<p>Boots!!! Waterproof boots. Wet feet suck. Cold wet feet suck even more. </p>
<p>Winter has been weird. Rochester had 5 years of very little snow and then last year a ton. (But in Boston we also had a ton. We had a 15’ pile of snow next to our driveway.) Snow starts in December most years, January in some and ends in either February or March. March snow tends to be heavy and wet because it can be warm. You’ll notice the winter in February because it is becoming so much warmer in the south by then. Florida is the roughly the same longitude so the days will not seem shorter or longer. Rochester gets almost a half hour more daylight than Boston and a half hour less than Detroit. </p>
<p>I prefer layers. Get a coat like a ski parka that you put fleece or a sweater under and you’ll be toasty. </p>
<p>My daughter wears tights under pants. Most of the time, that and a shell plus a sweater is all you need. You will need a hat, ideally one that covers your ears. Not so much for going to class as for going outside. Feel free to get some soft mittens or gloves but you’ll also want something like ski gloves that are waterproof for playing around outside. </p>
<p>The underground corridors mean you don’t have to trudge much and they really clean the sidewalks quickly. Kids in college tend to underdress for weather. </p>
<p>Your room will be warm. The classrooms will likely be warm so you don’t want to be so loaded down in clothes that you tip over asleep. </p>
<p>(The heating system in the history/english building at my school was so antiquated you’d come in and could see your breath then the heat would kick in and you could see people falling asleep in their winter coats from the windows toward the door. Now it’s a fond memory. Then it was grumble, grumble, grumble. I used to pick some classes totally by the building and time: no first classes in LC or Harkness because the room would be frozen.)</p>
<p>D2 has a nice fleece winter jacket and a nice down winter jacket (both of which double nicely for ski/outdoor gear), but she bought her bright fuchsia rainboots at Target for about $15. (No one is going to laugh at you, honest!) </p>
<p>A mid-weight fleece jacket is a relatively inexpensive investment and is all you’ll need to start. Down jackets cost ALOT more so hold off until you determine your cold tolerance. (Will you be like the guy from Tuscon who breaks out the down jacket when it hits 50 degrees? Or will you be more like the fellow from rural Alaska who wears a cotton hoodie all winter because Rochester just ‘isn’t that cold’?)</p>
<p>Windproofing make a big difference in how well a jacket insulates in the winter when the winds howl off the Lake. All you may really need is windproof fleece jacket instead of down.</p>
<p>There is a Dick’s Sporting Goods at Marketplace Mall (a short shuttle ride from campus–and the UR runs its own shuttles there every weekend) which has a pretty good selection of outdoor wear. Once you get a feel for what you like or don’t like, the internet works just fine for bargain shopping and UPS delivers to campus everyday.</p>
<p>Guys wear jeans mostly. You’ll see some flannel shirts, some pullover sweaters, mostly long sleeve T-shirts and hoodies. Girls wear jeans, corduroy jeans, cardigan sweaters, heavy tights under dresses or skirts, and Ugg boots. But among both guys and girls, there is a considerable variation for personal style.</p>
<p>I suggest that you don’t worry about major winter wardrobe purchases until you get to school where you can see what everyone is wearing and get a feel for what you like and don’t like.</p>
<p>For the most part people really don’t dress up for class.</p>
<p>People don’t go around in sweats all the time! It’s perfectly acceptable to go to class in jeans and a hoodie, but it’s just as fine to go in a nice skirt and blouse. It wouldn’t be weird to wear dresses to class frequently. There’s no “typical” style for the whole campus. It depends on your personality, and your mood that day. So bring what you like to wear Though as others have mentioned, it does get pretty cold here. Might want to buy some thick stockings if you plan on wearing dresses in Jan/Feb!</p>
<p>KozyCat: You definitely, definitely, want boots. I had to get boots at Dick’s my first weekend this Jan because I didn’t own any, and sneakers is snow is awful! (Another never-seen-snow southerner. It was a surprise.) If you’re not sure exactly what to get, ask a roommate or a floormate or someone you meet on campus to go with you! Shopping is more fun with friends. I also highly recommend a scarf and a hat for when it’s cold; a lot of people from warmer lands don’t think about how much heat you lose through the head when it’s cold.</p>
<p>Good to know : )
Unfortunately I’ll be living off campus, because they don’t guarantee housing for transfers. But I’m sure I’ll meet people quickly.</p>
<p>Which neighborhood are you living in? Because you’re off campus, you’ll want a warm comforter. You can get one in Rochester. The dorms are hot so people in them only need a blanket, maybe a quilt.</p>
<p>TV likely goes on the dresser. You don’t want to buy a table until you see the room and figure things out. If you’re in a dorm, the room will be warm. You don’t want a single big comforter that’s meant to keep you warm. I’d recommend a couple blankets and a lighter comforter or quilt. </p>
<p>I know SueB has videos somewhere on line - like on Facebook - of room setups. These show you the lofting possibilities and some typical combos. The rooms are large in all freshman dorms. Really large by college standards. You each have a bed, a desk, a dresser and a large wardrobe and still a lot of room. </p>
<p>KozyCat, down is nice but probably overkill. You have time before it gets cold to figure it out.</p>
<p>BTW, don’t bring too many sets of sheets and towels. Two sheet sets are fine; you’ll do laundry. </p>
<p>If you don’t do laundry now, practice at home. It makes life easier.</p>
<p>A big piece of advice: get something called “color catchers”. These are little sheets you put in the washer. They absorb the dye that comes out of your clothes so it doesn’t get on your other clothes. Not necessary with old stuff but it means you can wash various colors together without ruining things: no pink sock making everything pink like on Friends. You can reuse one until it gets really dark. Just put it in the dryer with the load and put it back in your laundry bag to use again. Amazing things.</p>
<p>One rug per room. Not sure that two would fit. Two smaller rugs might fit…but it depends upon how you arrange the furniture and whether you loft or bunk the beds.</p>
<p>D2 was in a overflow triple freshman in Gilbert. (Normal double made into a triple.) The room was cramped until the beds were lofted. The crowding wasn’t horribly oppressive–they weren’t piled on top one another or anything but floor space was at a premium. Also the parents of one roomie left their student with cases upon cases of bottled water and snack food–which also took up a chunk of floor space. (Seriously, did they think she was going to starve because the dining hall was a whole 100 yards away? I don’t think the case of Easy-Mac ever got eaten. Or all the chip and cookie paks.)</p>
<p>Once beds were lofted there was plenty of room to spread out and room for a 5x8 rug (maybe even 2) and comfy chair.</p>
<p>Any suggestions about arranging the room will depend on the room’s exact dimensions. All triples are not the same size. (And not all of them rectangles.)</p>
<p>My son grew up in the south. What types of clothing would you bring initially and/or send later?</p>
<p>Also, for those of you who are out of state, storage and travel??? How did you manage it especially when having to remove everything for major breaks or summer?</p>
Though as others have mentioned, it does get pretty cold here. Might want to buy some thick stockings if you plan on wearing dresses in Jan/Feb!</p>