<p>we are taking my daughter to Providence, RI from the midwest and need help. We are having trouble deciding what she will need. any thoughts? We are flying and you can see the problem. Someone who has lived in the Freshman dorms would be great but I'll take thoughts from anyone.</p>
<p>There is a bed, bath and beyond walking distance from the school. Once you see the room, you can pick up what you need locally.</p>
<p>Osage77, one thing to keep in mind (from my experience) is that you only have brief access to the dorm (a couple of hours) on move-in day before the ceremonies and the well-orchestrated "separation of parents and children" takes place. So you do have to anticipate things a bit (as you are trying to do). There is indeed ample shopping fairly close by, but you won't have a lot of time to do this after getting access to the dorm, so I would bring basics including the tools that RISD recommends (did you get that list?) -- speaking of drills, screwdrivers, wrenches, hammers, etc. etc.</p>
<p>Another thing that many parents do is to use the Parents Weekend in October as a chance to fill in gaps in the dorm room, especially if this requires heading out to other stores beyond Providence Place. That's what we did.</p>
<p>We're from the midwest (MI), and we drove (rented minivan) at beginning and end of year, and rented car on parents' weekend (which, BTW I recommend you do at least the first year, and also BOOK YOUR ROOMS NOW, even for the October visit).</p>
<p>We are in the same situation! We are traveling from Atlanta - - an 18+ hour drive! So, we will be flying, renting a car, and trying to shop for "large basics" the day before. Did you receive shipping labels? We'll send several boxes of necessities (linens, extra clothing, etc.) that he'll need right away. (I don't want to take the chance that the Brown students, who arrived earlier, bought all the "nice sheets" before we arrive. Of course this is more my worry than my son's!!!) VBG! </p>
<p>I do have one suggestion for shipping. When my son attended Pratt last summer, we shipped several boxes and felt they would be "safe" as they were full of linens and clothing. However, when we picked them up from the post office, the boxes had been soaked in some type of oily fluid (smelled like a type of fuel) and though the shipping company had "repacked" the boxes during the transit, the items inside were AWFUL. Needless to say, there was a lot of running around and replacing the items as the smell would not "wash out". Lesson learned... place all items inside plastic bags before placing them in boxes. Or, if you can find the plastic containers that lock and have wheels (at BB&B), they worked very well for the "lucky" students with smart parents - - they protected the items inside as well as provided under the bed storage. LOL!!</p>
<p>Do most of the students really buy "the only approved" refrigerators and microwaves that were advertised in the flyers? They seemed small and very overpriced!</p>
<p>I'm gonna be a freshman at risd too. My family and I are also renting a van for moving purposes and driving up there on orientation. I live in Virginia and its about an 8-9 hour drive. Nothing too bad. However, I am curious about what mackinaw was saying about a list they give us. I haven't recieved such a thing. But I was planning on getting a basic tool kit, maybe thats not enough?</p>
<p>Thanks to all regarding the stories and suggestions. Bring it on. I'm writing it all down. Yes, I did come across a list of supplies online, (Alisonart- they didn't send us the list) so I was wondering if we really did need this!? I just ask my husband about buying a complete tool kit at Target (?). His feelings was that we might not need them and he questioned the quality. Any thought about this? Do the kids really need all those tools? A Basic tool kit is about all we could haul or send.</p>
<p>Mackinaw-"one thing to keep in mind (from my experience) is that you only have brief access to the dorm (a couple of hours) on move-in day before the ceremonies and the well-orchestrated "separation of parents and children" takes place."</p>
<p>Hey!Your right. After you move them in, you get the boot out pretty darn quick! I saw this note: Parents must leave asap after the Parent Reception. My question is when do you get to say good bye to your kid? There is no soft landing for the parents at this school.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, it was right after the Convocation. As you left the church (which is where they held it then; I think with the larger entering classes now they must hold it elsewhere), it was "kids to the right," "parents to the left."</p>
<p>They did a similar thing at the University of Chicago, though not as abrupt. The kids had an "important dorm meeting" scheduled for 4 PM (and an evening of events to kick off O-week), so after the convocation at Rockefeller Chapel there was scant time to do our good-byes, and no reason to hang around for the evening or return the next day.</p>
<p>The physical part of the move-ins were handled well at both places. Drop stuff at the curb, park and return to find your stuff basically in your room already. One small piece of advice for neophytes: masking tape on every bag, box, item in your car that will go up to the room, with the student's last name, dorm room, and number on it. That will reduce the likelihood of things getting scrambled in this transfer of goods. Relatedly, we put a whole lot of stuff in the van in large garbage bags (with masking tape labels in indelible ink), in part because this was a more efficient way to use up the space in the van than having everything in square-cornered boxes. Not to mention, the packaging was thereby self-folding and could be used to take out the trash. This worked well for most clothes, bed-related goods (blankets, comfortors, sheets, pillows, etc.), and even miscellaneous supplies that didn't have sharp points on them.</p>
<p>One thing to note: you can order all dorm room stuff (sheets, lamp, storage bins, comforter, towels, etc.) from a Bed, Bath, and Beyond near your home, and the Providence Place store will have it packed and ready for you. It's like a wedding registry -- but you do order everything beforehand from your local store. I don't think you can do it online. It's incredibly easy; you just pick the stuff up and haul it to the dorm room. Actually, I didn't even rent a car. We walked to the mall, and then took a cab to school.</p>
<p>We did ship boxes of books and supplies, etc. to RISD beforehand, and they too were easy to pick up. All the pre-shipped boxes were in one place in the quad, close to the dorms. I think it took us all of fifteen minutes to move my daughter in and unpack. Individual teachers set their own lists, so the supply list wasn't enormously helpful in the end. Vans ran to Home Depot and other places, so she was able to buy some things too expensive or not available at the RISD store. Utrecht isn't far away, either. Oh, and RISD students can ride free on Providence buses, so aside from that precious time, it wasn't difficult for her to gather what she didn't have and needed.</p>
<p>We didn't have a huge amount of time together after the move-in. She had some small tasks to do, as I remember. Paperwork. While she did that, I went to look at the bike drawings, gave her a little room. Then we met for a short walk around and said goodbye. After that, I went off to a parent meeting and then a kind of meet-and-greet with the president in the courtyard across from the museum. My daughter and I ran into one another by accident as I was walking back to my hotel with some new parent friends, and we had one more tight hug. Truly, it was a sweet drop-off. We talked on the phone a little later, just checking in before I left town to see if she needed anything else. I flew out later the next day. Easiest college move-in of all my kids.</p>
<p>Lots of great info. here and it pretty much mirrors our experience 3 years ago. A couple notes...</p>
<p>We rented a car and arrived two days early to buy items and check out the area. We found WalMart, Target, etc. in Warwick close to where we were staying, which was near the airport...much cheaper than the downtown hotels. A car was handy to run to get the "forgotten" but necessary item on move in day.</p>
<p>Yes, there is not much time to get the room all set up on moving day. We split the duties...my husband went to the parent info. session, and I stayed with Daughter and helped set up the room.</p>
<p>We met Daughter for breakfast on Sunday morning before she headed out to the "Farm" for orientation. She was ready for us to leave, but we wanted one more "good-bye".</p>
<p>We shipped lots of things before we arrived (from Florida). They were ready and waiting for us in a special staging area. We just told the student volunteers the items were there, and they brought them to our room. Check in went very smoothly. </p>
<p>We bought a cheap TV online at WalMart and had it shipped directly to RISD. There was no cable in the Quad, so she did not receive many channels. She was so busy her freshman year, that she said she really could have done without at TV. There are TVs in lounge areas. She has enjoyed having it her sophomore and junior years, though. There is cable in 15 West.</p>
<p>We rented the refrig. and microwave combo for the Quad. It was well worth not having to buy and store later.</p>
<p>At the end of the year, Daughter has used Jones Moving & Storage to store all her "stuff". It is a great deal ($150-200, I think). At the end of freshman year, I went up to help her, but she has done the packing herself the last two years. The student packs everything in boxes and labels with their last name. Plastic containers just need to be taped closed and have the name label. You have to get the items to the area that Jones parks their truck, which was on the other side of the Quad freshman year. Jones inventories and give you a receipt. When the student returns the next year, you pick one of the two days they bring their truck back to campus and it is delivered to the student. Of course, the student has to carry everything to their room, but friends help each other quite a bit.</p>
<p>Tip---I purchased a compact folding hand truck that can be stored under the bed or in the closet. Very handy at move in and move out!</p>
<p>What a great ideas! Thank you parents! The foldable handcart... I never would have thought of that.
We're driving up from NYC Friday, staying in Warwick that night to get to RISD as early as possible Sat AM. I really didn't know what to expect.
Now I have a better idea.
Thanks again!</p>
<p>My D goes to Brown and we also use a handcart which we bring for moving. We put it on top of our car for the drive.</p>
<p>All great comments. Thank You! Thank you! By the way, what books did your kids need to take RISD? (I'm not looking forward to shipping books.) And where do I rent the Refrig and microwave?</p>
<p>A tool kit would be useful - I used a hammer and screwdriver plenty of times BUT it's probably not necessary to buy it now, because not all classes will be using them. These things can always be purchased as needed throughout the year. You don't need to take any books to school. My liberal arts teachers provided us with lists on the first day of class and there are a few different places where they can be purchased (Symposium Books downtown, amazon.com, etc).</p>
<p>The company that rents the refrig/microwave combos are on campus when you check in. We rented ours in advance, but they were ready to rent to students who were checking in. My D's was a little "wobbly", we called to complain and they sent someone out in the next week or two to fix...but she had to be there when they came. Check yours as soon as you get to the room...or as soon as it is delivered. While they are on campus, it is easier for them to come out and fix.</p>
<p>RISD carries all the books assigned in classes. We have purchased online (Amazon) much cheaper as long as my D could wait a few days to receive the book.</p>
<p>Do you think the Refrig/microwave are worth the $$$ to rent? (How much?) I looked into buying one small refrig and it looks to be about 100 dollars (if there is one left when we get to Providence). The supply side the equation has always been a concern of mine. But thats my job in this family, to worry and plan ahead. Again thanks for the time and great suggestions. If the kids are as kind and generous as the parents and students on this site, she will have a superior experience at RISD!</p>
<p>From what I remember, you were not able to put your own microwave in the dorm rooms in the Quad. The only way to have one in your room was to rent the frig/micro combo. Call Residence Life and make sure before you buy one. We did not want to store the refrigerator and microwave, too.<br>
If your daughter is sharing a room, you may want to check with the roommate before you buy anything, too.</p>
<p>After the first year, my D has lived in 15 West. Her suite has a full-size refrigerator and stove top....no microwave. I've offered to buy a microwave, but she says it's easy to use the one in the Cafe on the first floor, etc.</p>