<p>The package tent is impossible to miss. It is an enormous white tent on the Commons lawn (there will be a LOT of packages).</p>
<p>I think they meant to say you can START picking up packages on the day before move-in on the Commons Lawn. That must be the day they move all the first-year packages from the post office to Commons. The packages will remain there for several days before being moved back.</p>
<p>Trying to understand the move-in process. I believe I understand Saturday morning. </p>
<p>But for Friday package pickup at the tent, where do you park and do you have to carry the packages a long ways?
On the map in the online Move-In Guide, Lot 77 looks to be the closest big lot to the tent, but it would be a bit of a walk carrying heavy packages in 90 degree heat.</p>
<p>On Sat afternoon after the official move-in is over, can people drive up to the dorms to drop off more packages, or is dorm access still blocked as it will be in the morning?</p>
<p>Friday package pickup at the tent–I would park behind Hank Ingram Building (off 18th St) in the parking lots. There are some spaces back there undesignated (don’t specifically say Zip car or Head of House or other) that you can use for a short period of time–long enough to get your items from the tent. The tent is in front of the Hank Ingram dorm, so the walk would be pretty short. That, of course, assumes that what you shipped (with or without the box) fits in your car. I would NOT park there for several hours, or you could get towed is my guess.
Saturday afternoon is an interesting question. I think the answer is truly “it depends.” Some of the lots are usually open after noon, and you can drop off items at the dorm–but it really depends on which dorm and which road you have to use. Think about the fact that you have 1600 kids, with about 1600 parent’s cars trying to all park briefly to take things into the dorms. The Vandy police seem to try to be super nice to people that day as people are getting settled into the dorms, but they’d really rather see you use the auxilliary outside lots (1/2 mile away) for longer term parking that day. The shuttles do run all day, and there were lots of them.</p>
<p>Just packed my trusty brother p touch label maker. Thanks for all these postings. They are God send to a nervous Mom!</p>
<p>We parked in the “U” right on the Commons quad for tent pickup. No issues.</p>
<p>cheap flip flops for showers, good grip sandals for stone stairways and paths…for all those glorious temperate days. bag 'o rocks to absorb odors near laundry bag. Amazon student prime membership goes a looong way to saving $ and to allowing you to send nice little things your son or daughter’s way. I ordered a sort of bean bag chair for son’s Stambaugh double…it came in a medium sized box heavy as lead and “expanded” over a couple of hours like a fake seahorse in water to it’s shape…don’t recommend this…it was never comfortable or “loved” tho it did get passed around a lot as a “better than nothing” lumpen side chair for a corner. If you want to invest in a high end item that I know guys use a lot…bose noise cancelling earphones. (pricey but they eliminate a lot of annoyances from proximity of TV or someone else’s Ipod earplug spillover noise in what has become a very distracting digital world)…and they also allow more focus in library cubicles. Surprised guys were not vain about these but my Duke and Vandy sons and their friends used them a lot. something to remember…reflective gear for runners at dusk…lots of good places to run but it is a high traffic area. Nice gifts to leave behind…tickets to the Belcourt Theatre in Hillsboro Village. There will be a night when walking down there is just the right amount of leaving campus.</p>
<p>The volunteers are amazingly organized and speedy.
Determine what you need to buy and go shopping early.
Divide the chores, it makes things so much more efficient.
Once the student is settled in, go back to your hotel and have a drink, you earned it!
Meet for breakfast at Fido’s or the Pancake house.
Say goodbye.</p>
<p>A tip from a class of '17 parent. Budget a lot of extra time for the shuttle bus. Once you drop off your kid and stuff at the dorm you are directed to a parking garage and then a shuttle bus takes you back to the commons. Same process in reverse at the end of the day. There can be long lines. Sometimes buses didn’t stop because they were already full. Id say the bus system was the one glitch in an otherwise seamless day. Of course they may have fixed all that for this year–I’ve been impressed by vandys responsiveness. Still, best to be forewarned!!</p>