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OFF TOPIC - NCSU Move-In Day for n00bs

NoMich

NoMich

Well-known member
A buddy of mine from Michigan has a kid that will be a freshman in State's College of Engineering this Fall and they are a bit intimidated by the thought of move-in day in August. The kid will be staying in Syme residence hall. Do any of you State alums have any advice for them? Did you utilize any special plans and tactics that helped ease the tension of the day? Or is it going to be a crap show inside of a dumpster fire no matter what you try to do?
 
Ahh ... Slyme. Next door to Mold and Belch ... aka Gold and Welch.

Look. It's going to be August in Raleigh. Swimming in sweat and wringing out your socks by 10am is a thing that's going to happen. Hydrate, mentally prepare for that up front and maybe pack a few cold packs and some towels in a small cooler. We did that when we moved my daughter in down in Greenville SC and I was happy to have done so. Colleges generally hand out the water bottles like crazy on move-in days, but I wouldn't count on it. Boy Scout logic ... better to be prepared to take care of yourself. Also, moving several thousand freshmen in on a campus the size of more or less four city blocks that doesn't have enough parking for its normal day to day activities? Yeah. That's fun too. That's the bad news.

Here's the good news ... State does this every year and the kid will be moving in on the east side of campus where the boundary is Pullen Rd and Pullen Park. They herd traffic pretty efficiently on the edges of campus, making use of the additional space they get from the Park. Tell them to read the move-in emails closely because pretty detailed instructions are generally contained within. Be prepared that they almost certainly will off-load their stuff and then go park the car .... probably somewhere near the moon, but more likely near Theater in the Park. Then you come back and set stuff up. Also, I've been on campus a bunch of times during move-in day (construction projects wait for no man and are ALWAYS behind schedule) and they put half a billion temporary directional signs out. Like starting way out on Western Blvd. Which reminds me, it's probably wise to approach campus from the Western Blvd side as opposed to Hillsborough St, but they might assign a specific route in the emails ... watch those closely. He repeats himself for emphasis. And hey ... Syme is VERY close to the Student Health Center should things go awry.
 
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Lived in Syme 213 for my first 2 years stating fall of 1980. It's better with girls on top! Hope it still is.

Wonder if the old dorms have a/c now. Or modern radiators. Or if the seeds I planted there are still growing!!!

I can't even remember move in/out any more. There are no easy access points since there is/was no elevator and only south end exited to a sidewalk. Everything went up and down the stairs.

Syme had very high ceilings then, so we all built sleeping lofts and the floor was occupied by desks and furniture. And a stick plant. And a traffic barrel. And a manhole cover end table.

I recommend if they attempt to ferment a beverage in their room that they use an airlock to let CO2 out. Much less messy.

Logged into the NCSU digital plan room. Lots of upgrades since my time.

That's all I have.
 
LJG said:
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I recommend if they attempt to ferment a beverage in their room that they use an airlock to let CO2 out. Much less messy.
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It's so funny that you should mention this because the kid's father is an award-winning brewer up there in Michigan. His brewpub is named Stormcloud Brewing and if you ever have the good luck of ending up in Frankfort, MI, check that place out. The beer is really, very, quite delicious. And if you're wondering if this is the same brewery that made Raleigh's Clouds Brewing change their name, the answer is Yes.
 
For the record, the old east campus dorms were upgraded to A/C and central heating years ago. Don't think they have elevators though. Quick look at housing website and ... nope. No elevator. I had a buddy who was an RA on the 4th floor at Syme one year ... mid-80s, and yes - I'm old. The rooms are pretty big and have high ceilings as our resident architect mentioned, but the 4th floor was a freaking steam bath back in the days of no A/C. That's what sticks with you. Literally.
 
jeffbear said:
For the record, the old east campus dorms were upgraded to A/C and central heating years ago. Don't think they have elevators though. Quick look at housing website and ... nope. No elevator. I had a buddy who was an RA on the 4th floor at Syme one year ... mid-80s, and yes - I'm old. The rooms are pretty big and have high ceilings as our resident architect mentioned, but the 4th floor was a freaking steam bath back in the days of no A/C. That's what sticks with you. Literally.
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Fourth floor was chicks' floor when I was there.
 
jeffbear said:
For the record, the old east campus dorms were upgraded to A/C and central heating years ago. Don't think they have elevators though. Quick look at housing website and ... nope. No elevator. I had a buddy who was an RA on the 4th floor at Syme one year ... mid-80s, and yes - I'm old. The rooms are pretty big and have high ceilings as our resident architect mentioned, but the 4th floor was a freaking steam bath back in the days of no A/C. That's what sticks with you. Literally.
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Of course they kept the heat on over winter break, which was real convenient when the g/f and I wanted to get away from families. Yuck yuck yuck
 
Thank goodness I went to a small school. But I still have dreams about not being able to figure out what buildings my classes are in, much less what rooms, with two weeks left in the semester.
 
LJG said:
So, how'd it go???
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Oh yeah! Sorry for the lack of update.

From their report, it seems that State saw the light and switched to a staggered move-in system. My buddy said that thanks to a very nice NC State peace officer directing them to park in an empty nearby lot, there really was no waiting at all on Saturday and got his kid into his room with nary a problem. And even though they got lucky with the temperature, it was still terribly humid, especially for a family from beautiful Frankfort, MI, which is right on one of the big lakes kinda up north(ish).

As an aside, when the family toured U of M, all they heard by university folks showing them around was how lucky their kid was to be accepted to that particular school. By contrast, all of the folks at State were so nice and pretty much said the opposite: we're so lucky to have you. My buddy said it was no contest as to what school their kid was going to attend when they factored in the attitudes and the fact that State's campus is so much nicer.
 
For the record, my alma mater does a brilliant job with prospective student tours nowadays. Which is great, because back in my day they pretty much just told you to show up for open house and figure it all out for yourself. Things have changed a lot since the Pleistocene era.
 
NoMich said:
Oh yeah! Sorry for the lack of update.

From their report, it seems that State saw the light and switched to a staggered move-in system. My buddy said that thanks to a very nice NC State peace officer directing them to park in an empty nearby lot, there really was no waiting at all on Saturday and got his kid into his room with nary a problem. And even though they got lucky with the temperature, it was still terribly humid, especially for a family from beautiful Frankfort, MI, which is right on one of the big lakes kinda up north(ish).

As an aside, when the family toured U of M, all they heard by university folks showing them around was how lucky their kid was to be accepted to that particular school. By contrast, all of the folks at State were so nice and pretty much said the opposite: we're so lucky to have you. My buddy said it was no contest as to what school their kid was going to attend when they factored in the attitudes and the fact that State's campus is so much nicer.
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You talking about NC State???
 
jeffbear said:
...the street preacher of the day.
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Some things have not changed. Did a renovation in Erdahl-Cloyd a couple years ago and one was out there daily.

Campus is much nicer now. Just hard to not make a joke from the memories, though.
 
sounds like Michigan people think their crap doesn't stink. Same is true for a lot of schools. Two of them are located in Chapel Hill and Durham. (not the one with the Eagle mascot)
 
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