A list of stuff to bring and tips and tricks!

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>Is this in the right forum? I hope so. If not, I'll just post it elsewhere. :]</p>

<p>Anywho! A friend of mine who is headed off to college this summer sent me a PM the other day about what she should bring to college and tips and tricks to remember, and as a rising sophomore, my list has changed considerably from this time last year! Hopefully this is helpful to anyone who is confused about shopping and doesn't want to overpack. I'll divide this up into sections:
-Necessary
-Needed, but not necessary to buy, per se; avoid bringing if you can help it
-Nice to have, but not necessary
-Extraneous
-Tips and tricks and good things to know</p>

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<p>Point of note: very few things are ABSOLUTELY necessary to buy, or to buy new, except for things like socks and underwear (have plenty of these). Dorms are pretty communal, so you can always ask around if you need pots and pans and that sort of thing. Someone will be bound to have it if you don’t – I can tell you that, and my dorm only had 13 people last year!</p>

<p>THIS STUFF IS GENERALLY NECESSARY

  • Clothes, towels. You know that.
  • Bedding, but you don’t have to buy it new or anything. I just took the stuff off of my bed that I already had.
  • MATTRESS PAD. I can not tell you how much this helps, whether it is thick or thin or egg-carton style or pillow-top. Dorm mattresses are usually very old and are slept on by so many different people that they shouldn’t be trusted: they can be lumpy and gross, so get a mattress pad and good sheets, too, several pairs for laundry weeks.
  • Quarters. To do laundry. Unless you have card-swipes; Bard didn’t.
  • Toiletries, but DON’T buy them in bulk. You’ll have plenty of time to buy replacements during the year. Dorm rooms are small and it’s easy to over-pack anyway without five bottles of shampoo and eight toothbrushes. On which note…
  • A shower caddy. I suppose this could theoretically go on the next list depending on how close you are to the bathrooms, but you don’t want to be stuck carrying a million zillion bottles potentially all the way down the hallway.
  • SHOWER SHOES. Do NOT trust dorm showers. I mean, actually, I did by the end of last year, but…again, I had 13 people and it was legitimately a little house, so I knew everyone well and nobody had foot fungus and if people peed in the showers whatev. But you probably don’t want to trust large dorm shower stalls…ew.
  • Laundry basket, for obvious reasons.
  • Cell phone and charger. To my knowledge, most dorms no longer come with landlines.
  • A good lanyard or carabiner to keep track of your keys.
  • Dishes. How many depends on personal preference; I had a lot so that I could always rely on having them if they got stolen and/or so that I could contribute more for dorm dinners, but a close friend of mine got by on one bowl and one spoon all year, and you can always find stuff or buy more when you get there. But they are totally necessary.
  • Extension cord, if allowed. Dorms generally have only one or two outlets and you will have a lot of things to plug in.
  • First aid kit. You know you’re accident prone sometimes, and if not, somebody else will be.
  • Debit card
  • Rainboots/umbrella. Nobody likes being wet at 9 AM.
  • Organizational stuff, both for things and for homework.
  • My flash drive was my best friend.</p>
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<p>THIS STUFF YOU WILL NEED, BUT CAN BORROW, SO AVOID BRINGING IF YOU CAN*

  • A printer. I just use the ones in the computer lab, though, honestly, because my college is lucky enough to have free printing. There’s no reason to pay to constantly buy new ink and maintain it and etc when I can just walk to the computer lab; besides, when I did have one, it was loud and would wake my roommate up and she did not appreciate this very much. There should be a computer lab nearby. Besides, when you’ve done a lot of homework, it’s nice to get out and take a walk and cool your head. If you have to pay per page, then be wary and maybe invest in a printer…but if the prices are low enough, it can save you money in the long run.
  • Dryer rack. Much cheaper and better for your clothes than always using the dryer. School driers are crap anyway. Maybe communicate and share one with your roommate(s).
  • Pots, pans, etc etc. Someone will have them.</p>

<p>*(or if you want to, that’s fine, too – I’m just thinking cheaply, college makes you thrifty)</p>

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<p>NICE, SHOULD BRING, BUT NOT NEEDED

  • Picture frames and photos and etc
  • Posters and wall coverings – they are good to have because dorm rooms have a tendency to look like prison cells and these will brighten things up (and show your personality!)
  • A laptop. It’s definitely a great utility to have, but if it breaks, don’t be too miffed that you’ll have to wait a while to get it fixed; there are lots of computer labs and at my tiny school they’re 24-hours. If you go to a bigger college, that’s even better for computer opportunities!
  • A rug, unless your dorm is carpeted; in cold climes and with crappy dorm heating/ac, the floor might be really frigid on bare feet in February!
  • Good headphones! Long nights of homework in quiet places (eg library, in your room with a sleeping roommate) can be much less daunting and depressing with music and you don’t want to disturb people!
  • Books, movies, etc from home. They are good for boredom and may help make the transition easier.
  • Extra seating for friends…but dorm rooms are small, so again, be wary of space.
  • Wireless router, but I would hold off on this until you know whether your dorm has wireless or you need an ethernet. My dorm, for example, had wireless, but (somehow) the nicer dorms were ethernet-based. It’s nice to have one of these, though, if you want to be mobile and not attached to a wall.
  • Bed risers
  • Toys. Um, duh. I brought both of my lightsabers and several stuffed animals.
  • Camera. Best times of your life etc.
  • MUSIC! Just put it in digital form, much more convenient.
  • I found a hearty appreciation for fine teas.
  • A small tool kit and a small sewing kit. I found these especially useful so I ended up buying my own, but you can always borrow them from people, too. The boy in the room next to me was super prepared with EVERYTHING so I didn’t actually need to buy it. :stuck_out_tongue:
  • Crayons. Yes, crayons.
  • A bike. So much quicker than walking!
  • External hard drive</p>
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<p>EXTRANEOUS, TRY TO AVOID

  • TV. I mean, come on. You can watch television on your computer these days.
  • A new mattress. I know people that have tried. Ridiculous! Pricey!
  • A new desk chair. Seriously? I know someone who did this, too. If the ones at school are too hard, use a pillow. =P
  • This sounds weird, but…cleaning supplies. You don’t need your own paper towels, toilet paper, Windex, etc. Housekeeping provides these. There will probably even be a vacuum or something in a closet. Hand sanitizer is good, but otherwise…meh, you probably won’t use your own.</p>

<p>Other than that, use your intuition! You surely know what you need to survive and what you don’t. And if you find that you’re missing something, you can always get off campus to buy it or have your parent/guardian do it and bring it for you, it’ll be nice to catch up AND get stuff.</p>

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<p>GENERAL TIPS AND TRICKS

  • Buy used when you can! Also, learn to sew/DIY!
  • Try not to overpack. It’s hard, I know, but you don’t need, say, your entire wardrobe or eight bottles of shampoo or an extra desk chair. Dorm rooms have very limited space, so I would invest in a set of bed risers to give you extra space under your bed (unless, of course, you have a bunk bed, which I did, but those can be de-bunked), along with lots of those plastic ten-gallon tubs and other organizational things that you can put in your closet.
  • Furthermore, I was serious about not bringing your whole wardrobe. Bring a few pairs of shorts/light clothing for summery warm days, and lots of fall clothing, and maybe a sweater or light jacket for cooler days. You’ll probably be going home for fall break, so you can swap out your summer clothing for winter clothing then if it is already cold, or wait until Thanksgiving. There’s no reason to bring a heavy jacket in August!
  • COMPOST COMPOST COMPOST! Colleges are great about composting and recycling. Don’t throw away organic materials. :[
  • Don’t do your laundry every week. It’s a waste of money. You learn quickly in college that you can wear your clothes more than once before washing them…everybody is lazy and broke in college. If they don’t stink, they’re fine! (For me. Personal preference, though.) But bring plenty of underwear.
  • Dorms are infamous for bad lighting. Christmas lights do the trick for giving off more light and looking trendy to boot, and they’re cheap!
  • Make it look homey, otherwise you might get lonely and homesick or trapped. Nobody likes that.
  • If there are small and inexpensive things that you need, buy them after you get there. Hangers, garbage cans, and desk laps, for example, can be awkward to pack. Just stop by Wal<em>Mart on your way there or after you get moved in and before your parents leave. You can probably get one last meal on them that way, too!
  • I found out during the last week of the semester how helpful it is to punch a hole into an innocuous corner of your ID and keep it on your lanyard/carabiner with your keys instead of having to constantly dig through your wallet for it!
  • A minifridge…I mean, I guess you could buy one, but there are usually refrigerators and microwaves in common areas that you can use instead of shelling out the money. I barely use mine. That being said, you should be wary of people trying to steal your food. Label it THOROUGHLY.
  • Get plenty of exercise! It’s too easy to fall into that “I have too much homework so I am going to sit around and be lazy” routine. It’s so much better for you to go out and take a twenty minute walk or hit up the gym for a half an hour or go and find a good place far away from your dorm where you can walk and watch a sunset and walk back than to keep working through that and become disgruntled. Besides, endorphins make you happy and you’ll stay in better shape than your peers who sit and eat and gain the freshman 15 (like I did).
  • Join clubs and activities! Great way to make friends! Not that you’re not friendly enough as it is. :slight_smile:
  • Try not to buy from the bookstore. They overcharge like crazy! Buy used books from Amazon or something, and get your school supplies from Target or Wal</em>Mart or something. Or, even more fun: make your own notebooks from recycled paper and cardboard food boxes! FUN! Besides, bookstores are run by huge evil corporations.
  • I would avoid an alarm clock. It’s extra money wasted when you can use your cell phone perfectly fine. Set two alarms on your phone if you think it’ll be too easy to turn off. :]
  • You can’t always eat on the same schedule, and you don’t always know what is in your food, and you might not even have time to pop over to the dining hall if it has early hours like mine does. It helps to have a decent amount of food stockpiled in your room and find a kitchen where you can cook and/or carry a lot of healthy snacks around with you to class (unhealthy ones are no good, they’ll make you lethargic and zombified). Carry a banana and a water bottle (please don’t buy plastic water bottles, though, it’s easy to be green at college). And wake up a little bit early to go to breakfast, since you’ve got those meal points anyway and it’s important to have brain food/not have your tummy rumble embarrassingly during lectures.
  • Hit up sales, but be cautious, because they can often coerce you into buying things you don’t need just because they’re 50% off and you’ll end up spending more than is necessary.
  • Utilize post-it notes for notes to self.
  • Get to know your professors well: go to office hours, sit in the front two rows, contribute in class. One of my professors has become a good friend of mine, and although I go to a small liberal arts college, you can still try and get to know them.
  • Get to know security, food service, and housekeeping/buildings and grounds. These people don’t get enough respect from the student body and are often underpaid. They are friendly, generally, and it is good to know who is cleaning your house, who is keeping you safe, and who is cooking your food. It’s also been beneficial when in binds to know them, like when there were no more tables during club fair so one of the housekeeping people in the campus center went and got me one from the next floor.
  • Vending machines = crap
  • Keep in touch with friends from home, but don’t make that your life. You need to meet new people to be happy away from home.
  • Try to get off campus once and a while. No matter how much you love a place, sometimes it can be stifling and a change of scenery is nice.
  • For the love of all things beautiful, BE SAFE. Learn how to throw a punch and use your elbows. Know where you can find blue light phones and etc. And have a support network for when you are stressed or sad or need something more.
  • Get to know counseling, just in case.
    -If you already know which dorm you are being housed in, or once you find out, check as soon as possible to see its attributes and which dorm amenities are allowed. Like, it’s good to know a floor plan so you can plan accordingly which stuff you might need (if, for example, you are far from a kitchen area and will want a micro-fridge), whether or not you can use a hot plate or candles, whether it’s 24-hour quiet or all female, that sort of thing.
  • It helps to know as much as possible about your room going in. I found a former PC (like an RA) of my dorm on the Bard 2013 group before shopping for my dorm amenities, and he was able to provide an entire floor plan (as it wasn’t on the website) and room dimensions, and I found out that I was lucky enough to have a big room!
  • You need to know bed sizes so that you can buy appropriate bedding…some schools have mattress that are twin, others are twin XL. Most schools are twin XL, but Bard happens to be twin unless otherwise requested.
  • Utilize the class Facebook group so that you’ll have people to talk to when you get there, especially if you’re shy like I was. Coming to college forces you to be open and friendly, of course, but I met two of my closest friends on Facebook months in advance. :] People won’t always be the same so it won’t always work out, but c’est la vie, it’s good for networking and practicing meeting people.
  • Sit with people you don’t know! Be friendly! You’re in college, have fun and be openminded!
  • On that note, have fun, but be responsible about it and do make time for homework, since an education is the main reason why you are going.</p>
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<p>This is quite helpful! Thank you… as a freshman entering college this fall, it’s just what I needed. :)</p>

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<p>Corkscrew. The most annoying thing in the world is when you have a nice bottle of wine but nothing to open it with.</p>

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<p>Caillebotte – XD True that.</p>

<p>Leila – No problem! I’m glad it was helpful!</p>

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<p>loved this …
especially how you divided it into the various sections</p>

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<p>I have my boxes like this…:</p>

<ol>
<li>Bed ex. mattress cover, pillow, pillow cover, comforter, etc.</li>
<li>Desk/Drawer stuff ex. pens, pencils, notebook, drawer divider, etc.</li>
<li>Miscellaneous stuff ex. printer, ink, dvds, games, sneakers, boots, etc.</li>
<li>Shower stuff ex. shampoo, flip flops, body wash, toothpaste, toothbrush, etc.</li>
<li>Clothes (3 Boxes):
First Box: Summer/Early Fall Clothes: t-shirts, shirts, light sweatershirts, khaki shorts, etc.
Second Box: Late Fall/Winter Clothes: sweatshirts, winter jacket, jeans, sweaters, etc.
Third Box: Spring Clothes: shorts, t-shirts, light sweatshirts, windbreaker/rain coat, etc.</li>
</ol>

<p>Of course you could include your underwear and socks in the summer/early fall box to make unpacking easier. </p>

<p>I usually unpack all my summer/early fall and spring clothing, underwear, socks, athletic shorts, etc in the drawers upon arrival. The winter clothing box usually go in the closet until it gets chilly.</p>

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<p>Thank you! This will be quite helpful in the fall :)</p>

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<p>Completely disagree about the TV and desk chair.</p>

<p>I don’t even watch a ton of TV, but it’s nice to have a decent sized one for when you do…I watch a few hours a week plus we throw in movies sometimes…your computer screen is probably quite small.</p>

<p>I also got a decent office chair after my first semester, and it was very nice. The chairs they provided were hard and uncomfortable - after sitting in it for an hour or so I would get sore…got a decent office chair and it made a huge difference. You’ll be spending a lot of time in the chair in your room likely (depending on where you do homework, etc), so a nice chair is worth it.</p>

<p>Also disagree about an alarm - guess it’s just personal preference though. I know some people who use their phones for their alarm - I’ve always used an alarm clock and can’t get used to anything otherwise. Plus it’s nice to have a clock you can easily look at without having to pull out your phone or look at your computer.</p>

<p>I don’t think it’s common to have public fridges - my school doesn’t have them and I don’t know many friends who do. Plus I’d be leery of keeping my stuff in a public fridge. Much more convenient to have your own.</p>

<p>They sell card holders that can be attached to lanyards (and still expose magnetic stripes)…I see a lot of people use them. But I’m the kind of person who doesn’t want big things hanging from my keys (I don’t have a lanyard on them), and the outer pocket of my wallet seems to be best.</p>

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<p>FYI, there’s a nice, helpful list at the top of the forum that’s a huge list of things to bring. The thread also includes tips and tricks. It’s why it’s always at the top so people can always refer back to it. Lots of helpful stuff in that thread ;)</p>

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<p>That list is messy. I like this thread much better. Thanks OP!</p>