With term-paper deadlines and final exams rapidly approaching, students will turn their attention toward one additional assignment as the spring semester concludes: packing up their campus apartment or dormitory.
Whether it’s time to move back home for the summer, move to another city for an internship or move overseas to study abroad, Collegeboxes is helping students make the transition with ease. In fact, more than 7,000 students at 160 colleges are currently utilizing the program.
Collegeboxes can store student belongings over summer or winter break. The concept of Collegeboxes began in 1999 as a student-run business at Duke University. U-Haul purchased the program in 2009.
“Our service saves the time and stress of making your own reservations, coordinating multiple flights for parents and students, baggage fees, car rental, gas, hotel and the pressure on your body to lift heavy items,” Collegeboxes program manager Sophia Hutchinson said. “Over a four-year span, this starts to add up. That’s where Collegeboxes steps in. We take all of the above out of the equation. Just pack and watch the savings add up.”
The service offers boxes and supplies, box pickup, storage, delivery and shipping (national and international) for college students. The customer has to purchase a Collegeboxes Supply Kit, which includes five double-walled boxes, packing tape, a permanent marker, 10 label pouches and zip ties. The Supply Kit retails for $39.99 and includes free shipping to the student’s address
Each box is 24″x18″x16″ and is much more durable than standard cardboard boxes. This ensures that the belongings are safe and secure during their time in storage and shipping.
On the outside of each box is a spot for the student to place their barcode labels. Each label has a unique barcode, which tracks the item from pickup to storage to delivery. The labels also include the student’s information to identify their belongings from other student’s belongings.
“Parents ask me, ‘Where was this service when I was in college?’” Hutchinson added. “They just love the convenience, the timing, how efficient and well-organized everything is.
“They also comment on how friendly the movers are and how easy they are to work with.”
Collegeboxes offers its acclaimed at-your-door service for its Summer Storage and Shipping, Study Abroad Storage and Shipping, and Ship to School services. A team will come directly to your room for pickup and delivery. This allows students to have their belongings picked up from their room and delivered back to that room (or a new room) at the start of the fall semester. Everything is manageable online from the account sign up to barcode tracking.
Summer Storage and Shipping is the most popular service and accounts for over 75 percent of the Collegeboxes business. A list of schools served is available by clicking the green icon at the top left of the Summer Storage and Shipping page.
Collegeboxes is the ideal solution for college students who want to focus on those term papers, exams and summer vacation plans without the worry and expense of a complete move-in and move-out every time a semester begins or ends.
