I am currently a senior, and I am expecting to go to college very very far away from home. Far enough that driving would take multiple days and flying is preferred.
So for any college students who have this sort of situation, please answer the following or add whatever you like. Thanks
Did you have to drive all out your stuff out to college on move-in day rather than fly? (I would assume drive but just want to confirm)
What do you do with all of your stuff during winter break? Can you just leave it in the room?
During winter break do you fly back home?
When summer comes after your first year do you move some of your stuff into a storage unit (not clothes but maybe blankets or fans etc) or do you take everything back home?
If/when you go home for summer, do you fly or drive? If you’re driving, do your parents pick you up?
My general goal is to find out how people who live really far from their college deal with all of their stuff and their transportation. Again, driving for me would not just take one day so please don’t tell me that I’m impatient or lazy by wanting to fly whenever possible. Thank you!!
My sister goes to college 10 hrs away (I go in-state) but this is what she does:
She drove all of her stuff out the first year - actually, she didn’t have a car then, so our dad dropped her and her stuff off. Actually, everyone she met on campus either drove/had a parent drive.
She takes her essentials and computer(s) home and leaves everything else in the room.
She flies back for winter breaks mostly (not this winter, because her car needed work at home), but not for fall, Thanksgiving, and spring breaks.
She took everything home her first summer, but moved it to a different dorm for her second. She stayed in the second dorm for the summer after sophomore year because she had an internship near her college.
Our parents picked her up for her first summer. The second one, she flew back because she only had about a week before her internship back near college started.
Sorry if that doesn’t help. I think that’s about 1/5th the max driving time you could have.
You can drive, check a few duffels on an airplane, have boxes shipped to your school, have pre-ordered items held at places like BB&B and pick it up at the local store, you name it. Your dorm room is yours for the year, so you leave your stuff over break. There are local storage facilities that rent to college students for the summer. Many, depending on where you are going, will pick up and deliver.
I drove out; anything valuable or potentially breakable came with me (2 guitars, a clarinet, most of my clothing) while we sent a 40lb box ahead of time with stuff like sheets and winter clothes.
Anything immediately necessary is coming home with me, like my laptop. Everything else stays in the room except for my instruments, which I'm keeping in the band room so they don't get stolen (bringing a guitar on a plane is a pain in the ass)
Yes
I'll be living off-campus my sophomore year and my lease starts about two weeks after I move out of my freshman dorm, so I'm keeping everything that I wouldn't take home for winter break at my friend's house.
Again, I'll only be home for 2 weeks, so I'm treating it like winter break and flying.
I had a 15-hour drive to school that we broke over two days. Nice to stop in a major city if possible overnight. We were going Wisconsin -> Philly, so for us that was Pittsburgh.
My son is a senior attending college on the east coast and we live on the west coast. We have never driven. First years 3 of us flew so he could use the extra suitcase space for his clothing and other belongings. We ordered with Bed, Bath & Beyond pickup at the store near his school, then shopped for other dorm items. The dorm keeps your belongings during winter break. He has always come home for winter break, but only once for Thanksgiving, very expensive time to fly. The first two summers, he stored everything he didn’t bring home. There are services in his city that will pick up and deliver when you come back. His junior year he moved into an apartment so we went with him again to help him get set up. More shopping! He only came home briefly last summer. He is planning to sell most of his apartment things when he comes home for good. Hope that is helpful!
Look into flying Southwest. You can check 2 bags free per person. So if you go with a parent, they get 2 as well.
You should check with your college on this (around the time of accepted student weekend is a good time). My kid’s school allowed shipping some stuff to the school late in the summer, so we did that.
Yes, your stuff stays in your room over winter break. Many schools close the dorms then, so you need to go home or somewhere for the break. Most students fly home if they are from far away.
Some schools provide summer storage, but don’t leave anything valuable. Some don’t – at one of my kid’s school’s, she rented nearby storage for the summer with a couple other students. Some students stay on campus some of their summers – they might have research jobs or another campus job. But you still might have to strore stuff for part of the summer.
If you name the school, you can get more specific responses.
My daughter goes to school 2000 miles away. The first year, we were living in state so moved her into a dorm and then moved everything else we owned. She’s a minimalist, so after the first year she put everything she owned except her clothes for the summer into 3 Rubbermaid tubs and stored them at a friend’s house for the summer. Moved back into new dorm. At the end of that year she moved into a house for junior and senior years. She’s still a minimalist. Someone gave her a bed, someone else a desk and bookcase. When she graduates in May she’ll probably give those away and move home with her 3 tubs of stuff.
She only comes home at Christmas. For Thanksgiving she either stays at school or goes to her boyfriend’s home about 800 miles away. At spring break she has to stay at school because she plays a spring sport.
There are U-store-it type places where you can store stuff for the summer. Junior/senior year you may rent an apartment and may be able to keep stuff there over the summer. Or maybe a friend has an apartment where you can store stuff.