• Logistics of College on the Other Coast
• How do you get your child's stuff to and from a far-away college?
• More Advice about College

Logistics of College on the Other Coast

Hi, I have a daughter leaving for college in a few months. I would like some ideas from families who have been through this. How did your family deal with banking? Debit cards? How much do you give a college student for misc. expenses? How did you transport a students clothing, electronics, all dorm needs across the country? Thanks to you

Cold-weather clothing can be shipped from home later in the semester,via the post office.

Banking is more of an issue, especially if your daughter isn't 18 yet, in which case she'll need you to open an account with her. Banks are still different on the East Coast but this is about to change. In the next year or two, Wachovia Bank branches will be absorbed by Wells Fargo. Similarly, Chase now has branches nationwide,including downtown Berkeley, so your child might want an account there. Otherwise there will be a small service fee for using other banks ATMs with her debit card from home. Having an account in a bank that you can also visit here in the East Bay will make your life easier, in case an instant deposit is needed.

By the way, make sure your student stays away from those ubiquitous ATMs at delis and convenience stores and sticks strictly to bank-owned ATMs. My daughter encountered some nasty security issues related to those ATMs not affiliated to banks.

Another tricky issue has been prescription drugs. Our daughter couldn't fill her out-of-state prescriptions in NYC, which meant we had to mail medicine to her regularly. Not the most efficient set-up. Depending on the health services offered by your daughter's college, she may have better options. Laura

I agree with the previous poster about Bed, Bath & Beyond. My daughter chose the bedding and other dorm necessities here at home and picked everything up once she arrived at school. Even if you're not going to be there with her, most schools expect to help students with those errands during orientation.

I also agree that it's much easier to handle the banking issues if you have easy access to your child's account. We bank with Wells Fargo, and our daughter already had an account there before college. Before she left, we looked to see whether Wells Fargo was available where she was going to school and where the closest ATMs were. She has an ATM card, only, not a credit card. As for how much money to provide, we found that she needed a lot in the beginning. Textbooks are incredibly expensive. After that, she seemed to need very little--often less than $100 a month--but that will vary depending on your child's extracurricular interests, food tastes and the college's amenities. For instance, at my daughter's university, laundry is free and almost all entertainment takes place on campus and is free.

One other thing I'd suggest is checking College Confidential (www.collegeconfidential.com) for your daughter's school to ask some specific questions about move-in, or to look to see if your questions have already been asked and answered. I've found CC to be a great resource, with current students and parents very willing to help. Another College Mom

Good luck -- just worry about getting everything back after 4 years! Wendy

At the airport, the only thing that caused a bit of a hold-up was the CO2 detector I'd bought for her dorm room. The screening personnel had no idea what it was. We finally assured them it was not a bomb, and they let us through. As it turns out, the dorm room already had a built-in one, though it wasn't mentioned anywhere.

Another tip you may not be aware of - the Post Office has ''Flat Rate'' priority mail boxes that are a great deal if you are sending stuff across the country. You can stuff them as full as you like, no weight limit, and ship anywhere in the country for a flat rate. They arrive in just a couple of days. There are several different box configurations, ranging from about $5 to $14. Great for sending care packages. Be sure you get the boxes marked ''Flat Rate'' or they will be priced by weight (of course, if the stuff is light, by-weight might be better). Good luck on your trip! R.K.

How do you get your child's stuff to and from a far-away college?

I'm interested in hearing how folks ship their child's ''stuff'' (and these days, there's a lot of it!) to and from far-away college. Mostly, I'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to do it. For the start of school, I know I can order new things and have them shipped (or picked up, or buy) there, but once she has the stuff, and no storage available on campus, what do people do for the summer, and/or end of school? UPS? US Mail? Storage sites? Pay extra (a lot extra) at the airport and bring it each way as ''excess baggage''? And without a car, how do the kids manage to get the stuff sent? How about the services that agree to pick up, store/ship and deliver everything? Are these a good deal, or very expensive? Thanks for sharing your experiences. Mom of college kid with LOTS of stuff

1) Try to really ask yourself whether all the stuff needs to be sent; many things can be bought at or near their college and are cheaper to buy/repurchase than to ship, in some cases. This can include things like bedding, lighting, little fans for the room, supplies, etc.

2) Send as much in advance as you can, via UPS ground, book rate, to an address at or near the school. ''Dude, you live near the school--can I send some stuff to your house?'' would be a welcome phrase to hear coming from your son or daughter on the phone. Some schools won't let you ship a bunch in advance and other schools are happy to hold the boxes for the student's arrival. Keep in mind this option can take weeks for the boxes to get to the school so you have to plan ahead, which, for many teens, is a bit on the difficult side, especially with the stress of moving away from home.

3) Consider helping your child move by going there with them ahead of time and renting a minivan or panel truck if you're shipping stuff via the airlines. If you can't do that, your child might want to connect with the above- mentioned ''dude'' who might also get access to a car or truck or van to help unload on the other end. If you go with your child to get them set up in school, please consider helping with the move and then quickly exiting. Your child, no matter how lovely, probably does not want you hanging around the school with them.

4) See number 1. In my opinion, kids do not really need a ton of stuff from home to take with them to college; really try to pare down whatever you can, and ship the minimum.

I'm sure people have other good suggestions, but those are a few! Good luck! Michael

Compare these alternatives to doing it oneself. To do so, you first have to think through the boxes and transportation issues. The transportation choices are taxis, friends with cars, or renting a U-haul van (which can be done at age 18). With any of these, your child would first get boxes and packing supplies, if needed, and then have the boxes transported to a storage locker or a US Post Office or UPS.

My experience was that for UPS and US Post Office, one should pack carefully and it can be quite expensive. For my son, the ideal plan was a storage locker he shared with a few friends. One friend had a large car, and they all used it to transfer their stuff to the storage locker. Check out costs, because those places further from campus are usually cheaper. Also, my son chained his bike to a fence in someone else's apartment building and it survived the summer. When he graduated from college I flew there and rented a car. That allowed me to find out where I could buy a bike box and have the bike shipped out and to help with getting needed supplies. And I was able to take some stuff back on the plane.

Of course the best idea is to have your child NOT take so much stuff to college or to use taxis during the school year to start sending stuff home (for example, the winter clothes after winter ends). One she starts dealing with the hassles of mailing it back and forth, the message may get through. Been there