Talk to me about dorms and move in day and what we should bring...

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Kentucky
1

Printer? Did your chid have one/need one?

How about outlets in the rooms, there seem to be a lot when we toured but will my son still need surge protectors with longer cords and lots of outlets?

What did your child store in all that space in the closet over the bar/shelf?

Do most students bring a tv for their room? Can they hook up to cable and if so what is the cost?

Hanging stuff on the walls-are command hooks ok at UK? Are there hooks in the rooms already for coats, towels, etc?

What do you wish you had known before move in day that you didn’t?

I am so feeling like the clueless parent bringing her 1st child off to college that I am. Any tips?

2

A similar parent situation here, S majoring in CS, so he is bringing a brother color laser printer scanner with him, note it supports air printing from his iPhone. He is taking several large long power strips, he will take several bricks to charge his iPhone, along with multiple charging cords. He is also getting several hdmi cables to hook his laptop to a study room tv or projector. He doesn’t watch TV however he does love Netflix so no need for a tv. I am sure he will need something after being there a week or so, he will then need to figure out how to get to target.

I forgot to mention only command products on the walls.

We may get him a foldable drying clothes rack for his wet shower towels.

Cable is free but the tv needs to be compatible. I may get him a tuner card for his laptop.

I am expecting move in day to be organized chaos.

Good luck!

3

For move in day, bring a door stop and a tape measure. The ability to create outlets where you need them (power cord with cord as well as some of those twist able outlets) is a good idea.

I love command hooks. Under bed storage bins came in handy for off season clothes (and things DS did not use, like command hooks!)

I gave DS a stocked laundry kit and illness/first aid kit. He used the tide pods and tie sticks. I am using the oxi-clean, shout color catchers, and bounce sheets now. Yes, they all went into bins and came home in May.

Make the bed comfy. After that, Amazon and UPS from home are your friends. Anything that is needed can be there in a matter of days. Ds had a roommate who brought tons of stuff, most of which went unused (coffee pots, etc) and took up the very little space they had. Boys this age do not manage clutter well. In other words, if he has what he needs for the first week, err on the side of bringing too little.

A portable charger is a good thing, we found. Foresight on charging wasn’t always good. Portable fan came in handy. Light that clamped onto bed as well.

Bring Kleenex for crying on the way home.

4

I like the Kleenex for crying on the way home bit :-).

5

Forgot to add cat 5e cable, if all the kids are streaming Netflix your throughput goes to zip.

6

Our kid at UK is not our first child to go to college. No printer. No TV. That was fine.

We did send a surge protector outlet strip that has USB charging ports as well. I don’t remember whether we sent a desk lamp or not.

Everything fit, with room to spare, in a Honda Civic, with two adults.

We used these economical, convenient plastic storage bags from IKEA to pack and haul almost everything. We bought six? eight? – I don’t remember now.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10056770/

We went down a day early, so we’d have one full day to explore Lexington together, walk around campus, and she found the place to apply for a campus job, and found the place to make a schedule change. Next morning, we moved her in.

There will be plenty of signs. You pull up to the dorm. Get a cart (I think you need to hand over an ID as a cart deposit). Unload the car onto a table next to the curb. Move your car out of the way to a remote parking lot. You can walk back to the dorm or wait for a shuttle. Once D’s things were in her room, we said our goodbyes, and left her to unpack with her roommate.

I went for lunch in town, then afterwards sent a text letting her know I was heading back home and did she need anything. She was fine.

There is an Apple Store at the Mall, which is on the bus line. There will be a dorm trip to Target during orientation. Target is also on the bus line. Amazon Prime will get just about anything there in a blink. Easy.

She did not bring any heavy duty winter clothes or boots. When she was back for Thanksgiving, she did bring a coat back, but not her Chicago Winter coat.

7

No Chicago Winter coat? H’mm. I was in Lexington this past Jan. 7 for the UK - Arkansas basketball game. Daytime high, 16 degrees. Lexington may not be Chicago, but it isn’t Miami, either.

8

Due to her involvement in Stemcats and sorority rush, my daughter moved in early in August, 2015. It was a ZOO! We sat in traffic for 3 hours on the approach to Haggin Hall. And this was the early move-in, not when the bulk of campus was moving in! Cars were running out of gas, it was crazy! The science building was still under construction (as, seemingly, was half the campus), so maybe it wasn’t so bad last year. I’m surprised there aren’t similar horror stories on here. One positive; the Lexington police were as helpful as possible and friendly.

9

@AuntieFascist

Re: the Chicago winter coat. I didn’t mean to imply I thought it was a good idea to leave her heavy duty coat at home, but she did just that and she said she was fine. And since I don’t pack for her, it was her decision.

Your move-in experience sounds rough! We sailed in and out. Same at our other D’s large university. Maybe the construction that year through things into chaos?

10

We got there at 11:00 AM, for what was supposed to be a 1 PM move-in time. At 1:30, our daughter left us to attend a Stemcats meeting. At 2:30, we started moving her stuff in - without her. We were a steam calliope short of a circus.

11

@AuntieFascist Yikes!

12

Ok so your stories are making me think get there early!! Are there elevators in all the dorms?

13

Getting there early may make things worse. Presumably they space move-ins out when scheduling so everyone doesn’t arrive at the same time. But having families arrive early defeats the purpose of scheduling. Though if a lot of people in your time slot show up early, you may have an easier time if you show up on time (though people with later move-in times may show up early clogging your time spot). I would think bringing plenty of patience would be the best thing. :slight_smile:

Not sure about elevators but the “old” dorms at UK are 6-7 years old so I would expect they all have them.

14

By early I meant right at the start of your move in time, not before your time. I certainly wouldn’t show up before my schedule time unless I asked for permission to do so.

15

Freshman LLP move in day today at Woodland Glen 3 was awesome!! No traffic, pulled right up to a spot and had a swarm of people ready to help unload the car. All of my Ds stuff was in her room within 30 minutes. Everything was so smooth - couldn’t have been better.
Good luck to all of the students this year!

16

The move in worked great, very organized, make sure you have your dorm card on the dash. We had everything covered with large trash bags in case it rained. We didn’t need any extra runs to Target. Took about 2 hours to setup his room. We stacked the 4 draws so he could have a bureau, put the laser printer under the bed with his suitcase. He has a docking station for his laptop. He has 2 led lights may need a third.

17

I was impressed with move in as well. Everything went smoothly and our son was set up and good to go in no time. He’s loving K-week so far.