Move-in day will go more smoothly than you imagine, but it does require some patience. We came by car and had been informed at some point of the window of time allocated for arrival. When we arrived at Barnard, the police had cleared the area in front of nearest the main gates on Broadway, and Barnard staff were directing the cars over to the curb for unloading. We waited a short while, but were unloading pretty quickly. Everything out of the car and into specified areas on the sidewalk. Then you have to take the car to park it somewhere (the garage at Riverside Church is pretty convenient) so it's helpful to have an extra body to stand with the baggage and to stay in constant contact by phone. My daughter ran and did whatever sign in she needed to do and then a student volunteer came with a rolling cart, which we filled with as much of the baggage as would fit. That went up to the room with my daughter, then the cart came back and we refilled, and so on until everything was up in the room. It's a surprisingly efficient process.
Chances are it will be hot--a hot day and hot in the dorm room. Get the window open immediately. Bring an extra shirt for later (you'll want to change if you're going out for lunch, trust me). Send someone out for cold drinks. Bring a door stop and leave the door open while you're in there so people can stop in and say hi, which they do!
We found it best to have all of the cables, power strips, painters' tape, scissors--anything you need to put stuff together--in one bag. The bedding is the bulkiest, so we got the bed made up first (you'll want an egg crate and a mattress pad under the sheets). This year the pillows never made it into the car and we needed an extra power strip, but there are stores nearby (and Bed, Bath and Beyond a cab ride away) and everything is solvable in no time. Closet space varies from room to room, but it's not lavish, so skinny hangars are a must. The dresser is a decent size. Don't bring a ton of towels. The first year, you'd have thought we were outfitting the entire floor (6 or 8 towels, 10 washcloths, what were we thinking?) and you actually need three or four towels and one of those nylon poufs and a few washcloths. There just isn't room for a huge quantity of stuff.
In terms of the big items, rather than splitting the cost of a refrigerator or a tv among the roommates, for us it worked out better to divide the list itself. That way, there's no confusion if the rooming group changes the following year. We brought curtains and a tension rod, and my daughter's roommate brought a rug. (There are window shades of course, so the curtains aren't necessary, just nice.) If the roommates want cable television, you'll need to contact Time-Warner.
If anyone has any specific questions, please ask! I'll happily poll my daughters and their friends for their opinions, too. Best wishes, Catherine.
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