It’s More Than A Visit. Manage the Gap.
Although it feels like you just moved your students into their dorms, you now have to move them out. The worst part, aside from the grueling heat, is that some may be returning in just a few weeks to move back in somewhere. And, if they have to be back early in August, whether it be another dorm, house, or an apartment, having to schlep their stuff back home to return in just a few weeks seems a little silly. I know how many carloads it took to get our daughter moved in and, frankly, I am not prepared to rent a U-Haul to get her home and back again. So, my first piece of advice is to recommend that they start bringing things home if they are making any trips home between now and the end of the semester or if you are visiting them, bring some of their belongings home. Here is how we managed that weird time between semesters, the gap!
FAU has partnered with Smart Box, which schedules pick up, and storage for students and return of the belongings. There are also several other storage options within the vicinity of campus. There are other companies that service FAU including DormRoommovers. They too will drop off boxes, pick them up and store them and then redeliver in the fall.
Another inexplicable frustration for students who live off-campus in apartments over the summer but are not planning on renewing their lease. Most leases end on July 30th but classes do not end until August 10th. That leaves those students in a bind as to where they should live for that 10-day period and store their stuff all while heading into finals. Check with the apartment rental to see if they will extend the lease; the issue here is that those apartments that are in high demand have no incentive to do this and many will not. If they are moving into another apartment or house, most new leases start after August 1st to allow the management company to clean the premise). It’s not ideal to have to move while studying. If they are graduating, perhaps find a good friend to put you up or look at an inexpensive hotel or Airbnb. As for their belongings, there is no easy solution. It is one of the many reasons I am not a big fan of students changing living arrangements every year.
For my daughter, we had no other option but to put her stuff put in storage by a company that FAU works with. Her items were in storage for a total of 7 days but we still had to pay for the full month. It is a pet peeve of mine that takes place not just at FAU but many of the Florida universities where students have to pay for sometimes only a few days of storage; you actually cannot rent a storage facility for less than a month so the price is still the same.
Hope these ideas help you manage the gap with your college student!
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