<p>I know it's a long time away, but I've been wondering. I am I going to get some of my stuff (I'm mainly worrying about my PC) to campus. I planning on buying any need furniture items when I'm campus so driving all the way to Boston seems kinda futile. But what to do with the stuff I can't bring as checked in luggage? </p>
<p>I'm guessing I could have it shipped via UPS/Fedex. But is there a cheaper alternative out there?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>A friend of mine checked everything he brought as luggage, including his computers -- his whole family flew out to get him settled at MIT, so he used the whole 75 lbs (is that right?) times the number of people in his family, since his other family members really only needed clothes for a few days.</p>
<p>^^ Similar to Mollie's family, I flew to MIT with my daughter from California, each of us taking 2 large bags. And I mean large -- these were huge duffel bags of stuff. When we arrived at MIT, I helped schlep her stuff to her orientation dorm. I also shipped some stuff to her later.</p>
<p>In hindsight, some of the stuff we took was sort of ridiculous. You can buy stuff you'll need at local stores in the MIT area. When we arrived on campus, we saw kids who had made the run to Target to pick up extra pillows, sheets, plates, flatware, etc. I would recommend just taking the clothing you'll need for late summer/early fall, having your family ship stuff via ground post for later, and picking up stuff you need at the local Target or Bed, Bath & Beyond.</p>
<p>Jess Kim made a great post last year about bedding, and that is the one thing I'd recommend. A foam underlayer on top of the mattress (available at BBB) will turn the typical MIT long twin mattress into a really comfortable bed. Look for her post in the archives in the undergraduate blogs.</p>
<p>One more recommendation: As a farewell present, I took all of my daughter's favorite family recipes, interspersed them with some of her sketches, and created a little cookbook for her. She lives in Burton-Conner, where she has access to a kitchen suite, and she's used the recipes so often, the little cookbook is now falling apart. :-)</p>
<p>:) My sons each got a copy of my "Mom's Greatest Hits" cookbook when they left home. Each recipe is 2 pages, face to face, slid into plastic inserts in a 3-ring binder. That seems to have helped keep them mostly intact (and they're easy to wipe off, and the recipes lay open flat when in use!).</p>
<p>^^ Thanks for the suggestion, Mootmom. I'll use plastic inserts in the next version.</p>
<p>check the airlines baggage limits.. Excess baggage is computed based on dimensions and weight. the airlines vary. Incurring excess baggage can stillbe less than shipping by other means. Cheapest overall is buying what you need online and having it shipped to your dorm once you are settled.</p>
<p>Thanks! </p>
<p>So how much help do we get early on, when we go to stores and buy a bunch of stuff? We're not old enough to rent cars, so basically we can only buy what we can carry and make multiple trips? (or do we befriend someone able to rent vehicles?)</p>
<p>No renting of cars in Cambridge! You can take public transit everywhere. Students in my daughter's dorm posted dates/times for people to get together together and head out toward local stores for stuff. Also, stores like Bed, Bath, and Beyond will allow you to shop in your home state and then pick up your purchases from the store near MIT. You can also arrange for stuff to ship directly to your dorm after you have your permanent room.</p>
<p>^There's also a bus rented by a local Target that stops on campus during orientation to ferry people back and forth to said Target.</p>
<p>I know you were looking for alternatives, but if you can afford it, I would seriously recommend shipping. Note that you don't have to ship everything...for non-essentials, you can bring them back with you after going home for vacations.</p>
<p>The reason for this is that it makes getting from your temp room to your permanent room (during Orientation) much easier. I mean, there's a veritable army of current students to help you carry your stuff, that's not a problem, but it's simpler if you only have a couple of bags, you know? :)</p>