<p>Hi everyone.</p>
<p>I'm trying to get a list together of things I should bring with me to campus as a first year. What are things that are a must and what are things that people often forget but are needed as well?</p>
<p>Thanks!!</p>
<p>-MM</p>
<p>I think my daughter found a list about this on a face book group for her class last year not sure if it would still be accessible. I would say a fan is essential! She also appreciated having tupperware and some plates utensils etc in her room. I also think it depends on how far you are traveling - there are local shopping options.</p>
<p>Yes, buy a fan. A good one, preferably one you can stick inside a window (a powerful, medium sized fan). I really recommend either bringing it with you if you are driving, or else having one shipped there and picking it up your first day because by hte time all Five Colleges move in, fans are a pretty tough commodity to come by, unless you drive out to Hadley to the big mall. I got my fan at the big mall at Bed, Bath, & Beyond (at some point during orientation they were offering free shuttle trips to the big mall so that people could buy things they needed, so that was helpful). </p>
<p>Basically, just remember that even though New England gets really cold, it’s going to be quite warm and humid from September - the end of October, so remember to bring shorts, flip flops, t-shirts, etc. You can always get up your serious winter clothes at Thanksgiving or winter break, before then you’ll just need a sweatshirt, a fall-weight coat, and a few long pants/long sleeved shirts.</p>
<p>Thank you, overwhelmedma and S&P. </p>
<p>I am totally bringing a fan and tupperware. It’s fine if food was taken from the dining room during hours and brought to my room to munch on, right?</p>
<p>Is there anything else that is often looked over? Thank you!!</p>
<p>I can give you a huge list of things NOT to pack. You don’t need to bring much, really. It all depends on how often you plan to do laundry. Also, don’t bring every book you’ve ever read, even if they are your absolute favorites and you read them five times a year. Smith has its own library, and you can also get a card at the public library, which is almost on campus, and browse the selection of a number of libraries in western Mass.</p>
<p>Also flip flops for the shower are good and something to keep bathroom stuff in in your bathroom and transport it to the shower. My D room did have a full length mirror - don’t know of that is standard though.</p>
<p>Borgin; were you being serious about that list? Haha. I wouldn’t mind a list of things not to bring. My biggest worry is overpacking. It’s bound to happen. I just know it!</p>
<p>Overwhelmedma; flip flops for the shower was the first thing on my list! 
I think that every room comes with a mirror - not sure of the length though.</p>
<p>Every room has a mirror, though they are not all full length since hte configurations of each room vary a lot, it will depend on where you’re placed. </p>
<p>I totally agree with borgin about books. Just think about schlepping them up to the fourth floor of a building with no elevator when it’s 95 degrees and humid out. Twice a year. I brought a bunch of books to college and maybe actually read two of them, though they were comforting and I swapped a few with my friends. Try to keep it to under 20. You will accumulate SO many books during your four years, you will be overwhelmed.</p>
<p>Get bed risers to elevate your bed …we found them at the local Target/Walmart. Plastic see-through storage boxes with rollers are great for keeping extra stuff under your bed. Curtains for your room windows are a nice touch.</p>
<p>There are a handful of houses where you cannot use bed risers (like Haven). Instead, the bed is loftable, so you can raise it yourself. It might be worth not buying them until you know that you need them.</p>
<p>You can also hold off on purchasing are room decorations. If your room decor is sparse after you move in, just take a trip to Faces with your new housemates and your problems will be solved.</p>
<p>Then there is the whole buy or rent a fridge or be green. We heard the rentals were terrible and bought on my D ended up finding pretty terrible so now we have an extra mini fridge and are back to the rent/buy debate however this was a lifesaver for her - she lives in the quad top floor - closest kitchen in the basement and several times during the year when she was sick it was great to be able to keep things cold in her room when she felt too lousy to get up. Some houses have better group fridge access from what she says.</p>
<p>I’m glad you mentioned the fridge. My daughter is transfering to Smith next year, and we’re limited on what to bring since we’ll be flying. If we buy a fridge for her there, where can she store it during the summer? Do you think it makes more sense to rent or buy? What size would be best? Also, are the beds regular twins or extra long twins? Thanks!</p>
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<p>You can store in the trunk rooms over the houses over the summer. I think buying makes more sense if she’ll use it for more than one year, as the price for renting is pretty expensive. After graduation, she can sell it to another student or take it with her. I think the college might have a maximum size posted, but it doesn’t need to be too big. Most beds on campus are regular twin lengths. The beds that they put in Haven post-renovation were supposedly extra-long, but my old regular sheets still fit on them.</p>
<p>[Smith</a> College: Living at Smith](<a href=“http://www.smith.edu/sao/reslife/housing_faq.php]Smith”>http://www.smith.edu/sao/reslife/housing_faq.php)</p>
<p>The Smith website does list which houses have extra-long beds.</p>
<p>Welcome to CC, WW. Borgin is correct, buying beats renting if for more than one year and D bought one at a nearby Best Buy that worked just fine. Of nominal residual value after four years, she willed it to a housemate at Senior Willing or whatever it’s called…another neat tradition.</p>
<p>We, too, were flying in. TheMom had set up a spread sheet dividing things into “bring with you,” “ship,” and “buy locally.” See, she’s as obsessive as I am, just about different things. Anyway, the plan worked well.</p>
<p>TheDad, is there any chance you still have those lists? Especially the “ship” one, as I’m flying as well and right shipping seems super expensive and it’d be better just to buy there.</p>
<p>Thank you borgin and TheDad. I’ve been lurking for awhile, and decided it was time to join. I didn’t know if the refridgerators could be stored, so that’s good. We’ll probably just get a small one when we are there. I would love to see TheMom’s lists as well. I’m starting to obsess about our best options, even though it’s almost 3 months away.</p>
<p>I’ll see if I can conjure a copy of our list tomorrow, which is already today. It’s only six years old…but I’m an electronic packrat.</p>
<p>Before you buy a fridge be sure to check - there are size restrictions. We also bought a microwave which is on the forbidden list but seems to be pretty prevalent anyway. My D just put it in her closet during house check. Again she was in a house with very limited kitchen access ( it is in the basement with some kind of weird induction stove). DOn;t forget extension chords - they are also useful from the get go and we got a bunch of the super stick on hooks by 3M which can eventually be removed and were great for towels, coats etc. Also when you get a room assignment you will hear from the house HONS and they should be able to answer questions about how to hang things on walls.</p>
<p>Overwhelmedma, I agree the 3M Wall Hooks with Command Adhesive are terrific! You can get them in two sizes from Staples. </p>
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<p>For extension cords, I’d recommend you only get three-prong grounded ones, the ugly ones that usually only come in day-glow orange. The color might be ugly but at least you’ll be safe.</p>
<p>I think they took microwaves off the forbidden list because the rental fridges you can get through Smith have microwaves on top. But you can usually use the microwave in your kitchenette if there’s one on your floor.</p>