NEED HELP MOVING INTO YOUR DORM?

REVIEW: How COLLEGEBOXES means less worries for college students.

By Hailey Neumann

Packing and moving to college with the bare necessities and limited resources is never a fun moment. Move-in days are stressful, as students and families head in different directions at the same time, especially if a student is coming from out-of-state or out of the country. Now imagine the ability to limit that stress by having the opportunity to move with just a simple carry-on and a backpack in hand.

Collegeboxes, a program operated by U-Haul, one of the biggest moving and storage companies nationwide, is a solution for college students moving into a college dorm or moving out at the end of a semester.

Founded by college students at Duke University in 1999 and now owned by U-Haul, Collegeboxes has been helping students for over 20 years. Collegeboxes provides full-service moving solutions at more than 400 schools nationwide, Five Towns College included. They also offer their shipping service to every school nationwide.

Dain Howell, the Director of Collegeboxes, believes the program is an easy and worry-free opportunity to make student lives a little easier. With his own college-moving horror stories matching many others out there, the program is designed to alleviate those stressful moments. Their slogan, “Sign Up. Pack Up. Let us Handle the Rest,” defines exactly what Collegeboxes has to offer.

How it works

Whether a student resides in the state of their college of choice, out-of-state, or even internationally, Collegeboxes allow students to move stress-free. The program offers multiple ways to help. Their first and fastest-growing option would be Ship-to-School. With this service, the student goes online and signs up. From there, Collegeboxes sends a $39.99 supply kit containing: five double-walled boxes, zip ties, tape, markers, and ten label pouches directly to the student’s home. Students can use their boxes, but the boxes provided by Collegeboxes are built to withstand shipping. Next, all they have to do is pack, label, and schedule a shipping/pick-up date. The rest is covered by the company. The boxes and luggage are shipped to a local U-Haul Moving and Storage Center near the college of choice until move-in day when the Collegeboxes team delivers the packages directly to students’ rooms.

The program also offers summer storage and shipping at the end of any semester throughout the school year. Students can have Collegeboxes pick up and store their items locally or even ship some items home. If someone finds picking up or dropping off their items at U-Haul more convenient, self-pickup and drop-off is also an option.

“We have two corporate offices, one in Phoenix, Arizona, and another in Boston, Massachusetts. However, everything is local,” Howell mentioned. Although the two main offices run on the East and West coasts, whatever packages the students have, or any services they may need are all run out of a local U-Haul Center near campus.

Student control

When asked how easy it is for students to manage the process, Howell stated, “The students control everything [online],” including tracking, shipping, and scheduling dates ahead of time. With international students, Collegeboxes works closely with them to make sure everything runs smoothly through customs and will get to their destination. For students from different states or countries, using Collegeboxes allows an easier and faster moving process. Time spent stressing about packing and worrying if whether luggage meets the weight limit is eliminated, allowing students and their families to spend more time together before the big move.

Being enrolled in college full-time can be stressful. Collegeboxes allows students to have one less worry on their hands at the beginning and end of the  semesters.

To sign up,  students can visit https://www.collegeboxes.com/new-york/five-towns-college or https://www.collegeboxes.com/ to learn more about Collegeboxes and their services.

Local U-Haul Collegeboxes location

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Huntington Station

85 E Jericho Tpke

Huntington Station, NY 11746