Tips for Packing and Move-in Day

·      Even if your family car is a three-door hatchback, you probably know someone who has a van, SUV, truck, or a larger car than you do – borrow it. Or, invest in a roof carrier or plan to ship items to your child later.

·      Most campuses will let you know what kind of help, if any, to expect for moving heavy items on move-in day. If you do not anticipate having help moving heavy items, bring a moving dolly or folding cart.

·      For in-state or other short moves, it is often cheaper to rent a Uhaul van, complete with a moving dolly, than it is to rent a van or truck from a rental car chain. Shop around before you rent.

·      If it can’t fit into a minivan, it probably won’t fit into a shared residence hall room so pack wisely and know that any forgotten items can be shipped or purchased later.

·      Most students are moving away from TV’s and cable and are opting to watch programs online on their laptops or tablets, or are taking these computers into the hall lounge and plugging them into the large TV there using a USB cable or wireless connection.

·      A coax cable is probably unnecessary unless your child expects to spend a great deal of time watching regular antenna or cable TV. College students are so busy, or at least should be, with classes and activities, than regular TVs are becoming obsolete on campus. 

·      While there’s a growing trend for students to submit all papers and projects electronically, some professors still require printed papers. Before you invest in a printer or bring one from home, find out the college’s policy on printing papers. Some colleges charge by the page for printing in computer labs, others charge a flat fee to students, and allow them unlimited printing in computer labs or at print stations. Either way, it may be cheaper and much less of a hassle, for your child to use these services than to maintain a printer and buy or refill ink cartridges.

·      With cloud computing, most students don’t even have to carry USB drives anymore, they simply log into their networked drive from any computer on campus and print the papers they’ve saved to the drive. Ah, technology!