<p>Hey, I was just wondering if CMU is sending its students a generic checklist of what to bring (what to have) when we arrive on campus. I understand some schools do send a helpful list of what to bring, but does CMU also do this? Thanks</p>
<p>It just occurred to me that I'll be leaving pretty for the intel orientation so yes, a kind of checklist would be helpful. I think the input from the upperclassmen would be especially helpful.</p>
<p>(Btw, we should also set up a website for this thing sometime, for the next year's class. Harvard has a wiki site for this stuff and it really looks helpful. I am open to cooperation on that one if anyone else is willing. PM me)</p>
<p>If you search the archives, you'll find plenty of what-you-need-for-college lists created by parents with input from studnets. However, I will supply some CMU-specific-ish comments and stuff that people forget.</p>
<p>CMU supplies desk lamps, so while they're not particularly bright, you don't have to bring your own
fan - Pittsburgh will be in the 80s for the first few weeks of school, and only New House is air conditioned. My dad had to go to 4 stores to find a fan the first day of orientation.
ethernet cord - buy it from Newegg if you want to save some money
hangers - people have a tendency to forget them
paper towels - always good to have around
ethnic foods - not the easiest thing to find in Pittsburgh
tools - if you want to change the height of your bed or move the bookshelf on a lofted bed</p>
<p>A power strip - they can be bought at CMU, but for inflated prices
Some sort of things for organizing papers, especially for keeping important papers together in one place</p>
<p>kinda off topic, but i'm going to be in new house, and i was wondering if the desks have drawers or should i bring a set of drawers or crates to keep papers/books in? </p>
<p>also, do the rooms have carpet?</p>
<p>All the Morewood desks have a drawer component thingy that can be removed from the desk (sort of like a nightstand that fits under the desk), so I assume that New House has drawers in its desks. I ended up buying a plastic drawer thing for other stuff, though, but that at least partially has to do with my massive number of scrunchies.</p>
<p>Morewood E has carpet, A-D has hardwood floors, Cathedral Mansions has wood floors, I think Hammerschlag has carpet, I don't know what New House has.</p>
<p>New House has carpet, as do most of the newer buildings.</p>
<p>Morewood desk/lofted bed sets don't have a desktop or under-desk little set of drawers - we just get 2 dressers, a tall one and a short one. The short one is an awkward size that allows it to fit under the desk, but if you put it there, it juts into the little semicircle where you're supposed to sit. I bought a cheap plastic set of drawers to put on my desk, even though having a lofted bed means you get a vast tract of desk space. I'd say it's useful for anyone.</p>
<p>What to bring
1) Computer + whatever hardware you have available
2) Cell phone
3) Heavy coat, pair of jeans, pair of underwear, shower-compatible flip flops*
4) Credit card
5) Eyeglasses
6) As much caffeinated liquid as you can fit in the remaining space in your suitcase/car</p>
<p>*You will get at least one free tshirt during orientation</p>
<p>what's a lofted bed?</p>
<p>Soap is a good idea, too. I've always hoped that the facebook group "CS Students Who Don't Shower" was a joke, sabertoothtiger.</p>
<p>I am unaware of a checklist specific to Carnegie Mellon. If you click on the Parent's Cafe you will find an extensive list appropriate for all college bound students. CMU is an awesome school! Good luck as you begin your college years.</p>
<p>how do we get a "lofted" bed? are some beds just randomly lofted, or do we actually have to build the lofts?</p>
<p>The rooms in E tower all come with one lofted bed and one unlofted bed. I think that new house is the same. In Hammerschlag and Mudge, as far as I know, the beds aren't lofted at all. You can build your own loft, but there's a bunch of rules. Ask the housing website for details.</p>
<p>In most dorms there will be one bed lofted when you move in. So it will depend on your dorm assignment. If they are not lofted you can write a requisition to have maintenance loft one for you. So you will not need to build it yourself.</p>
<p>um this might be a stupid question, but do the lofted beds all have railings on the side? i tend to move around a lot when i sleep, and i dont feel like falling off the bed in the middle of the night, cuz that would suck.</p>
<p>They're all supposed to have railings on the side, but some of them are missing. If you don't have one, I'm sure you can put in a maintenance request to get one.</p>
<p>how do we get them un-lofted?</p>
<p>you ask to switch with your roommate ... but you lose the big desk</p>
<p>or you go live in Donner, where there are apparently no lofted beds :-/</p>
<p>yeah u can always exchange them with ppl in urneighbouring rooms....who need 2 lofted beds...</p>