Early Decision on Dorms

Three recent Stanford graduates have launched a Web site that aims to ease some of the stress faced by college freshmen.

Kenneth Shaw (an econ major) and Mickey Asavanant and Jennifer Gee (computer science majors) lived in dorms their first year and remembered the awkwardness of move-in day, settling in with total strangers. "Everything happens on the first day. It's so chaotic," said Shaw, recalling the discomfort of negotiating how to set up the room and how expenses would be split with roommates you'd just met.

Last fall the three dreamed up Homeslyce.com, a site to help students share the cost of birthday gifts such as iPods and flowers for friends. They retooled the site after graduating this spring and began marketing dorm necessities carried by Amazon.com and Target.com. The new site enables students to network before school starts about what to buy for their room and decide on a budget. Roomies can split the cost online, and everything from microwaves to couches to electronics can be shipped to the dorm. Homeslyce.com receives a percentage of the sale, but goods are priced the same as on Target.com or Amazon.com.

The site also offers survival tips for dorm life (keep off the freshman 15 by walking to class and getting more sleep), a list of the top 10 things students forget to pack (extra long twin sheets, hangers) and where to buy inexpensive textbooks.

Shaw, Asavanant and Gee hope to add more online retailers and reintroduce marketing for birthdays and other special occasions. They're also planning to target the site to individual schools.

"What kind of items are more necessary at a specific college like a lamp, fan, heater or bicycle," Shaw said via e-mail. "Also, the dimensions of dorm rooms as well as pictures so students know what to expect."

Kathleen Hom