(image from Amazon.com)
You may have noticed that there have been far fewer college-fret posts about William than there were about Rob. I do think I’m calmer this time. On the other hand, much the way every month I think “Ug, everyone is INTOLERABLE and I am so HUNGRY and I feel like CRYING AND/OR SCREAMING!!” and then notice it’s been approximately 27 days since I last felt that way, I keep thinking “Why do I feel as if I am so stressed I can’t cope, when really I don’t have a whole lot going on?,” and then locating the center of that feeling somewhere in the pile of accumulating college gear.
Just now I checked another task off my list by adding him as an authorized user to our credit card account. Did you know you can do this? Two years ago with Rob, we were trying to get him his own credit card and he was getting denied by all the decent cards because he had no credit score and was only 18 and had only a summer employer and so on. I don’t remember how we found out that we could just get him his own card on our account, but that’s what we did. Not only does this mean I still receive the bills and can see all his charges, it also means he builds a credit score based on my frankly excellent credit-card handling—so by the time he graduates college, he ought to be able to qualify for his own credit card. Plus, it gets him accustomed to using a credit card, which is a good life skill and something I think it’s good to learn before the parental-supervision stage of life is completely over. It’s worked beautifully with Rob so far, and today I added William. It’s a task that’s been hanging over my head, and it took like 10 minutes, and 9.5 of those minutes were finding the right section of the website.
I’ve also been doing a lot of shopping. Some of it, like shopping for first-aid stuff, I can do without William’s input; other things have been making me crazy because I am waiting for him to choose, for example, his Twin XL bedding, and he is NOT CHOOSING IT. JUST CHOOSE SOMETHING. JUST CHOOSE. JUST LOOK AT THE OPTIONS AND PICK A COLOR. WHY IS THIS TAKING SO MANY NAGGINGS.
In case it would be of any use to anyone, I am going to post below the packing list I’m working with, with links to anything I myself would like to see links to on someone else’s list. This list is based in part on William-in-particular, part on William’s-college-in-particular, and part on college-packing-lists-in-general. For example, I removed hairbrush and conditioner and backrest, which were on Rob’s packing list, because William uses none of those; I added hair dryer/gel/putty and chopsticks and fidget toys to William’s list, even though they weren’t on Rob’s; I don’t have mini-fridge on there even though a lot of colleges include it in the suggestion list, because so far William isn’t planning to bring one.
Oh, also, there are three things at the top of the list that are not for the dorm but for the move-in process. I must have gotten the first two ideas from someone else (or maybe from Rob’s college?), because I had forgotten them completely: you bring water and food because the check-in process can be long and tiring and stressful and scheduled right at a food time; you bring umbrellas and a couple of trash bags in case it’s pouring rain during move-in and you need to protect your stuff. The third thing, the drop-off/parking pack, is what the college sent to us and has asked us to bring along for the move-in process; Rob’s college had something similar. It’s, like, a little card to display in the windshield, and tags for the suitcases, and maps and instructions and so forth.
Oh, also-also, on the recommendation of a friend who had recently sent a kid off to college, I bought a set of these bags when they were down to $16:
(image from Amazon.com)
Ikea Frakta storage bags. I like the way they fold up nice and small when he’s not using them, unlike suitcases. I will try to remember to report back when we’ve given them some use.
College Packing List
bring water and food
bring umbrellas and a couple trash bags
drop-off/parking pack
first aid kit:
Benadryl
bandaids
antibiotic ointment
hydrocortisone cream
Dayquil
Nyquil
cough syrup
cough drops
ibuprofen
thermometer
Tums
vitamins
tweezers
nail clippers
hair dryer
hair stuff/gel/putty
toothbrush
toothpaste
floss
retainer
mouthwash
bathroom cup
Efferdent for retainer
sheets
comforter
throw blanket
pillow
mattress protector
shower caddy
shower shoes
towels & washcloths
bath pouf
shampoo
body wash
razors
shaving gel
condoms
athlete’s foot preventative
deodorant
body lotion
face lotion/products/toner
laundry detergent
fabric softener sheets
stain treatment
hangers
desk lamp
poster putty
pens
pencils
calculator
stapler
scotch tape
packing tape
notebooks
notepads
ruler
microwave-safe plate
microwave-safe bowl
microwave-safe mug
chopsticks
snacks
clothes
winter clothes
khaki pants
nice shirt
laundry bag
winter coat
light jacket
hat
winter gloves
snow boots
umbrella
books
fidget toys
laptop & charger
phone & charger
headphones
backup battery
usb drive & cables & dongles & whatnot
little fan
earbuds
debit card
bank account info / check register
credit card
insurance card
driver’s license
Social Security card
college ID
passport
some sort of system for important documents
Wow, so organized! I have to laugh because my daughter, when she went to college, was having none of my help/advice/suggestions. Of course, then there were lots of “oh, would you mind bringing me _______” because she was at college 20 minutes from our house.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003KR1K40/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
I bought two of these for my incoming freshman because I bought two of them for my now junior who loves them, have really stood up to the abuse of college.
This is well timed. I leave Sunday to drop Eddie off at college 4 hours from home. Lad will fly out to east coast for his senior year the same morning. Life has been super busy and Ed is pretty independent and organized but I find myself wondering if we have a handle on things.
The credit card thing: we sent Lad to school with a credit card. It is in our name but not a card we use because I wanted to see what he was using it for. It was supposed to be for emergencies and books. He totally abused it this past year. Lots if ubers and bar taps and stuff to the tune if $350-400 a month! This on top of food money on his student account. As a result, he is going back to school minus a credit card. I trust Ed to not fo overboard, but have not decided if he is getting a card or not.
Confession: I did a mental gasp when I saw condoms on the list. I can imagine my eldest going to college (he’s only 11 but very academically inclined) but the idea of him being sexually active at that time threw me for a loop. I must begin to prepare. Puberty is coming.
“Puberty is coming.” HA! Made me think of this Game of Thrones parody.
This is one of the best things on the internet
I was also taken aback but only because at my college (albeit 20 years ago) they had buckets of condoms at the health clinic placed where you didn’t even have to walk through to the desk and interact with people to get them. I don’t think anyone I know ever paid real actual money for condoms. But way to be prepared, Swistle!
Jill, this is my recollection too! Condoms in buckets in the dorm laundry rooms; condoms free for the asking from the floor supervisors; condoms in our frosh kits; condoms at the health clinic… no one actually paid for them!
I remember it being WAY TOO EASY to get a credit card when I was in college; like, the credit card companies would set up booths outside the bookstore with free tshirts and whatnot if you signed up! I’m glad they’ve made it harder, but it’s too bad a GROWN(ish) MAN can’t get a credit card with, like, a $500 limit or something. ANYWAY. I discovered the authorized user thing when my boyfriend and I moved in together and he was constantly needing to buy things for projects around the house. Adding him as a user on my card raised his credit score around 50 points! The only downside is that he loses his wallet on the regular, and when that happens we BOTH have to get new cards.
I was going to comment the same thing! Some coworkers and I were just regaling the youths in our office about this phenomenon – CC companies were handing out cards like candy (FREE CANDY) to us back in college so that you could gleefully put yourself into debt with absolutely no effort whatsoever. The CC booths would COMPETE with each other, each one with more/better swag, to tempt you into their completely free credit card with zero checks on your history or anything else. Lined up in the cafeteria lobbies and rec centers. Seems insane now looking back on it.
Seems we’ve swung a bit too far the other way, but I have to say it’s still preferable to literally HANDING OUT FREE CREDIT CARDS to stupid 18 year olds.
Yes and yes to all of this!
Also – I definitely don’t recall heading to college with much of a first aid-kit! I probably took Ibuprofen and some band-aids. Is this another “the times have changed” kind of thing? In times of need, we went to health services or the RA in the dorm. My experience was on a small campus though, and I can see how larger campuses may have those services, but it’s crowded and inconvenient to get there. I currently have a senior AND a junior, so we’ve been visiting colleges this summer. And oh boy times have changed! Every single college has had a movie theater on campus. Every single college has moved to eliminating traditional dorms (one was fully transitioned to suite-living, no traditional dorms at all). None of these were private schools!
I put things in the first aid kit that I thought he might need in the wee hours, when health services wouldn’t be open, or that were too minor to bother health services with (ibuprofen, bandaids)
It’s why I didn’t include a thermometer; I couldn’t imagine circumstances when he would need to know his temperature but not need professional medical assistance
OMG YES! I still have a Discover card in my name from 1989 that I never use. Got it in college and it was easier than signing up for classes for crying out loud.
Cringing at the thought of buying condoms for my son. Cringing at the thought of him NOT having them. I have 6 years until college – must foster independence in such matters.
I sent condoms with a label:
Consent not included
You have to get that yourself
I am pretty sure that use of the label maker is Peak Suburban Feminist Mom
(Also I did not put a thermometer or Tums in the first aid kit but did include Imodium)
Brilliant
You didn’t ask for suggestions…but a few things I would think about adding?
Pepto bismol tablets, or Imodium
Spoon, fork, knife
Can opener
Bottle opener
I probably said this when Rob was preparing to leave, but if you have a kid who is likely to be homesick I strongly suggest that not everything be new. The sheets will need to be thanks to the weird size, but wash them in the detergent from home and leave them unpacked to pick up that “home” smell. Consider suggesting they take the comforter or whatever from their bed at home. Etc. Buying all new stuff “special for college” was a big mistake when I went to school. I was horribly homesick and absolutely nothing was familiar or comfortable.
Those are some wise freaking words, Cara.
This list is awesome. Printing it out now and hoping needs don’t change much in five years when I will actually need to use it.
I strongly endorse two mugs instead of one, because you can share hot tea/chocolate with a guest that way; my electric kettle and mugs got a lot of use my year in the dorms. (that form of socialization may be a girl thing, though; but the cost of two tea bags or two packets of hot chocolate: way, way cheaper than a cup of coffee anywhere, plus there’s no need to go find somewhere)
We didn’t have microwaves (and the every-other-floor kitchenettes kept being closed due to being set on fire), so the electric kettle was my road to dorm-room hot food (incidentally, it is possible to make pasta and cous cous in an electric kettle; it is inadvisable to make spicy flavored cous cous in a plastic electric kettle). But really, the electric kettle worked brilliantly for cup noodles and other “just add water” options, as well as hot tea and hot chocolate; between that and granola bars, I was set for food outside of cafeteria hours. Useless if it’s not allowed, and not useful except for cooking pasta if there’s a microwave conveniently available, though – so much dorm stuff is environment-specific or person-specific!
This post made me a little shocked to realize that parents actually make lists and buy things for their kids heading off to college: in terms of physical things, all my parents took care of for me for the start of my university career was a ride with any stuff I’d managed to accumulate and pack myself for my living needs. Not to disparage my parents: some of that stuff was stuff I took from home that they’d paid for, like my bike and my clothes and an old set of sheets, and I hadn’t lived with them for summers for a few years when I left permanently for university, so they were very used to me taking care of myself. Plus they did pay for my residence, books and tuition in first year, so I had my own saved money to take care of a lot of the stuff on this list.
My oldest won’t be going off for another 5 years, but I’m betting that I’m more a Swistle-type parent, and will be referring to this list!
Hold up, hold up — I was feeling ever-so-slightly smug about the adding him to the credit card thing like, yeah, my parents did that with me, we did that with Angus, silly Swistle (sorry), but they actually build a credit score based on that? I had no idea, and was just thinking we really had to work on getting him his own card, which would probably, truthfully, be a frigging disaster right now.