DD will attend school 1000 miles away from home. We will be flying, so she will only be bringing her clothing and toiletries. We plan to buy big items for her dorm like bedding, etc. up there (we’re coming up a few days early before orientation and staying in a hotel.) Last year I noticed that where we live in Dallas, the college items disappeared off the shelves by early August, and by the time school actually began, there were no dorm items anywhere to be found. My DD will be attending school in New Jersey. Do dorm items disappear so quickly up there? I have heard that Bed, Bath and Beyond lets you order items and pick them up in a different city - has anyone tried that? How far in advance can you order the items? Thanks for any information you CCers can provide.
The only item you need that is unique to a dorm is twin XL sheets (if the college has that size of bed – some have ordinary twins). A sheet set doesn’t take up much room in a suitcase. If you buy the sheets at home before the supply runs out and bring them with you, I don’t see why you would have difficulty buying everything else when you get there.
Most young college students I know just order everything online and have it shipped to their dorm rooms. That saves a LOT of hassle on many fronts. Parking is a pain at many colleges so delivery can be a great option.
We purchased in advance and packed the bedding because we wanted to make sure D got one she liked and didn’t want the time pressure to find. We placed an order at BB&B but there was a mix-up and it wasn’t ready when we got there (to be fair, all the other kids we saw go in had no problems at all.) We decided to kill time at Target while they pulled it together and they had everything, some things D liked better, so we purchased at Target and cancelled BB&B. There was plenty of everything and this was a Target that fed 3 universities all moving in the same weekend.
I do know what you mean about things seeming picked over. I see that at my local Target but we’re not in an area where OOS students would shop. Now, the Targets close to the universities stay very well stocked!
My kids went to school within driving distance but I have a few friends who used the Bed Bath and Beyond service and they were all very happy. I think that might be a good option to insure that your D gets what she likes and starts things out on the right foot. If you want to go that route I’d do it soon.
As stated above ^^^ you can order on-line from Bed, Bath and Beyond/Target and I believe Wal Mart also offers this service. No hassles and no worries if you utilize these great services.
We used the BB&B pack and hold option and when my son flew out to school, the nearest Bed, Bath had everything waiting for him. Very easy. We just went in advance to our local one, they gave us a scanning device, and we scanned whatever we wanted.
With my older daughter I know that we have gone to a local Walmart near college and some dorm items were wiped out. I would do the order and pickup.
Depends if you want to hit the sales or not, and whether you’re looking for some crazy items that disappear quickly. We scored a 3.1 cf Sanyo Fridge at Costco for $100, very limited time offer Costco style. Sheets at Target as mentioned above. Dorm knick knacks mostly Target and BBB, usual fare, not dorm fare. The craziest item by far was the bed risers, had to check several Targets to find one that had them. So the bottom line is you may pay a bit more but you should find what you want in either case.
Call the school and find out how early they’ll allow you to send stuff there. My kids undergrad is already holding pkgs for students who’ll be moving in next month.
Walmart will hold for two weeks. I think Target will only hold for a few days.
My son is an international student, we have no idea on how well the dorm room is furnished. We plan to buy everything in US and there is a Target near the campus. Should I start to order things online or just wait till we are there?
What are you trying to get that’s dorm-specific? The only thing I bought that was specific to a dorm room was twin XL sheets, and perhaps, a little tray to clip onto the side of the bed (I was in the lofted bed of a triple). I did get a twin XL mattress pad, but I purchased it at a bedding store near my school with no issues. Everything else was just normal household or office supplies. If you’re getting a specific twin XL mattress topper or a mini-fridge or something like that, then perhaps you may want to purchase it ahead of time, but I don’t see what else is considered “dorm supplies” as opposed to just “supplies.”
Dorm rooms come with a bed and mattress, a desk and desk chair, a closet, and a dresser for each student and probably nothing else. They used to have telephones, but nowadays, some don’t. There will be Internet access. Occasionally, if the room happens to be large, there will be an extra chair.
Elsewhere in the dorm building, there will be a laundry room. At various places on campus, there will be computer labs, but students almost always have their own laptops. A cell phone is essential, and many students say that it really needs to be a smartphone nowadays.
Your college will probably send a list of what to bring (with lots of good reminders such as the need for an alarm clock and clothes hangers, which you might otherwise not think of) and what not to bring (candles are often forbidden, for example).
My child goes to a state flagship and the town Walmart, BB and B and Target are picked clean by the time school starts. I would do a local shopping trip and then order online and ship to the dorm. I find that online pictures for things like towels and bedding are often misleading so I would want to see things in person before I purchased.
I checked the BB and B website and they do have store pick up but they only hold for two days.
Edited to add, the school website should provide info about room configuration and furniture.suggested purchases, etc.
I flew out with son to his college across country. We had the supplies from BB&b in a suitcase. At a local Walgreens, picked up hangers and cleaning supplies, non-prescription items that we had forgotten. At his college, they live in temporary quarters for a week, then move into chosen House the following week. At that time, they pick roommate. So, it would have not have made sense to buy a fridge or microwave beforehand.
As expected, there were enough local kids who had access to a car, if needed. Or, a taxi to a local Target (which he did after college for an apartment). When I went out for parents weekend, we bought a desk chair, a small couch, a big monitor, a window a/c. Not all these items were bought that weekend, but over time.
We did the BBB Pack and Hold last year, when my youngest D went off to college about 900+ miles away. It was very easy. We shopped near our home with a hand held scanner, and picked up the items at a BBB near her school. Plus, at this time of year, BBB mails out a 20% off your entire bill coupon (most of the time, it’s just 20% off a single item).
However, we also found that if we shipped things to her dorm ahead of time (not more than a week ahead), they were sitting in her dorm room waiting for her when she got there. So that is also an option - just order everything online, and ship it to the dorm. If your child’s school is in an urban area, then that eliminates the need for a rental car.
On the other end, when it’s time to go elsewhere for the summer, we utilized a service called College Boxes to store her stuff for the summer and have it waiting in her new dorm room when she returns next month.
I would contact the Target that you’re ordering from to see if they’ll hold the stuff for longer than 3-4 days. Or find out if the univ will let you have stuff shipped to them ahead of time…and they’ll hold it.
Thanks everyone, especially those of you who actually had to fly kids out to school with only what they could hold in suitcases. I will investigate whether or not the school will allow us to ship the items to her dorm.
I’m sure you already know but Southwest still lets you take 2 free checked bags per flyer. This helps a lot when you are crossing the country. Hubby and I packed light using our extra luggage for D’s things.
@turtletime I wish we could have taken Southwest, but our free miles were with a different airline.