<p>Yo, so there are a bunch of college shopping lists out there, but they seem like a parent or admin wrote them up.</p>
<p>Anyone wanna write down the few ESSENTIALS every dorm room (single, double, whatever) should have? That'd be great!</p>
<p>That would be fantastic. Any Williams-specific, Williams-trend college shopping items would also be great.</p>
<p>bump.</p>
<p>Something like this would be greatly appreciated. For example, do we need bookshelves? Nightstand?</p>
<p>Hoping someone will give some suggestions. We’re visiting the college again over the summer and will take another look but don’t expect to see inside the dorms. Any suggestions on the beds – do you need to bring risers? Underbed storage? Foam mattress toppers? Where are the local stores for accessories/essentials needed at the last minute. Is there a Target around the area? We’ll ask questions on our upcoming visit and share what we learn, but would appreciate hearing from current students from a male and female perspective!</p>
<p>hi this is my moms account.</p>
<p>bed risers are a good idea. cause then you can keep stuff under your bed</p>
<p>bring plenty of clothes for cold weather. think ‘layers’… layer upon layer upon layer etc</p>
<p>there’s a walmart about 10-15 min away if your mom and pops wanna take you there when you get dropped off at school… they got all kinds of stuff there</p>
<p>bring a toothbrush, and speakers too, pump the frosh quad with your music. xmas lights to hang around your room…</p>
<p>if you’d like to ask me questions, you’re more than welcome to email me: 10erm @@@@@ williams.edu</p>
<p>foam mattress toppers?? i dont know what they are but id say bring one</p>
<p>also, the beds are TALL size (i think that’s what its called) so you cant bring regular sheets, you have to specifically buy “tall” ones</p>
<p>also, to let you know, this is a MALE perspective</p>
<p>No need to bring your own bookshelves (unless you plan on bringing/amassing a LOT of books). Every room includes a bed, desk, chair, bookshelves, and dresser/drawers. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Speakers are always nice if you’ve got a laptop with crummy sound or for when you want to throw the occasional dorm room dance party. However, blasting it into the frosh quad is not always a welcome thing.</p></li>
<li><p>All beds are Twin Extra Long. Any decent bedding place will sell sheets and comforters of this size. </p></li>
<li><p>Foam mattress tops are a good idea. Without some sort of cover, the beds tend to be a bit uncomfortable, but a decent top helps a ton.</p></li>
<li><p>From my own experience, I thought having a mini fridge was very useful. Good for storing leftovers, drinks (alcohol and otherwise), etc. </p></li>
<li><p>A small printer can be useful in certain situations. While printing is very convenient in the libraries, you never know when you might be in a last-minute situation when you just can’t get to a library in time. </p></li>
<li><p>The first month or so of fall semester can actually still be quite warm, so you might consider having a fan. Also good for producing white noise if you have trouble getting to sleep. </p></li>
<li><p>The Wal-Mart is pretty close by. Target is a little farther. It’s located at the mall, which is about a 20-25 minute drive.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you bring sheets, clothes (including a warm coat), a laptop, and toiletries, you’ll be fine. There are no other essentials. You’ll probably also want laundry detergent, a pillow (the beds don’t come with pillows), and basic school supplies, but those can all be picked up in Williamstown easily enough if you’re flying and don’t have room to pack them.</p>
<p>There are a bunch of other things like printers, speakers, bed risers, fridges, microwaves, assorted cookware, extra furniture, lamps, rugs, etc. that some people like, but many others find aren’t worth the cost/bother/clutter. If you don’t <em>know</em> that you’re going to want a particular item, it’s probably safer to hold off on buying it until you actually get to Williams, settle in for a while, and get a better idea of what you’re going to want. There are plenty of opportunities to buy stuff in Williamstown, including of course the aforementioned Walmart and Target as well as online retailers like Amazon, but also random events like the Congregation Church’s annual tag sale, which happens a few weeks into the fall semester and where you can pick up used furniture, fridges, appliances, etc. (most of it stuff in good condition that was donated by last year’s graduating seniors as they cleaned out their dorm rooms) for much cheaper than you could get them new. You’ll feel silly if you spent $200 on a new minifridge which you hauled all the way to Williamstown, only to discover that you could have bought a perfectly good used one on campus for $40. And of course you might also discover once you get here that you really don’t need a fridge at all.</p>
<p>Lots of good ideas here. I just wanted to add that a good foam mattress cover can be an absolute necessity for some students. We sent my son with a good quality thick mattress pad. He didn’t sleep for the first week until we got a thick foam pad to him. He ended up using both pads.</p>
<p>Yeah, a mattress pad is a definite…well, not necessity, but the “I-could-live-without-it-but-why-would-I-do-that-to-myself” equivalent of a necessity. Get one. A thick foam one. They compress and fold, so they’re not that hard to bring. And they are SOOOOO worth it.<br>
Printer: definitely worth it. I had a printer for the first half of the year, then ran out of ink and never got around to replacing it. Trust me, when you finish your work late at night or right before class, or whenever you finish it, you don’t really get a feeling of relief until it’s printed and in your hand. And when it’s cold out, you don’t really want to run to the library to get it.<br>
A light would be nice…in a double it lets your roommate go to bed before you finish your work, and it’s just nice overall because the rooms can be dim sometimes.<br>
Speakers are worth it. End of story.<br>
Don’t worry about bed risers until you know whether or not your bed is adjustable…the beds in Mission are; you can fit the dresser under them when they’re raised.<br>
No large furniture (aka nightstand, bookshelves) but I did manage to have a nice comfy chair in my Mission single.<br>
So:<br>
Foam mattress pad: Definite.
Printer: I would, no question.
Light: Convenient.
Speakers: Worth it.
Bookshelves, bed risers, nightstand, etc…not necessary. At all.</p>
<p>This is such good information! Thanks everyone :)</p>
<p>I agree with Artemis, thanks guys!
I’m thinking that I will buy a nighstand though: I always read before sleep and usually use my nightstand to store some clothing (haha).</p>