<p>My daughter will be attending college 3,000 miles across the country. I'm thinking we'll do a combination of shipping some items ahead and taking other things on the plane with us when we take her to school in August.</p>
<p>Has anyone looked into the cost of shipping and how to make it as economical as possible...for example, are there certain size boxes/weight combinations that are less than others? Is it better to ship two smaller boxes or one very large one? Is USPS less than UPS and Fed Ex? Since we're planning in advance, we can send it the slowest way if that will be less expensive. Anyone have any insight to strategies to keep costs down? TIA</p>
<p>Also, I do know that Southwest doesn't charge for luggage but they don't fly where we need to fly...also, D only wants so many suitcases at school and we can only take so many home. In other words, we have thought it through and do plan to ship some items ahead.</p>
<p>Our personal favorite is FedEx Ground (not FedEx) as we can even ship a suitcase full of stuff (ie, it doesn’t have to be boxed). We find it so consistently reasonable, that my husband no longer does comparison pricing. It will be more expensive if you have stuff picked up at your house, so take the stuff to a drop off location (full=service, be sure they have FedEx Ground). We also have an account; not sure if that affects the pricing.</p>
<p>remember that you can order items at Bed Bath and Beyond (and perhaps Wal*Mart and Target) and then pick them up at the destination location (assuming you’ll have a rental car).</p>
<p>Also, just make a list of toiletries and pick them up at the destination.</p>
<p>Thank you for the suggestion of FedEx ground–exactly what I was looking for. I do have an older D who also goes to school across the country and do know about bringing less than you think you need, pre-ordering at BBB and buying school supplies, toiletries, etc. once we’re there. I just know that we will need to ship some items and appreciate knowing the most economical option.</p>
<p>Concur with FedEX Ground…for some reason I have found prices at actual original FedEX locations to be a little less expensive than at the shared “FedEX Office” spaces that used to be Kinko’s…they claim it’s all the same but it has happened more than one time.</p>
<p>Depending on where you live, stores like The Container Store will also ship very reasonably after their College Night Events.</p>
<p>Unless you’re going to college in a little tiny town, there’s not a lot of point in taking anything you can buy there. As for shipping stuff, if you’re planning on buying a lot of stuff and having it shipped, look at overstock.com (fixed rate of $2.95 for shipping) or Amazon Prime (where you pay a fixed rate for a year’s worth of shipping). </p>
<p>But I do think the best advice is: take less, use less, have less. My son left for college with three big duffle bags and came back with four (and shipped two boxes of books).</p>
<p>Concur with all the above. When my son got to school last year he had a mattress, books, school supplies etc waiting for him. It was all free shipping, combine with places like ebates and you can even make money on the deal.</p>
<p>DD went to college 3000 miles from home. We took FOUR suitcases (thank you southwest airlines), two backpacks, an instrument case and a computer case. We looked like pack mules. We ordered ALL of the bulky “stuff” from B B and Beyond and picked it up in the college location (pillows, chair cushion, desk lamp, sheets, mattress pad, etc). We bought a computer printer at Staples in the college location…ditto a small TV and microwave. We bought all of the toiletries at Target in the college location. We didn’t ship ANYTHING.</p>
<p>DD took DS’s advice. Put everything you THINK you need for college in one room…maybe your living room. Then take HALF of that. You won’t even need or use a lot of the “stuff” you take.</p>
<p>There are stores everywhere. DD quickly realized that she could get anything she needed in or near her college town. </p>
<p>The PLUS side to having a kid 3000 miles away is that the STORE all that stuff in the summers if they come home. I can tell you…I loved NOT having that stuff in my house all summer long, just to move it back in the fall. </p>
<p>We had no trouble fitting DD’s clothing and the other things she felt she “needed” into four suitcases. We left one there, I took two back with me to our house, and the fourth was an oldie that got put in the dumpster.</p>
<p>When we brought my son to school we were able to buy all of the things we needed. One great thing to buy at school is sheets, blankets, towels and pillows. Those take up a ton of room and are super easy to pick up.</p>