There are plenty of lists for incoming freshman of what to pack for college, but they’re all geared toward the generic student (ie dorm room furnishing, seasonal clothing, etc…) Do any parents who have been through the process have any advice specifically for MT students? What did your children initially bring along? Was there anything they forgot and brought back after break/had mailed to them? Obviously, things like dance gear and repertoire book are important, but it might be interesting to hear from more experienced people what came in handy and what specifically was brought.
These past threads may help you:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1665670-class-of-2018-move-in-day-p1.html
Some things our D needed specific to MT:
Electric keyboard
Headshots/resumes for beginning of year auditions
Water bottle with filter
Humidifier
Black leotard/pink tights and slippers for ballet if required
Jazz and character shoes
Allergy/cold medicines and ibuprofen
Bandaids
My D has a nifty little contraption called a “belt box” that she can hold over her face and then sing/speak at full volume, and no one else can hear. Really nice if it’s late (or early) and you don’t want to head down to the practice rooms…
Also- on the more “generic” side - I wouldn’t spend a ton of $$ on new clothes etc for college BEFORE you go- a lot of style “adjustments” seem to happen after they get there. BUT do splurge on nice athletic/workout gear- they live in that stuff. Just make sure they know how to take care of it (no lululemon in the dryer!!)
Finally! Let’s shop! The uniform for the BFA kids seems to be yoga pants and such. I agree about not going out and buying a college wardrobe. I sell clothes on ebay and keep up with trends. Did u know that last year the sale of denim declined dramatically? The kids wear leggings, skirts and yoga pants.
I just bought my Peanut a electric kettle (they can have that or a Kurieg, but nothing with a hot plate) for her morning throat coat.
A case of powerbars, Emergen-Cs, instant oatmeal and ramen were all much appreciated freshman year. (They don’t always have time to get to the dining hall.)
Sign up for amazon prime!!! Virtually any product available at a reasonable price- delivered right to the dorm. D uses it to make sure she always has a supply of her favorite flavor of cliff bars, tea etc. She has ordered plays- and a lot of random props for scene study class. (things like an hourglass, a perfume spritzer, a crown, even suspenders!) We have also found amazon to be cheaper than the bookstore for some required texts (just check to make sure edition matches etc)
^YES on the Amazon Prime… I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth already. One warning - pay CLOSE ATTENTION to the shipping address. Don’t be like me. I’ve twice now shipped things to myself instead of the college kid by mistake. This most often happens when I’m rushing. Lesson to me (and for others to learn from my mistakes) is to slow down during checkout on Amazon Prime!!
We sent D to school with a small portable humidifier - which was fine in the fall - but she got back to campus in January - and was suddenly battling bloody noses. Used Amazon Prime to ship her a new FULL SIZED humidifier - and that solved the bloody nose issue!!
Otherwise - I agree with all the suggestions above. In terms of food - take the lead from your kid. Mine didn’t want a lot of food in her room… was afraid she would snack too mindlesssly. She does keep some protein type bars to throw into dance bags for those days when she knows she’s going to have to delay or miss a meal. She also likes to have fruit (apples) in her room… and her Kuerig… because I think the child lives off of coffee.
I am now an obsessive “college room” and “college packing” Pinterest fiend. Reality is less scary when you have a pretty board to look at…
If you don’t already have an Amazon Prime account and don’t want one for yourself, your student can sign up for Amazon Prime for the Student and get 1/2 off the price.
We had to buy everything at school for my son, and it just kills me that I can’t send him “goodie boxes.” (Dreamed of doing that for years! Luckily I have another son who’ll be in college in a few years.) So-- instead of cookies and snacks from mom, I buy him Groupons and Living Social coupons to local places for dinner. He loves them, and I enjoy knowing I treated him and a few friends to a nice dinner. (Got a little off topic there…sorry.)
I second, third (fourth?) what everyone is saying about Amazon Prime! The D got the student account. She has received so many packages that the people in the mailroom tried to call her out! “You sure do get a lot of packages…” LOL! I think just once I sent a package home instead of school, but I was seeing her the next weekend so it was okay.
A number of textbooks were rented from Amazon, by the way!
Agree about Amazon Prime, and I too mistakenly sent myself the box…25lbs of granola bars, apple sauce, gatorade, and for a treat, Twinkies 
Son hasn’t needed many books, but I have found everything he has needed on Amazon.
MTmom2015 - I kept what I called a “hope chest” and added items as I thought of them throughout the summer before son went away.
I also put $50 or $75 on a Panera gift card every couple of months. It comes in handy when the S has 20 minutes between class and rehearsal. (There’s one a block away from school…obviously other schools might require other kinds of cards.)
Starbucks cards were the grad gift of choice last June- so much so that she has not “bought herself” a coffee all year. If you know of a place in the area (chipotle, panera, Starbucks) that you kid loves- suggest cards from there when people ask about grad gifts.
Just fyi - when we buy Panera here at home, we just give them Ds phone number as the account to credit our purchase to and it adds points to her card, so every now and then she gets a free treat from Panera.
One of her graduation gifts from a grandparent was a bunch of gift cards to restaurants around her school. They definitely come in handy!
Great info! I was wondering where to start in this part of the process. CC’ers have helped us to navigate through this process and bring to light things we would have never thought of along the way. My only regret was not finding all of you earlier in the process!
Love, love, LOVE all these ideas. You guys rock!
I’m not sure my S will have room for a roommate. He wants to bring every instrument he owns, including an electric piano… I’m thinking a loft is in order.
My daughter had an electric keyboard in her room from day one of college too. (and a guitar)
PS, as an aside, she is now out of college and has an apartment. Her current apartment has a room dedicated just to music, along with instruments. It is her music studio.