Smithie moving-in tips

Colleges and Universities A-Z Smith College
1

<p>I know that there is a very extensive discussion on CC regarding moving-in tips, but I was wondering if anyone had any of their own tips particularly relevant to Smith?</p>

<p>We are driving in and able to pack the car. Since I know it is going to be crazy in the beginning, we are planning on bringing as much as possible (down to the laundry soap) so we can avoid the "crowds" at the stores. I know we will still probably have to do some last-minute shopping, but, hopefully, it will be minimal--for example, as we don't know the size and layout of d's room yet, she is concerned where she will put all the books she intends to bring, so we may have to make a run for shelving. Definitely brings a dolly to roll the stuff along....</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>My biggest pieces of advice are to bring an electric fan with good power, and to dress in shorts and t-shirts. Since you’re from the area, you are probably aware that late August/early September is a very hot and humid time for New England, but you may not be aware that there is no air conditioning in the houses at Smith. Lugging all those boxes up stairs or across floors (even if you are fortunate enough to live in a house with an elevator, which 90% of campus is not, there’s no garauntee the elevator will be dropping off anywhere close to your room).</p>

<p>Also, try to discourage her as much as possible from bringing too many books (my mom limited me to one box). She’s going to acquire a LOT of books while she’s at college, and she has access to a huge library, plus a great public library right on the corner if she needs something immediately. She can always start with a small amount of books and then bring more back after Christmas or Thanksgiving if she really finds something missing. And what comes up, must eventually come down: she’s going to either have to lug all those books by herself to the trunk room at the end of year or lug them back home.</p>

3

<p>Unless you have a very large car, it’s hard to bring everything! Are you bringing in a first year? I haven’t found doing the Target run especially difficult - they tend to be reasonably well stocked and organized. It helps to be organized (have a list). Will you stay overnight? - having the extra time makes life a little less frantic than slowing the car and tipping everything out.</p>

4

<p>If you want to avoid the major crush of shopping, and you’re staying overnight, you might consider driving to the Holyoke Mall the second day. This is a huge mall, and they have every kind of store, including a Bed, Bath, and Beyond, etc. Also, since you pretty much have to drive to get there and it’s in the opposite direction from Amherst, it tends to be less crowded with Five College students. When I could not find a fan for love or money at Target my first year during move in, I found a great one at BB&B in the Holyoke Mall (they organized a shuttle for first years doing pre-orientation that year, though they no longer do pre-o and I don’t know if they are doing shuttle runs.</p>

5

<p>We are boycotting Target and of course, Walmart, so BB and beyond has been our “target” for bedding, etc. (lol). S&P Thanks for the info on the Holyoke Mall. And, yes, d is a first year and we are staying over so at least there will be a little less pressure. Am definitely adding a fan to our list.</p>

6

<p>Here are my notes: I did move in from 10 hours away and we did no shopping what so ever. We managed to bring everything in a little honda element, so it can be done. My general notes to make it happen and make move in less stressful. Also, move in is not nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Basically my parents helped me physically move in my boxes and i unpacked over the next two or so days. In all, it should take less than 2 hours. </p>

<p>Bring just enough shampoo, conditioner, laundry soap, etc to get started, like 3 weeks worth. Past that point, the stores won’t be crazy and your D can go on her own. </p>

<p>Bring far less clothing than you think. If she hasn’t worn it in the last 6 months, don’t bring it. If she really figures out she “needs” something, you can always send it pretty easily. Also, no need to bring heavy sweaters/coats yet. I’m assuming you’re coming up for parents weekend, so bring it up then. Or, once again, send it. BUT, do not forget hangers and stuff like that. The dressers were less than adequate for me, but the closets are pretty well sized.</p>

<p>As far as books, each room has 1 bookshelf that would either be all hers, or shared with a roommate. I brought about 15-20 books and they easily fit on 1 1/2 shelves of this bookshelf. Even if she brings quite a few, they should fit on this bookshelf. Don’t buy additional shelving, just limit her to the amount of space on the bookshelf. Anything else she can easily get at Neilson or the public library as S&P said.</p>

<p>Also, i advise against any extra furniture. Bookshelves, chairs, fridges, printers, and TVs are all space-eaters. You have a TV in the living room and hulu on your computer. You have a bookshelf and Smith gives you a desk chair and friends normally sit on your bed. Kitchenettes or kitchens have plenty of fridge space, someone in your house will have a printer or you can go to Neilson and pay 5 cents a page (cheaper than ink). </p>

<p>If possible, try to coordinate with the roommate different times to move in. It was crowded having 2 sets of parents and two kids at the same time. The only downside to this is that you might want to rearrange the room and that takes both of you agreeing. So maybe meet up, say hello, move around the room and pick beds/closets/dressers, then have one family do any last minute shopping or go to lunch while the other moves in, then swap. </p>

<p>Don’t feel like you need to unpack everything for them. Ask your D, she may want to leave a few boxes for her to figure out later. THat’s what I did and it was far less stressful.</p>

<p>It might be too late for this one, but don’t buy everything that you’re “supposed” to. Like a white board, calendar, desk lamp, floor lamp, rug, curtains, etc. Wait til she needs them and send her money to buy them at school. Our room was pretty well lit, so my desk lamp was kinda redundant, but a floor lamp was necessary for the one side of it. I went without curtains until second semester because the blinds worked fine. I never used my white board or my calendar and gave it to a friend sometime in november. I know it’s tempting to get all of this stuff right away, but waiting is sometimes a better idea</p>

7

<p>Great advice Rocket! Glad to hear there are book shelves; one less expense. D contacted her HONS and found out there are curtains, mirror and waste basket. Unfortunately, mini fridge was not negotiable, so it will be dragged up to the third floor (Oy!)</p>

8

<p>I would really try to talk her out of the fridge. Seriously, the kitchenettes aren’t far and you don’t have to worry about defrosting them and such. </p>

<p>I get the appeal and almost bought one, but am super glad i backed down</p>

9

<p>For first years on the plus side- at least in my daughters dorms there were a number of student helpers for move in.
Things things we didn’t have we wish we had remembered: things to hang posters without damaging walls (not thumb tacks which were forbidden:))and some kind of spray cleaner and paper towels- the room was clean but dusty from a summer of being empty.
We brought stick on hooks which were great for hanging towels etc on closet doors and I also second the fan! You will want it for moving in. We also left my daughter with lots of snacks to share with her new dorm mates.</p>

10

<p>Snacks, cleaning supplies-- excellent ideas. As I said the fridge is “essential” for the personal stash of favorite drinks. Did talk her out of the microwave fortunately.</p>

11

<p>Go easy on the books you bring. Maybe one shelf of. And 3-4 favorite DVD’s to trade around. Your D won’t have much time for pleasure reading and for non-pleasure reading the assigned and recommended texts will be more than enough to fill her time.</p>

<p>Another vote for the fan.</p>

<p>It’s easier driving in than flying in; we flew in and had to do triage in advance between carry/ship/buy locally.</p>

12

<p>I have a question about equipment in the house kitchenettes–are they supplied with dishes and utensils? On another thread, advice was given about bringing Tupperware to take food out of the dining halls, especially since they close so early (7 pm–crazy) and bringing it back to the rooms (another reason for the mini-fridge). My d sometimes eats much later than 7 pm so we thought this was a great idea. But re-heating in plastic is not healthy and really don’t want to have to send/buy plates, etc.</p>

<p>D’s not planning on bring a ton of books, but they are essential for her mental health and well-being since she is a book-aholic and reads for pure pleasure (which I hope and know she will still do despite her coursework). She’ll probably be investigating the library’s collection a lot!</p>

<p>TD- Didn’t even think about the DVD’s --but that’s a good thought- I know she has some very favorite ones.</p>

13

<p>I would like to add to the Kitchen questions. My D will be in Tyler, which has a full kitchen. The question is, will she be able to use it to make tea, store food in the fridge, microwave popcorn, things like that? I envision the kitchen as “off limits” since it is a working dining hall.</p>

14

<p>No, kitchenettes are not equipped with dishes or utensils. There may be some in the cupboards that were abandoned by previous students that the housekeeper hasn’t gotten around to throwing out yet. She should buy her own plate, bowl, knife/fork, and cup, something that’s sturdy and re-usable. </p>

<p>I know 7 PM seems really early, but trust me, you get very used to it. After her first few weeks, she’s going to start getting hungry right at 5:30 on the dot and be lined up at the dining hall when it opens. Ditto for lunch at 11:30. This can sometimes lead to late night hunger, so having a couple of tupperwares can be good just in case (also if they’re serving something she really likes to eat, she may wawnt to get extra and share). When I was a student they were trying to crack down on tupperware take away because it ended up costing the school a lot in extra food, but it was pretty unenforceable so they may have abandoned that effort now. </p>

<p>I’m sure it is your daughter’s hope and yours that she’ll be doing for pleasure reading on top of courseowork, and maybe she will, but you’ll have to see. I too brought a bunch of books because I was a HUGE reader/could nto survive without books type, I even worked in a bookstore in high school and college. But between all the reading I had to do for class, my social life, my job, there was just either not time or not will to do anything extra, or at least there was rarely. That was actually one of the reasons that I ended up getting an e-book reader after graduation, because I realized that somewhere along the line I had stopped reading for fun. Now I’m back to my old ways, and am halfway done with a goal of reading 52 books this year. So, even if college is a momentary lull, love of reading never leaves you.</p>

15

<p>S&P, you sound like my D with respect to routine reading. She really enjoyed getting back to not only books but magazines for the last three years (after graduation). She doesn’t think she’s going to have much time for the first year of grad school…reading and Sims are on her entertainment schedule for breaks.</p>

16

<p>My daughter has a small collection of dishes/mugs and utensils in her room plus tupperware. She has a fridge and has been happy to have it - can stock it with some stuff not available in dining halls (ps no coke or pepsi on campus so if your kid is a soft drink person will have to bring their own) -she likes nice cheese and often gets extra fruit to keep for snacks. Also good to have some dishwashing supplies - she just washes hers in the bathroom. They do a lot of take out too and she can store and eat leftovers. You can’t cook in the dining hall kitchens - my d house kitchen is pretty crappy and unused.</p>

17

<p>Yes, bring dishwashing soap and your own sponge and keep it in your room if you want to keep it clean. </p>

<p>One fun fact to remember: if your D is a big chef or a big baker, there is a kitchen in the campus center that students can reserve for free for cooking projects. A bunch of my friends and I reserved it to make Christmas cookies. You could also use it to make post-Mountain Day apple pies if you want. It’s a fairly goodsized industrial kitchen and they have a couple of tupperware tubs of baking and cooking supplies (baking trays, knives, cutting boards, pots/pans, etc.) you can borrow.</p>

18

<p>Also, if your D has a friend in Haven, Parsons, or any other house with a kitchen, they can come over there. I’m so glad to have a full kitchen in my house and we’re always willing to share</p>

<p>Also, i would say keep dishes on the low end. Like one of each. Just wash in between. That way you don’t get a giant pile that you can put off cleaning. </p>

<p>My favorite food tip for late night snacks is to go to grab n go at chapin or hubbard and get fruit/yogurt/sandwhich and stick in the fridge. Then go to normal lunch wherever you eat. Then you have free snacks!</p>

19

<p>My d will be in Haven, so does that mean it will have some utensils, dish washing soap, etc?</p>

20

<p>Yup. all of that :D</p>

<p>I PMed you</p>