My D took the keyboard to school - but sent it home at Christmas - because of her non MT roomie she spent all her practice time in the conservatory practice rooms… but she plans to take it back this summer - since she’s living with other MT’s this summer, and her roomie for next year is also an MT.
@kategrizz…good plan! My D’s roomie was also an MT.
When our D moved to an apartment btwn freshman and sophomore year, we used Amazon Prime to buy and ship her a bed! To downtown Chicago! No delivery fee! I’m a believer!
We got S a tiny, very flat keyboard (1 - 2 octaves??) that fit in his backpack, plus headphones - more for composing/noodling/picking out song melodies and chords than practicing his technique. He did that in the practice studios - and seemingly 24/7 when home on breaks.
My daughter also has a keyboard with headphones. She shares it with her MT roommate.
Check out Wayfair.com. They have pretty much everything your kid- or you- could need, and most things ship free. My daughter got all of her bedroom furniture for her apartment in Chicago, including her mattress, bed, dresser, chest, mirrors, etc, delivered right to her door and it only took 3 days!
Take half of everything you think they need, S brought stuff home at winter break and has already said he’ll take much less next semester.
Half of the “stuff” and twice the cash :-). The extras will get ya!
My kid had stuff that came home- but I have been really surprised by how much I (and/or Amazon) have sent her over the year… Old sweats that can be destroyed, picnic type blanket for sitting outside studying, more kitchen stuff (odd hours drove her into cooking more than she had planned)
Also- depending on campus, you may need to think about coats. While “cute” is always wonderful- many HS kids don’t spend a ton of time outside. My kid mostly wore “jackets” in HS- as she was walking a couple hundred feet from parking lot to building. Wind/waterproof (and long enough to cover thighs) became important to D as she walked a min of 10 blocks each way to classes and explored the city- so we invested in some higher tech gear at Christmas.
It cost much more than I anticipated to set my daughter up in her dorm and getting her clothing applicable to her environment. Of course, she is not a minimalist at all and had a “vision” of how her dorm room would look. 
@toowonderful, your coat comment made me laugh. My daughter and I have argued about coats since the beginning of time. The cute jackets she always wanted never seemed warm enough to me (and she went to high school in Vermont!). This year, after a grueling winter walking on a campus high on a windy hill in New Jersey, she admitted she needs to get a warmer coat for next winter.
Thought of something else- noise cancelling headphones. Really great when she wants to study - or needs to block out the rest of the world in general.
Oh yes - we made the investment in a “sleeping bag coat” as my D’s both call them. Puffy and down to the knees with a hood. Also - waterproof boots. After suffering with wet feet, youngest D was finally convinced to order “ugly” snow boots. (Older D figured all this out HER Freshman year of college!) I suppose if you are headed to Florida or Texas, these may not be as essential - but any of the East Coast or Midwest schools they are a necessity!
Many families I know just ordered dorm room essentials from Bed Bath and Beyond then picked the order up at store nearest the college. This is great if you have to travel far.
I ordered most of the bedding, the lamp, and even a microwave (roommate used it, son did not) online and it was delivered to the school post office. We flew out, and used vacuum bags to squish clothes into the bags. He needed an incredible amount of dance clothes, dance shoes, character shoes, black sneakers with black soles for tech and nice pants, shirt, blazer, tie and dress shoes. Almost all off the above mentioned will be in storage over the summer, so the next move in should be a breeze
Dormco.com is another good dorm site. For those of you that have to fly to your school, my advice is to order as much as possible on line and have it shipped to the dorm. We did just the opposite and shipping costs were ridiculous! Would definitely order everything on line to ship if I could go back in time. Buy at Target.com, Walmart.com, Walmart has free shipping over $50. I ship groceries to my D at NYU from Walmart.com too.
Ha! Toowonderful. The wardrobe comment is perfect. D was all decked out in high school and was nominated for Best Dressed. Wardrobe at NYU is yoga pants, combat boots, and sweaters with a ponytail or bun! If she wears makeup it is a good day! Buy lots of yoga pants! And if headed north, fleece lined leggings and ski pants for super cold days.
Order goodies and have them shipped from Walmart.com. Do it all the time for D.
Bumping this thread now that we’re getting closer and closer to move-in! Any good shopping finds?
Whatever you pack remove half of it and leave it at home