A to Z: What To Bring To College

<p>Maybe this could come handy Bed</a> Bath & Beyond - Shop for College | Back to College Checklist</p>

<p>Thanks for the list. Im going off to college for the 1st time and your list helps me a lot.</p>

<p>"Now that we have a list of things to buy, I'm wondering how much does it all usually cost? For incoming frosh?</p>

<p>I'm putting a $1500 limit on myself for buying dorm stuff. Is that too much/ too little? $500 of the limit goes strictly to clothes. Is that too much/little for clothes?</p>

<p>How much did/do you spend? What would be a total waste of time to buy? "</p>

<p>1500 sounds like ALOT of money to spend on going to school. Honestly, you should be living with the same stuff as you do at home...you just have to transport it to college. I probably spent about 300 dollars when I went to school. I bought:
new toiletries - 20$
some new clothes/workout clothes - 50$
a microwave (my roommate got the fridge) - 60$
various organizers (folders, paperclips, etc) - 15$
desk lamp - 15$
plastic bins - 30$
bedding - 70$
whiteboard and markers - 25$
various school supplies (pens, pencils, notebooks) - 15$
Materials to hang stuff in my room - 10$</p>

<p>I'm sure I've forgotten something -- I am a junior this year, so it's been awhile since I started college -- so maybe count an extra 50$ in there. For everything else I just took the stuff I had at home. Believe me, you don't want to bring too much stuff with you. I lived in a huge room compared to most colleges, and it was a bit crowded so I had to send some stuff home with mom and dad. You will feel much better with less stuff, and it's way easier to just go to the local grocery store and buy whatever food and drinks or random **** you want. And then you won't spend money on stuff you don't need (what if your dining hall sells ramen and you brought enough for the next year...kind of a waste of meal plan money) and you won't have to store a year's worth of pop-tarts or whatever in your room.</p>

<p>My one recommendation: if you are living in a room with carpeting, GET A VACUUM. Luckily for me my neighbor had one and I just borrowed hers, but if we weren't able to find one we would have been very sad indeed.</p>

<p>If you haven't, go back a few pages and download iceburns288's list. His reasons for bringing stuff are hilarious and it really makes the list much more feasible.</p>

<p>I took iceburns288's advice and changed the list up a bit and only came up with about 35 things that I would really need during the first couple weeks of school. I mean if you're not going to be using it within the first few days then you can just go get it another time. No point in lugging a bunch of crap that you don't need to the dorms.</p>

<p>Question for OP: do you really bring everything on your list and how many suitcases and/or other storage peripherals does it take to bring all that?</p>

<p>I read this thread like three years ago, when it started, and I thought that it was figured out pretty early on that this is more a "What You'll Need in College" list rather than what to "Bring." </p>

<p>As someone who is going to be a senior in college in a couple of weeks, there's a lot on the list that makes perfect sense for some people and is overkill for others. I don't have room for futons or clothing lockers or whatever, but it depends on your university's room sizes, whether you're in a single, etc. </p>

<p>As others have done, you just take the list as a simply a guide of sorts, you have to adapt it to suit your own needs. No one is saying this is "THE" list, anyhow. A few people seem to be taking it a bit literally.</p>

<p>i'm leaving for college in less then 3 weeks and have not even started packing yet lol. I'm gonna bookmark this page for future reference</p>

<p>Wow, the OP lays out quite the list!</p>

<p>When I moved away for college, I wasn't necessarily moving for college as much as I was moving out of state for real (basically, I was moving regardless), so with that I took everything.</p>

<p>However, if you are going to be living in a dorm or other form of student housing, I would strongly suggest bringing the bear minimum with you. There are three reasons for this:</p>

<p>1-Most dorm rooms and other college living spaces are small. You have no idea what your dorm-mate or room mate(s) are going to bring (unless you met them prior to moving in and discussed what each of you would bring), so there is no point in brining a bunch of stuff if there is no space. Wait until you get there and see what you have room for. </p>

<p>2-You WILL acquire stuff along the way, I can almost guarantee it. That tacky 70's style lamp that you and your dorm mate saw at the thrift store yesterday would look perfect in your dorm room. </p>

<p>3-You will more then likely go back home over the summer and winter breaks (some dorms kick you and your stuff out over winter break). Do you really want to lug all of that stuff back and forth with you? I suppose you could just rent a storage space. I have seen many college kids throw away their stuff (desks, shelves, cd's, etc) when they go back home.</p>

<p>My suggested list:</p>

<p>A--Box of Kleenex. You may think that you are tough, mature and independent, but these will come in handy in the beginning. </p>

<p>B--Big bottle of Aspirin. The number of ways to gain a head ache in college are countless. I am not just talking about from partying, either. College is frustrating at times and stressful at others. </p>

<p>C--Lap top. You could bring a desk top if you want/need the power, but they take up precious real-estate, are a pain to move, and I wouldn't trust putting one on an airplane. </p>

<p>D--A cell phone with a camera and a plan to send/receive picture messages. </p>

<p>E--A digital camera. Taking pictures with your phone is cool, but taking them with an actual camera is even better. </p>

<p>F--Your own bedding. </p>

<p>G--If you have one, your favorite blanket.</p>

<p>H--A scrape book of pictures and other items. I would personally avoid things that are too sentimental, but a few favorites to remind you of home are nice.</p>

<p>I--Clothes. This goes without saying, but I would limit your clothing to your favorites and other essential items. No need in bringing your entire wardrobe.</p>

<p>J--An alarm clock. An essential item that is both the students savior and worst enemy.</p>

<p>K--A back pack. Messenger bags are cool, but really they are not designed to carry heavy loads (and books are heavy).</p>

<p>L--Personal items such as tooth brush, combs/brushes, make-up, deodorant, and the like. Avoid bringing your entire vanity and/or bathroom. You can always pick up soap and shampoo and other stuff as needed.</p>

<p>M--Your own towel. To me this is a no-brainer, but you wouldn't believe how many college students forget this item until they need one.</p>

<p>N--A subscription to something like Netflix, iTunes and the like that would allow you to watch movies on your computer. This saves space by not having to have a dvd player or extra shelving space. </p>

<p>O--An mp3 player. </p>

<p>I am sure that there are other items that I am leaving out. </p>

<p>I just like to travel light.</p>

<p>here's another list that's been used by thousands of students over the years:</p>

<p>How</a> to Spell College Master Checklist for Dorm Packing</p>

<p>WOW! Thanks so much for this list! I feel a much better to know what all I might be needing!</p>

<p>Bring lots and lots of quarters for the arcade, and manga so you won't get bored in math class.</p>

<p>a video camera :) video contests are great ways to earn some fun prizes or extra cash.</p>

<p>Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but bring an umbrella and rain boots. I can't believe how many fellow students wander around getting soaked.</p>

<p>I think this information is really usefull a funny. But everything matches to whats useful, im not still in college, but when I'll get there, then I would use your advices, of tools needed to "survive" .</p>

<p>how many bags do you need to pack in order to bring all that?</p>

<p>wht abt the international students like me ? they cant evn bring 1/100th of this stuff due to traveling restrictions....</p>

<p>A lot of stuff is bought when you get to school.. Even if you aren't coming from far away.</p>

<p>a lot of that stuff you can buy as multi-function tools, parts of kits, or combine with others. For example:</p>

<p>-rain jacket, light jacket, and hoodie can be combined into a warm hoodie you wear when it rains. </p>

<p>-Corkscrew, can opener, bottle opener can be taken care of with an all purpose swiss army knife. </p>

<p>-Cleaning supplies can be combined into a bottle of fantastic/windex and some paper towels. </p>

<p>-utensils and kitchenware consists usually of plastic utensils (you can get fork/knife/spoon all in one package), a stack of solos, a stack of cheap paper plates, and one microwaveable bowl</p>

<p>Etc.</p>

<p>Wow! I would've never thought about bringing more than half those things. Hmm..</p>

<p>O_o</p>

<p>this is an AWESOME list. thank you so much, kate!! i'm not going to school for like seven more months, but it's never too early to start planning, right?</p>

<p>(besides, something tells me it'll be better to start stocking up on stuff and storing it away then buying it all at once... there's that semlance of spending less money lol)</p>