S alone with backpack only, and bring rest of stuff up at move in time?</p>

<p>How long is the drive from Boston? My D is at Amherst which I think is about 1 and a 3/4 hours south; so Hartford airport ( direct flight for us) is about 2 and a half south of Dartmouth? True? Trying to decide how smart it is to try to combine visits. </p>

<p>How big is Manchester airport? Can one rent a car there? Can anyone tell me which airlines fly in- American? Southwest?</p>

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<p>I think you should think about what works best for your family. Son may not want to drag a lot of stuff with him, other than his DOC stuff especially if he is traveling by himself. </p>

<p>Students who go on the later DOC trips, get to put their stuff in their room and then join their trip. When they come back, they can move in to their room. </p>

<p>When he gets the room assignment you can check the room configuration at </p>

<p><a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Eorl/housing/communities/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dartmouth.edu/~orl/housing/communities/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>just click on the dorm and the floor, and you will know how much space he has.</p>

<p>If it works for you, send son which his DOC trip stuff and bring the rest of his stuff when you come.</p>

<p>From Texas, Southwest does fly into Manchester. </p>

<p>rental cars at Manchester</p>

<p><a href="http://www.flymanchester.com/transportation/rental.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.flymanchester.com/transportation/rental.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>You can defintely combine both trips. If you are going to see D first, fly into Hartford. rent the car there (make sure you can drop it off in manchester). Visit with D. After leaving Amherst, you just get on 91 north and come straight to Hanover. Time is about right. Since you are already familiar with the lay of the land in Amherst (and hopefully the shopping) you may be able to pick up your last minute stuff before getting to Hanover.</p>

<p>Help son move in, return car to Manchester, and go home.</p>

<p>Hopefully Cangel, Isacc or someone else will chime in on about Manchester.</p>

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<p>Manchester is a good sized, full-service airport. All the biggies fly there, as well as Southwest.</p>

<p>Logan is 120 miles from Hanover, and in theory, slightly over two hours drive time - obviously non-rush hour.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Emaps/directions/plane.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dartmouth.edu/~maps/directions/plane.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Thanks again for the wealth of info. I did not realize that he would be able to leave bags in his room before DOC</p>

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<p>sorry, I didn't finish the last post... big help to leave stuff in room before DOC trip.</p>

<p>Yes, I have a good feel for the discount stores in Amherst- there are many there to serve that 5 college area. Hopefully by early Sept. they'll be restocked from the August rush.</p>

<p>Still not sure which airline/airport will be best. Southwest doesn't work as well for us in Dallas because of Wright Ammendment; it's better for those in Houston, Austin. Anyway, I guess we'll just try American into both Boston and Hartford (both direct)and/or Southwest (ATA) into Manchester. My friends here who have kids at Dartmouth say there's no easy answer.</p>

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<ol>
<li>Do I need to bring clothes hangers? :-)</li>
</ol>

<p>Yes you need hangers. We shipped everything to our hotel. That way we didn't have the added trip to the Hopkins Center to pick it up. It was all waiting at the hotel and the staff loaded it in the car. If you are not shipping, you can wait to buy hangers there. There are a number of stores within walking distance that will sell items like hangers. At the lease, the hardware store which recently built a new building and is triple the size, the upstairs of the Dartmouth bookstore and CVS will all have hangers.</p>

<ol>
<li>Do I need office supplies like paper clips, staplers, or a three-hole-punch? Or are those all available at the library or something?</li>
</ol>

<p>We bought paper clips, regular size stapler and staples, scotch tape and dispenser and assorted desk items, pens, pencils in Lebanon. Depends on what you like to have in your room to use and what you use a lot.</p>

<ol>
<li>Where do you buy essentials like toiletries and office supplies? Is there a grocery store nearby (I didn't see any during Dimensions)?</li>
</ol>

<p>Again, we bought lots of stuff in Lebanon at Walmart but had I seen what was in Hanover first, I would not have bothered making the trip. Upstairs at the Dartmouth bookstore, CVS, a small stationery store near Lou's and the hardware store have anything you can possibly want.</p>

<p>There is a foodstop with a dunkin donuts right before the CVS.</p>

<p>***There is also Topside Convenience Store above Thayer dining hall which has all the food and many of the other items you could want.</p>

<ol>
<li>Is the bus to Lebanon free? Will I be able to bring stuff like wastebaskets and chairs onto the bus after purchasing them in Lebanon?</li>
</ol>

<p>Most kids do not like to go to Lebanon unless they have access to a car. My Ds UGA did not organize a trip and she and her friends NEVER went except for two car trips all year. The bus takes you to one shopping center and then you have to switch buses to get to the other shopping centers. VERY INCONVENIENT.</p>

<p>Look first in Hanover. The stores I listed above will all have wastebaskets. There is a store downstairs on the right side as you first go up Main Street with college furniture. Check there for things like chairs before you make a trip to Lebanon. I think it's below a photography shop. Hanover has a lot more in the way of stores than you would expect, you just have to look down all the streets.</p>

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<p>I'm a little late to this party, I've been out of town.</p>

<p>Major airlines fly to Manchester, and it is a lot easier to get your rental car and get out of the airport vs Logan. The bus times to Manchester don't work as well, however, and give the slight extra cost, DD typically flies through Boston. When we moved her up there, though, DH and I went thru Manchester.</p>

<p>If you go north of Manchester to Concord, 1 exit past where you would turn off for Hanover, there is a major shopping stretch that has a BB&B, Target, Walmart, Penneys and Sears all along a 2 mile stretch of road.</p>

<p>We did a variety of things - shipped some things, bought some in West Leb at Walmart and went to Target and BB&B in Concord. Daughter had WAY too much stuff, but it is hard to judge what they will or will not need. The problem items are the fridge, storage containers and food. I agree with DartMom that more things can be bought in Hanover than you might think.
D was on one of the last DOC trips, and we planned our trip to coincide with her return. We flew up one day early because of making a Sat night stay, and spent Sun touring. This gave us Mon for shopping, Tues for moving in and getting the bank account and we flew back Wed (I think that's the way it worked), orientation started Wed. Walmart in West Leb was pretty much picked over, but the bookstore in Hanover had a good stock, and wasn't particularly crowded.
Finding the perfect fridge and storage boxes to take the most advantage of her space required a trip to Concord, though. We also needed to measure the space. She certainly could have gotten by with what we could have found in West Leb, but because we live so far away, it has been convenient for her to store 2 seasons worth of clothes as necessary - she couldn't have done that with the storage containers to choose from at Walmart.
Another issue about buying stuff - I got the best bargains at TJ MAxx here at home, and shipped those linens - I had to ship some of her clothes, so there was space in the boxes. She used old camp towels, and threw them away at the end of the year. Also, if they want some of the cool dorm stuff from BB&B, it was sold out even in Concord by Sept, so you need to do the buy and pick up thing (but BB&B lost our order, so we had to take what they had left).</p>

<p>Lastly, for those folks coming across the country, they are supposed to be in Hanover by 4pm on the day their trip starts - can't get in earlier. The only way she could come close to getting to Hanover by 4pm was to fly all the way to West Leb, or spend a night on the way. I won't advocate breaking the rules, but we flew her in the day before to West Leb, and they let her in her room to start the trip the next day - in some ways that was the hardest trip she has made - that first one.</p>