Parents of College Class of 2018 (A.K.A., "Is this the line to the poor house?")

[Bluestars]

I think it's great that some kids can find out who there roommate is ahead of time. My son won't find out until he gets to school and gets his dorm assignment.

We're got all of his stuff piled up in the den. His printer just came in the other day. He finally has all of the stuff he needs for school. He leaves in a little less than three weeks.

It's hard to believe that the time is almost here.

 

[sk!mom]

This is getting so close and I'm determined to be excited for and with DD. But...Tonight she was at work and I looked at her empty place at the dinner table and just really got teary.

We shook it off and went out to listen to a great local band and shoot pool but these everyday things are going to be hard. I was always a fan of family dinners...

 

[Marlyn]

I'm a year ahead of you all but wanted to let you know that even though you will miss them when they go away to college....the time goes quick and you will survive!!
I have twin boys who were class of 2013. I live in Canada and the boys both got NCAA track & field scholarships to the University of Alaska in Anchorage. So both my boys left home and went to another country! I had no idea how I'd manage without them at home...
They finished their freshman year and had an amazing year both in school and competing for the team. It went faster than I thought it would, and thanks to modem technology, I was able to keep in contact regularly!

It's such an exciting and scary time isn't it? For them and for you!

 

[Pembo]

DS texted with his roommate yesterday for the first time! "Micah" was on a cruise. Of course we all wanted the details of his vacation but DS found out none of that. lol

I think all the big stuff is purchased (bedding etc). We need to make a list of personal care stuff, food, etc so we can shop again.

Every day brings a new feeling and the tears pop in at the oddest times. I found myself getting angry the other day when DS was in his room all day. He should be spending time with us! We are planning a family day at Cedar Point this week and I have a few other family plans too. Gotta squeeze in all I can in the next few weeks.

Stay strong Moms - we can do this.

 

[njmom47]

I am really excited for ds to go away to school. Even though he's my baby, he is the only one of the 3 who is going to be a college student. I'm sure I'll miss him, but I want him to have this experience.
I will still have my 21 yr old dd at home, until she thinks she can afford to move out.

Yes! We Moms are strong and can do this!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We haven't done much buying of dorm room stuff - just his bedding, lamp, mattress pad and trash can.
He is thinking that he'll just take stuff from his room here at home (for example: surge protector, I-home, pillow) instead of buying new which is fine with me. He leaves in 3 weeks.

He has a budget to work within and it's up to him to either make it work or pay for any overage himself. Definitely a learning experience.

We also received his first tuition bill. His campus parking pass arrived last week. He has the name and contact email of his roommate but hasn't contacted him at all.

Now we just have to deal with books for his classes. It's all on him to do the research and bring the results to his parents (us).
Knowing him he'll wait for another week or two. He's always been into procrastination.

I know when he goes I'll be saving money on food but I'll be losing my yard guy. He's been doing the majority of the yard work this year since I haven't been able to do it due to health issues.

It won't be long now........

 

[Pembo]

It's getting closer....how are we all doing????

Finished buying stuff yesterday and ordered books. We rented some and bought some. DS has his last day of work on Sunday. Move in day is the 21st. I can't believe it is almost here............

 

[elgerber]

We have all the books now, except one that she ordered to be picked up at school. The MacBook arrived yesterday, the iPhone last week, I feel like I am bleeding money LOL. We are trying to get organized and packed, but it's beyond overwhelming. We drive up two weeks from today, and I am having a really hard time dealing. And now my BIL and his daughter just showed up from Germnay Saturday, with only 2 days notice, which means we have to do some things with them, which is less time for prepping, and keeping dd all to myself.

 

[scrapquitler]

It's getting closer....how are we all doing????

Finished buying stuff yesterday and ordered books. We rented some and bought some. DS has his last day of work on Sunday. Move in day is the 21st. I can't believe it is almost here............

DDs move in day is Sunday 24th, it's getting close, and she's working on cleaning out her room before she goes

I've recently signed up for Amazon Prime Student (free for 6 months) and have been ordering things since then. We have all her books listed on the school's website, though 2 classes still don't have required books listed.

We are trying to keep purchases to a minimum, at least to start. We'll figure out what she needs and I'll get them to her the first few days after she moves in, we aren't sure just what will fit/what she really needs. But for the most part, we are using things we already have (comforter, pillows, clothes, etc). I do need to go to BBB and get the memory foam topper and mattress pad for her bed this week. I also need to get her a new laptop. Her new phone will be arriving later today (time to finally bite the bullet and get her a smartphone). For the most part, we are ready and just counting the days.

This weekend, the kids in her program are having a beach party get together, so she'll finally get to meet her roommate in person and she'll also have time to get to know the kids she didn't meet during orientation.

 

[IDoDis]

My DD moves in this Saturday! We got her a new Macbook last weekend during the tax-free holidays here. I packed up all,of the new purchases Into boxes tonight. DD has been out of town, returned late last night, and is at a concert tonight, so she will have to pack up her clothes and other stuff tomorrow. We still haven't bought anything for her walls yet after looking endlessly at artwork and the girls have to divide up who is buying what for the shared bathroom.

No books have been purchased yet. All of her professors have"custom" books made by the publishers, so I'm afraid to rent the wrong books online because either I can't find them or the ISBN numbers don't match. The professors also ALL require online codes which doubles the price. Before buying the codes, DD is going to wait until classes start to see what they actually want. We are going to go to a used bookstore across the street from campus next week on the first day the books go on sale. They claim on the phone that they have these custom books used, so we'll see. Otherwise it will cost over a grand for books at the school bookstore. I envy all of you that were able to rent books!

 

[sarahwill]

Hey hi great way to find

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Our oldest DD moves into her dorm on Sunday! Can't believe it's almost here. She has most everything she needs (and will only be about 20 minutes away from home, even less from my office) but we're encouraging her not to come home much so she can make new friends and show them around the city.

 

[IDoDis]

We got DD all moved into her dorm yesterday. I'm so happy for her, but sad she won't be around the house. She is only 30 min away, so it's not as bad as it would be if she were far away. I woke up this morning thinking she'd call me after she woke up to let me know how her first night went, but nope! No phone call. I finally called her this afternoon because I couldn't stand it anymore. She said her bed is comfortable. The mattress has built-in extra padding on top, so she doesn't think she'll need a memory foam mattress topper. She went grocery shopping with her roommate, and then there was a movie outside on the grass last night in front of their building. Tonight is game night, so there are all kinds of indoor games going on. We had a pretty big storm here this evening (lost electricity for a while), so it's good that an indoor activity was planned for tonight. Not everyone is moved in yet. DD said more people arrived today, and I expect they will trickle in all week. School starts a week from tomorrow.

The dining hall doesn't open until tomorrow at dinner time, so the dorm has been feeding the students breakfast and dinner. Last night as DH and I left, they had out pizzas, salad, cookies, and lemonade. DD said that this morning they had pastries and fruit. There's a BBQ planned for next weekend when all of the students should be moved in.

DD and her roommate have nice suitemates. One is still working in Santa Fe, so she unpacked and then went back home for the rest of this week. She will be back on Friday for good. Since she left, the girls were not able to work out the bathroom stuff they need to buy. I put up a shower curtain liner, so at least they can shower until they can get together to buy the shower curtain, bath mat, and other things they'll need for the bathroom.

All-in-all, it was a successful move-in date. DD starts school a week from tomorrow. She has a leadership seminar (to get info on leadership opportunities, scholarships, internships, study abroad info, etc.) and honors college orientation on Thursday and Friday. Sunday is Freshman Family Day with a convocation ceremony followed by a campus crawl, and then a movie night for the families.

Here are the move-in pictures. I took "before" and "after" pictures, but it was hard to get the "before" pics because the room was very crowded with boxes and people. DH and I were both there as were her roommate's family (2 adults and 3 children). I also took some pictures around the dorm in general. I look forward to seeing everyone else's move-in dorm pics!

Shared Jack and Jill bathroom with suitemates

DD's side of the room. She still has some wall art to hang over her desk.

Her roommate's desk

One of the RA's serving pizza

There is a kitchen and TV room on every other floor.

 

[elgerber]

Wow IDoDis, that is one crazy nice dorm!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish my dd was moving into something like that!

 

[Pembo]

What a beautiful dorm!!! DS's is old and nothing like that. The countdown is at 10 days. I think everything is bought. He just has to pack up his stuff from his room which I'm sure he will do the day before. lol

I'll try to remember to take pics...great idea IDoDis.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

That sure is a beautiful dorm! I really like the half wall separating the sleeping areas -- very nice. DD's dorm at UIC is nowhere as nice, but sufficient for its intended purpose.

We moved DD into her dorm yesterday (I forgot to take pictures once we got her all settled in), met her roommate and parents, and had dinner in the campus dining hall. She is in an 8 person cluster with 2 double rooms and 4 single rooms. The singles don't move in until next week, so we'll have to wait until then to figure out bathroom needs. Her roommate's father rearranged the desks/dressers because the room was laid out rather awkwardly and both girls seem happy with the new configuration.

Got a call last night wondering which box her contact lenses were in, which tells me she hasn't unpacked everything yet. She'll have a few hours each evening free to unpack and get settled and then I expect she'll hit me with a list of things she absolutely "needs" based on what her roommates have .

 

[Katelly]

Oh my gosh, the dorm room in those photos is amazing! My dd's dorm looks like a prison cell compared to that.

You'd never know that move in day is ten days away. My dd is more concerned right now with seeing all her friends before they all head off to different states for college. I totally understand that but we have things to do!!!

Tomorrow she'll be in NYC, next day is the beach, next day is a concert. She doesn't have ANY clothes packed, we only have one of the textbooks she needs and we still need to do some dorm shopping.

According to her we have "plenty of time" to get it all done.

 

[Pembo]

]Oh my gosh, the dorm room in those photos is amazing! My dd's dorm looks like a prison cell compared to that.[/B]

You'd never know that move in day is ten days away. My dd is more concerned right now with seeing all her friends before they all head off to different states for college. I totally understand that but we have things to do!!!

Tomorrow she'll be in NYC, next day is the beach, next day is a concert. She doesn't have ANY clothes packed, we only have one of the textbooks she needs and we still need to do some dorm shopping.

According to her we have "plenty of time" to get it all done.

LOL DS's dorm sounds like your dd's. I showed ds the pictures and he wants to transfer to that college. LOL

 

[mom2rtk]

LOL DS's dorm sounds like your dd's. I showed ds the pictures and he wants to transfer to that college. LOL

I'm not going to show DS at all! I need him to remain happy with the prison cell he has!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Never mind my DD, I want to go to college! What school is that? Add my DD to the "prison cell" dorm crew.