BS Packing List for Int'l Students

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>I saw the Ultimate Supply List for Boarding School (or something like that), and it was just SOOO LONG and there's so much stuff that isn't even possible for me to bring (if i go). How am I supposed to bring a desk lamp with me on the plane? I'll need to pack everything essential in one or two large luggages, and then buy the rest once I get to USA. So I thought it would be helpful for the other 18% of BS students like me to have a different packing list that is more realistic for their own needs.</p>

<p>I'll start the list, but add to it! (especially to the 'buy' section)</p>

<p>BRING: Bring these things in your luggage</p>

<ul>
<li>Clothing (shirts, pants, underwear, socks, jackets, shoes, etc. I'd say this part will take up most of your luggage, since there won't be much time to shop for clothes)</li>
<li>Swim suit</li>
<li>Glasses/contacts, retainers, etc.</li>
<li>Special personal possessions</li>
<li>School Bag</li>
<li>Water bottle</li>
<li>Pencil case (as it currently is. don't stuff any more stationary you think you'll need, you can just buy it once you get there)</li>
<li>Electronics (laptops, phones, cameras etc.)</li>
<li>Small toiletries (comb, toothbrush, face towel, face cream, acne medicine, nail clipper)</li>
<li>Medicine</li>
<li>Instruments (violin, flute, guitar, etc. don't bring your piano =P)</li>
<li>Anything else in your house that you can't live with out. But be realistic. (I would bring some art stuff like my tablet and some of my sketching pencils, but I wouldn't bring my entire bookshelf full of my favorite books.)</li>
</ul>

<p>BUY: Buy these things once you get there</p>

<ul>
<li>Furniture (lamp, small shelf, fan, fridge, etc.)</li>
<li>Mattresses/ bedding / pillows etc.</li>
<li>Other toiletries (shampoo, body soap, conditioner, hair dryer)</li>
<li>Stationary (paper, scissors, tape, binders, notebooks, etc.)</li>
<li>Food and snacks</li>
</ul>

<p>Other Cautions</p>

<ul>
<li>Although most of your things will be bought once you get to USA, don't buy everything! If you have a water bottle at home that you can use, don't buy another one once you get there. It'll all add up and you'll end up wasting a lot of money.</li>
<li>Make sure you get some US dollars (kind of obvious, but, it'll take a while to get used to a new currency)</li>
<li>Need quarters (coins) for laundry</li>
<li>Need adapters if you're using your own laptop, mobile phone etc</li>
<li>Only pack foods/snacks that you KNOW they don't have in USA, and only if you REALLY NEED IT TO SURVIVE. </li>
<li>Might want something that converts Fahrenheit to Celsius (iphone app, thermometer, etc.)</li>
<li>Probably want an app that converts Metric to Imperial</li>
</ul>

<hr>

<p>PS: I have a question. When students leave their dorms for the breaks, do they take everything with them, or can they just be left in the dorm until the end of the year?</p>

<p>Also another important question that I just thought of.... do BS in USA use the (weird) american metric system for math, or the international imperial one?!</p>

2

<p>I’m pretty sure that schools won’t force you to haul everything back home for a two week break. </p>

<p>I don’t know about boarding schools, but in my public school, the math textbooks use both US and metric systems of measurements. It’s like a 50-50 divide. One problem will have inches, and other will have centimeters.</p>

3

<p>Your school may give you a packing list - ours did. We also came from far away & had to be careful on the amount packed. You can pre-order things like bedding at places like Bath Bed & Beyond & have it waiting at the store nearest the BS for pick up. You can also mail boxes beforehand (check with your school). Less is more. The rooms are small usually. You can have winter clothes & other things you don’t need immediately sent later, or buy them on shopping trips. During short breaks throughout the school year, everything stays in your dorm room. You’ll need to have a place to store it during summer if you don’t take it home.</p>

4

<p>Pack a few familiar well-loved things from your room–not an entire bookshelf, but your favorite book or two (Anne of the Island followed me everywhere, from college to my first “real” apartment), the conch shell you got on the beach when you were 6, you raggedy stuffed poodle, your purple pillowcase. If you get homesick, it can help to have those familiar things around. Stuff that can be pulled out and put beside your bed or tucked away if you don’t want it. </p>

<p>If your school has a dress code, you can keep the casual clothes to a minimum.</p>

<p>Athletic clothing, shoes, and equipment</p>

5

<p>@vivsters, at my public school we use half and half, too. Try to embrace the metric system though. Its not that hard when its around you all the time. Don’t use Celsius too much, but still check when you want to. Otherwise, it will be harder to be around all of us Americans and our weird measurements.</p>

6

<p>Wait, you have to bring your own mattress? D:<</p>

7

<p>@chuppybn</p>

<p>no, just that some people might prefer their own. sleeping is an essential part of life =P (at least im pretty sure my mom is gonna want to look at the mattress in my dorm)</p>