Nine MORE Tips for College Move In Day

This past weekend we moved our son into his dorm to start his freshman year of college.  I was  obsessed with making sure we were doing everything right.  I read every article I came across about preparing for Move In Day and asked every experienced parent a ton of questions.  After experiencing it, here are nine more tips to help make move in day a positive experience.

1) Call the Financial Aid Office one last time to make sure everything is settled as most schools won't let you move in if your bill is not taken care of.  Thankfully I called one last time because one of our son's State Grants had not been received even though it's expected arrival date had passed.  The Financial Aid Office followed up on it and contacted the Resident Life Office to give them the green light for JJ to move in.

2) Unwrap the Memory Foam overlay a couple of days before you go.  I did not know to do that so we ended up bringing it home with us and will take it back to JJ when we go see him in a couple of weeks.  I guess I thought that it would just POP into shape when we opened it.  Nope.  Instead, we found a piece of paper roll up in it that instructed us to open and lay flat for at least 24 hours.  Ooops!

3) Take a moment before you arrive to pray, give your last pieces of advice and say anything else you want to say to your child.  I had spent the week leading up to move-in throwing advice and catch phrases at my son attempting to re-cap 19 years of parenting in 7 days.  When we were almost to the school, my husband and I shared the advice we felt was most important and prayed for JJ.  It was a quiet, calm moment with no distractions. 

4) You will use the tool kit.  I couldn't figure out why we would need one, but we used it . . . twice!

We used that tool kit!

5) Make sure the TV you buy is not too big.  My son was so excited to buy the TV for his dorm room.  He has grand visions of watching football on Sundays and hosting video game tournaments so he bought a HUGE TV: which, much to his and my husband's dismay, I promptly encouraged them to exchange for a smaller one.  I knew that was the right thing to do as we watched a family carrying a large TV back to their car as we sat in line waiting to unload.  Dorm rooms really aren't that big and you don't want your TV hanging over the edge of the dresser where it can easily get knocked off.

It's the perfect size!

6) Pay attention to the meal times for the day.  Even though our check in time was mid-morning, by the time we figured out the room configuration (after five tries of moving everything around the room) and unpacked, we nearly missed lunch.  You could pack a lunch or run to a local fast food place, but it was nice to enjoy a meal in the cafeteria with JJ (and it reassured me that he knew where the fruit and salad bars are located!)

7) Take WD-40!  The one leg of our son's bed is so squeaky!  I wish we had some with us.  He's going to ask the custodial staff or we'll send him some.

8) Pack toilet paper.  One of the first things our son said when we talked to him on the phone was how bad the toilet paper is.  LOL!  My husband said that when we were in college he and his roommates bought their own TP and kept it in their room.  It's on it's way JJ!

9) You'll know when it is time to say good-bye and head home.  His room was unpacked.  We had eaten lunch.  His roommate was settled in.  There came a moment when we just stared at each other in silence and I knew that it was time to go.  I encourage you to jump at that moment.  Don't linger and drag it on.  Our son offered to walk us to our car.  We got halfway there and he said, "Well, I guess this is good."  Right there on the sidewalk at the entrance of to the parking lot.  It was quick.  Hugs and I love you's before he turned and walked back towards his dorm.  We had already said all we wanted to say and he was ready - ready to start this next adventure.  And so were we.

Ready to say good-bye