Tips for sending DC to university

[Tinytigertail]

DD is shortly off to a university in a city four hours away. We were planning on driving up the day before her move in date. It would be DH, DD and me. Would you take everything with you? (Might be a squeeze with 3 of us in the car) Or do food shopping on arrival? Obviously we will buy the fridge things when we get there. Any top tips and advice appreciated!

We took a few items with us and Dd ordered an online delivery to arrive the day after she moved in.

You're going to the shops anyway so I would definitely buy all the food there. Not only a more comfortable trip but she will know exactly how much storage she has once she has seen it and also it's a chance to find a big supermarket hopefully within easy reach of her accommodation so she knows how to get there etc.

Do the food shopping there - help her know the stores

be kind to yourself - it’s a huge transistion and she will likely be fine and you likely will struggle but you have done well to raise a child to this level of independence

We couldn’t fit all 4 of us plus all the student stuff comfortably in the car so we sent the new student and sibling by train whilst we drove everything up. Worked well.
we did the big food shop once there.
Also, for 2nd child, we stopped at big shopping centre just outside university city to buy duvet and pillows. This meant the car was less crowded for most of the journey.

Thanks everyone. Food shop once we are there looks like the way forward.
@childofthe607080s thank you for the kind words, they are very much appreciated @alongtimeagoandfaraway I'm really hoping we can get the 3 of us and all her stuff in the car, we're considering a roof box hire, but sending one up on the train sounds sensible!

Buy one of those plastic hanging things with pegs and some travel laundry wash so they can wash their pants and socks in their bathroom and hang them up to dry in between going to the uni laundrette for bigger washes (this tip was from my DD currently going in to year 2)

There will be 3 of us travelling and we will take all the stuff for uni in the car. When we have unpacked we will then do a food shop as I doubt there will be enough room in the car on the way there.

That's a really good idea, thank you!

If you’re on Facebook join WIWIKAU it’s really useful

Food shop when you get there for sure. We have a big estate car and I’m still thinking Dd will have to go on the train and meet us there!

Supermarket shop when you get there. Vacuum bags are good idea. Bring a couple of door stops.

There are lots of threads with tips on the Higher Education board every year.

My tips are:

Take a tape measure. You can buy things online like extra storage, hanging rails, door hangers or a clothes horse (over radiator ones are space saving) once you know what space they have.

If they already have storage boxes or organisers, use them for packing. They can use them if they need extra storage eg stacking boxes or those Ikea Skubb or Drona pop up boxes that they can shove under their bed or on the bottom or top of the wardrobe. If they only have 1 kitchen cupboard per person, a plastic storage box for keeping crockery and pans on their room is handy (and stops them being borrowed!)

A laundry bin that folds down and has handles for carrying stuff to and from the laundry is useful and can be used as a bag to pack stuff on move in day.

Take clothes that will need hanging on hangers tied together with an elastic band in bin bags or protective covers. It makes for quick unpacking, they can lie flat on top of other luggage and you don’t end up taking too many things to fit in the wardrobe as they know how much space they will need 😂

This will hopefully be me next year. I'm starting my surreptitious campaign for him to go to the local university 😭(joking!)

DD went to uni last year
We did a click and collect order from a local tesco. Dropped DD with all her stuff then me and DH went to collect the food - it gave her a chance to sort stuff out because 3 people plus boxes/duvets etc is pretty hectic.

The first week at home, without her, felt like a month!

get them to pack then put half pack, they always need far less than they think. Admittedly I had a people carrier at the time, but exh and i dropped of one of ours with plenty of space for 3 (united front for her) but I dropped my other dc off in my subsequent much smaller car just the two of us with far more space because I learned not to send so much stuff.

Depends on timings but the two of ours that were a 5 hour away, one of us drove them up (other parent had to stay home with schoolgoing kid) starting early and moved them in at 4-5.30pm. Then stayed overnight nearby and took them shopping/brunch next day. But it works different in different uni. 3rd kid had a move in slot in the morning with a 5pm 'meeting' so we just did that and back in a day (shopping in afternoon) but that was shorter drive.

Train solution sounds good if won't all fit in. I've never liked the idea of leaving a filled up car overnight next to a travelodge or similar so would stay night after not night before. Have known work tools stolen but not student stuff to be fair, and you presumably wouldn't leave any stealable tech in the car. But have always felt not worth the risk.

We’ve a hefty drive ahead of us in a couple of weeks up to Leeds (but car has a big boot and we’ve a roofbox). We decided to overnight in a semi-rural gated Airbnb to minimise risk of theft (and others had nabbed the cheaper central hotels), and take one of the earliest moving in slots.

DD is taking a small suitcase and a rucsac (for trips to see friends/home), but otherwise we are packing in stuff sacs, and some cheap “Dimpa-style” bags I bought from Ocado. We are also sending cooking gear etc in some sturdy bankers boxes we’ve used multiple times to store books etc. We plan to put a lot of stuff in self-store next summer to save carting everything back down here.

We’ll take photos of the empty room as soon as we arrive (good idea about packing an easy to access tape measure) and then we’ll head to a supermarket to do a food shop once we know how much space she has.

Have a look at companies like “Send my Bag” if you are short of car space.

We tend to drop their things off in room- head to shops leaving them to unpack - and get basics in for them for a few days - then check back in with them then go.

If you do struggle https://www.mybaggage.com/ is good for sending up packed cases ( we don't drive so have used and spent a while prior slowly picking up second hand cases in charity shops so we have enough ).

Also supermarkets in cities with students do tend to be aware and have things in for that demographic - so most things can be easily picked up if forgotten or don't fit.

Thank you for saying this. I know I’ve been very teary at the thought of my DC heading off

Vacuum pack anything you can.

They never need as much stuff as you pack! Food shop when there as you will then know how much room they have. DS ended up sharing a freezer drawer as not enough to have one each.

I second this. WIWIKAU = What I Wish I’d Known About University.
It was extremely useful when my eldest went to university a few years back. You don’t feel quite so alone because there are a lot of people who are in the same boat as you.