We’re excited to welcome your student to Carthage during New Student Arrival. Here are some move-in tips from parents of current and former students to help you prepare for your student’s arrival on campus.
“Bring a dolly or wagon to transport heavy boxes or your student’s mini-fridge. This way, you can avoid carrying it yourself and avoid making multiple trips. Oh, and IKEA has the best shopping bags!” — Jackie
“I found move-in (and move-out) to be very well organized. Prepare to use the stairs, though! My daughter was on the fourth floor in Denhart last year and the elevator gets busy.” — Jamie
“We had one parent help for move-in. Emotions are all over the place and more people in a small room definitely makes it harder for everyone, especially if the roommate and their family are there at the same time. Give your freshman all the space and latitude they need. They are trying to figure it out too. Just keep asking what to do. Your student might just have a plan.” — Trudi
Tips and information from Carthage
Consider bringing a dolly, cart, or wagon to assist you in moving items in and out of the facilities. Carthage does have carts and dollies available, but they are in limited supply.
Make sure your student labels their belongings with masking tape, writing down their building name and room number.
Always leave one person with the vehicle to help move-in run smoothly.
“Coordinate with the roommate on who has what. I’d recommend buying clip-on lights for their bed for extra lighting. Depending on the room setup, bed risers were a godsend.” — Colleen
“Bring a rubber mallet to change the bed height. I think ours made the rounds in Johnson freshman year.” — Erica
“Buy your box fan ahead of time! Everywhere we went was sold out.” — Jessie
“My son lived in Madrigrano and one thing that helped him in the bathrooms was having a hook to hang up his towel while he showered. Bring flip flops for shower shoes. Get a shower caddy. Having a drying rack for clothes also helped.” — Shelly
“Bring lots of command hooks — students use them! We bought an over-the-door, plastic shoe organizer that our daughter used to store things like her hairbrush, perfume, and a lint roller. — Holly
“Do make sure you have surge protectors as well as some heavier extension cords as the plugs are not always where you wish they were.” — Pat
“Invest in a small tool kit to keep in the room. I cannot tell you how often my kids had others borrow screwdrivers, measuring tape, and a hammer. You can get them on Amazon.” — Jennifer
“Bring paper plates and disposable forks and spoons. No one washes any dishes.” — Marie
“Pack a few fall/winter items. The weather can change quickly, and being stuck with all summer clothes gets the kiddos frustrated quickly.” — Tina
“Enjoy it! Take it all in and don’t let them see the tears.” — Jane
“I wrote my son a note of all the things I wished for him as he moved through his four years of college. I hid it in his laptop on his desk because I figured he would not use that until the day before classes started. He opened it, read it, and called me. He told me he’s got this and he met some great people. He is a junior now. Your student will grow leaps and bounds in the first month.” — Beth
“We left a note of encouragement letting our son know we were proud of him and knew he would have a fantastic college experience! He really liked that! I think that was more important than any material item we may have forgotten.” — Sue
“I always took a picture on move-in and move-out day to see how they grew over their time away. Maybe, this was a ‘helpful for me tradition; and not necessarily a help for them. I have found that the number of pictures you have of your children drastically decreases when they go off to college. This was my way of having something for their scrapbooks. ” —Beth
“Let your student take the lead in his/her journey to Carthage. Let your student find out all the who, what, where, when, and hows they can. My son graduated in May and is flourishing as a young adult now — with a job and a move to another state. They can do it if you let them! Hope all the new families enjoy Carthage as much as we did the past four years.” —Julie
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