<p>Does anyone have any good advice for shipping/getting our son's stuff to Princeton from California?</p>
<p>If your son is flying to Princeton, make sure he takes advantage of the two free carry ons. Apart from that, there's really not a lot to say--stuff everything in a big box and send it. Don't go crazy and ship everything your son has ever owned. Just stick to the basics and send more stuff later if necessary.</p>
<p>some companies ship to the dorm rooms and some ship to the package room in frist. I think DHL is the former, but I am not sure. Frist can be pretty far away from his dorm, so you want to use the companies that will ship directly to the dorm.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>Train your son lo live as a minimalist. The stuff that goes in the fall also needs to come back or stored next summer. In addition, may of the dorm rooms could be very small. I had a link that showed the floor plans of all the dorm rooms. If I can find it, I will post.</p>
<p>It seems that now they require student ID and password to view those plans. If you like, you can PM me your son's dorm and room number. I will ask my son to get the sq.ft information.</p>
<p>Here's the link to the floor plans:Princeton</a> University Facilities - Floor Plans. Also check out the Room</a> Draw Guide once you find out what room your son is in.</p>
<p>weasel: You need a net-id to get those.</p>
<p>Her son has a netid.</p>
<p>Are you planning to fly out to NJ with your son to help get him settled?</p>
<p>Here is what we did in the same situation coming from Northern California last year.
1) We got shipping boxes from the local U-Haul store, for a couple dollars each. Stick with medium or small they are easier to handle.
2) We shipped about five boxes via FedEx Ground to Princeton, to our sons mailing address at Frist. This cost us about $20 per box depending on weight, and took 5-7 days. FedEx Ground was cheaper than UPS for us but you should check both.<br>
3) They held the boxes at the post office on campus, and we picked them up on our arrival. They had hand-trucks around to help move, so it was pretty painless to collect his boxes and get them back to his room.</p>
<p>My wife and I traveled to NJ with him and stayed a few days, partly to help set him up, partly to see the school, etc. You can find pretty much any store you can imagine within a few miles of Princeton Bed, Bath & Beyond, Lowes, Target, Staples, etc. We bought bedding, towels, rugs, a chair, small refrigerator, wall decorations, office supplies, etc. in New Jersey rather than shipping stuff from CA.<br>
It took a few trips, but NJ was cheaper than shopping here. Also, we had seen his room before we went out shopping so we knew exactly what we needed.
We only shipped clothing and personal items (including laptop computer and electronics). We tried to be conservative, but he brought too much clothing. We sent winter stuff later.</p>
<p>Daughter had a single room last year and will this year. Trust me they are small! While she stored her stuff through the student service on campus as she studied abroad this summer it was amazing how many boxes she filled.</p>
<p>I totally agree with simba on the advisability of minimalism.</p>
<p>Agreeing with the parents on minimalism. I had Bed Bath and Beyond ship the stuff I bought there to Princeton, and brought everything else with me on the plane (I had help driving it all onto campus.)</p>
<p>(1) Don't take clothes your son doesn't absolutely love. They will never get worn and your son will acquire new clothes that he does love. Also, he will acquire a bajillion free Princeton t-shirts and a snazzy residential college sweatshirt so it's not a bad idea to leave any Princeton gear at home.
(2) Don't pack appliances that your son rarely uses (ie no iron/ironing board unless he really does iron his own shirts.)
(3) Buying things online also helps (especially since most places like Sears and Amazon have free shipping when you buy enough).</p>
<p>Thank you, everyone, for all of the great ideas! Keep them coming!</p>
<p>DadfromNorCal, I don't think that I will be able to fly out with him. I am starting a new job (to keep myself busy after he leaves for school), and I really can't take the time off. Maybe his Dad will. </p>
<p>We plan to have him take one suitcase and a big carry-on with him. Then, I think we will ship some stuff and plan for it to arrive after he gets back from OA.</p>
<p>Heh, I have a totally different problem. I got in as a 25 year old freshman and I've had a fairly large apartment for 2 years. I need to find the cheapest bulk storage the Princeton area.</p>
<p>On the plus side, if I get a suite I've got couches and such already to put in for the group.</p>
<p>Besides the casual clothes, do we need to pack any "dressy" clothes for our S? Are there occasions that require him to wear a suit, for example?</p>
<p>Also, he plays ice hockey and plans to work as an ice hockey referee in the rink near campus. Are there space in his room to store his gigantic hockey bag with all of his stuff in it?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>DEFINITELY DEFINITELY bring dressy clothes, especially a suit. He'll need it for formals, job interviews, etc.</p>
<p>Yes definitely bring dressy clothes. There will be space for the hockey bag in his room, but depending on how big the bag is and what type of room your son gets, his roommates might not like it.</p>
<p>Socalimom- Your son can buy most anything he needs right on campus at the bookstore, and I’m sure he can make his way to the local mall if he needs to. Your plan will work fine – I’d just check weight limits on the checked suitcase, some airlines have an extra surcharge over 50 lbs.
Stranded- There are several storage companies around Princeton that would meet you need, if you can figure out how to get your stuff there. Google “self-storage Princeton NJ” and you will get a list.
FirstWonder- The hockey team may give your son a locker at the rink for his sports equipment – that’s the case with other sports anyway. Also, I’m not convinced the suit is necessary. Day-to-day student attire is informal – our son wore shorts and t-shirts until it got cold, then he put on jeans and sweatshirts. We sent him with sport coat, dress slacks, dress shirt and tie. He wore this only a couple times to various social events, never thought he was under-dressed (although he is not much of a fashionista). He did not go on any job interviews as a freshman – perhaps he’ll need a suit as a senior, but not yet. You can always send his suit later if he needs it.</p>
<p>Thanks, DadfromNorCal.</p>
<p>Our S is not a fashionista either. We live in southern CA so he is pratically wearing shorts all year round. A sport coat and dress slacks is a great idea. We will go with that.</p>
<p>Thanks again DadfromNorCal!
I was wondering about the suit...my son doesn't have a suit. He has a tux, dress slacks, dress shirts and ties. Maybe we will buy him a sport coat. Should we send his tux?</p>
<p>Our son’s friend and roommate-for-next-year brought a very nice tux, but I understand he never wore it. Your son would not be alone in bringing one, but it’s likely to be useful only for formal parties at the eating clubs (e.g., House Parties weekend), which he may not even attend since freshmen can’t join eating clubs anyway. I’d keep the tux at home - you can always send it if he gives you a week’s notice.<br>
I think the sports coat is a good idea – he may only wear it a few times, though (probably in the rain, if yours is like ours).</p>