<p>I looked at the first year trips and noticed that a number of them had dates that ended a few days before move in day. How is this handled if you come a distance? Which dates are the best if you want to combine arriving for the trip and then moving in when you get back?</p>
<p>If you are coming from a flying distance, go for a trip leaving after Labor Day.
We made our D's plane reservations too soon, and she arrived one day early, but it would have been hard to do anything else, because of the lack of flights from where we are, she cannot get to Hanover in time to leave for the trip (before about 4 pm, if I remember right).
If you can get to Hanover before the cut-off, you can arrive on the day your trip begins, otherwise the party line is that you cannot move into your room, so you need other accomodations. She got into her room, but that is because she had an acquaintance who was an UGA.
Perhaps the easiest thing to do if you have to spend a whole day travelling, is to fly into Boston or Manchester, stay in a hotel, and take the bus up the next day. If your parents are coming, have them vacation for a couple of days in Boston or NE, put you on the bus or drop you in Hanover the day your trip leaves, then pick you up for the move-in at the end.
We flew up after D, and met her the afternoon that her trip ended. We had one full day before Parent Orientation. This was good, because we shipped a little, but bought a lot of her stuff in NH, we actually drove back to Concord to shop at Target.</p>
<p>You will get your trip assignment early in August, so that will give you access to cheaper airfares, unless you live in an airline wasteland as we do, normal people will have enough notice.</p>
<p>If your trip ends before the official move-in day but you are flying from far away, you're allowed to move into the dorms before the "official" day. The UGA's will already be in the halls, and there are quite a few "pre-orientation" fun events organized. A lot of people move in early for various reasons, such as athletics pre-season or being international students or their DOC trip ending early, so it's a good few days to relax before all the "mandatory" orientation events, etc.</p>
<p>Isn't it sorta weird to go to the DOC trip, then go home, and have no one from HS left to hang out with?? It's sort of like, College has begun, but only for a few days; now you've gotta go back home and live in your childhood room and listen to your parents.</p>
<p>How do you handle that week or two before REAL move-in happens?</p>
<p>If I'm coming from San Francisco (California) which section would be the best to apply for? I want to be able to move into my dorm as soon as possible. Also, would it be easier for me to buy all of my stuff out there in New England or should I buy it here and bring it with me on the plane?</p>
<p>You should definitely apply to one of the later trips (section F-J). I am sure that bluebayou and some of the west coast parent/student will chime in on getting your stuff across country.</p>
<p>the web is a wonderful thing.
If you order stuff on line (early september) you can have stuff shipped straight to your hinman box and pick it up at the school (remember no sales tax in hanover and if you can snag a few free shipping deals....)</p>
<p>your name
Dartmouth college
hinman box #
Hanover, NH 03755</p>
<p>very happy,</p>
<p>Dartmouth does have buses from NYC that go to Hanover for many of the first sessions. I don't know how convienient this is for you, but for D it was a great thing as they met and bonded with kids on the bus, found out that some of them were in the same DOC trip sections. They all came off the bus smelly and happy. The girls were crying because they had to leave each other and it did not seem to matter that they were going to see each other again in a week. many of them did meet up to hang out the week they were home.</p>
<p>like cangel said, travelling to DOC trips from a distance is a little tricky. Non-stop flights from the west coast (LAX, SFO or Sea-Tac) don't arrive in Boston until ~5:00 pm, with the bus connection to Hanover arriving at 10:00 pm. Thus, one has to stay the night prior to DOC since check in is around noon, if I recall.</p>
<p>Trippees not-from NE have priority on the later Trips...concur with cangel's suggestion to request a trip after Labor Day which can finish up a day or two before official move-in day. </p>
<p>Alston, we shipped some stuff from SoCal by UPS & Fedex ground, and also purchased stuff online thru Bed, Bath & Beyond and had it sent directly to the College Hinman Box. </p>
<p>If your parent(s) are coming out for move-in day, they can do some shopping in nearby West Lebanon, which has a small Sears (electronics & appliances), a K-Mart and Wal-Mart. But, there is a risk to waiting until then since the stores might be out of some dorm items. Alternatively, parental units can check two large suitcases each on the plane with your stuff, empty the suitcases in your dorm room, and return home with two empty suitcases.</p>
<p>As far as "winter" clothing goes, you can hold off for awhile. The heavy jacket that gets you thru a Bay Area winter can easily work until late fall, as long as you layer. Hanover has a NorthFace a couple of blocks from campus.</p>
<p>Alston - </p>
<p>Jetblue now has cheap direct flights to Boston from SFO and OAK. Check them out.</p>
<p>I went on section F and it worked out great for me.</p>
<p>I recommend bringing a warm down or wool coat. You can always pick up an expensive one at the North Face, but if you can find a cheaper one beforehand it will be a good investment. I got mine at Old Navy for under $40 and it kept me warm all winter. I'm from San Francisco too and I was freezing by the end of Fall term.</p>
<p>As everyone said, the later trips are meant for students coming from long distances. Earlier trips meant for those who live closer. The school runs buses from the northeast to and from school for the first 4 or so trips. If you come from the northeast I don't think you can get one of the later trips unless you have a good reason. Those from far away get to drop what they have in the room before the trip and then move in right after the trip. But what this also means is that if you come from the northeast and your roommate is from far away and has moved in before "move-in day" you have access to the room before the official day. This is a huge plus since parking is miserable on move in day. We were able to drop all of D's stuff off the evening before and it made a big difference. </p>
<p>Also, it can be a hassle to ship boxes etc... to your Hinman box. Cumbersome to get the stuff out of the building and to your dorm. If your parents are coming to help you move in after your DOC trip, they might want to ship everything to their hotel. We did that even though we drove to school. Everything was waiting for us at the Hanover Inn, and the bellboys there brought everything out front and helped get it into the car.</p>