<p>I'm a rising freshman (male) and am unsure about the quantities of each clothing item I should bring and, in effect, how often I should expect to do laundry?</p>
<p>If possible, please list beside each clothing item noted how many I should bring for the semester. If I leave any out that you would recommend, please add them.</p>
<p>T-shirts-
Shorts (no cargo, I hear?)-
Athletic shorts-
underwear-
socks (wool, normal, athletic, etc.)-
Shoes-
hoodies-
Jeans and similar pants-
Sweatpants-
Long-sleeve shirts-
Polartec or similar sized jacket-
Parka & Snowpants-
Beanie-
Scarf-
Earmuffs-
Long underwear-</p>
<p>Are there any style preferences that might be somewhat unique to UMN that I should know about?</p>
<p>I'm also going to major in finance in Carlson and would like to at least attend recruiting events to get my feet wet. How much/what kind of formal attire should I bring?</p>
<p>My boys do not follow fashion trends so I can’t tell you what to where/not to where on campus to be fashionable, however I can tell you to have enough clothes for 3 weeks without washing. I send 3 weeks of underwear and socks (for gym shoes) for my boys. They also go with 21 t-shirts (expect to get several more free your first week) and 3 or 4 button down/polo type shirts. For pants my umn boy brings about 5 or 6 shorts, about 5 or 6 pair of casual pants (mostly jeans). He did not go greek so for dressier occasions he has a pair of khaki and black pants, dress shoes, dark socks, 2 dress shirts and 2 ties. They also bring 2 or 3 lounge pants, 1 sweatpant, and 2 athletic type shorts. For shoes they have 1 dress shoe, 1 more casual shoe and 1 or 2 gym shoes (for working out or in case one gets wet.) As you can tell my kids are pretty basic in their needs and did not go Greek (which would probably mean a different type of wardrobe.)</p>
<p>I am not sure where you are from but if you are from the midwest or a colder climate, bring whatever outwear you normally would wear at home. In our case it is a hoodie or zip type jacket for the cooler weather, and a winter coat for the colder weather. Hat and gloves are needed too (but you can buy some UMN ones from the bookstore if you want.) UMN son brought winter boots but I don’t know if he ever wore them as the university if pretty good at shoveling and you can also use the underground tunnels. Snow pants and long underwear are not needed unless you plan to go skiing or sledding.</p>
<p>UMN son is an engineering major and hasn’t had to really get dressed up. This year he may need a suit for interviews as he is a senior. Not sure what a Carlson freshman would need.</p>
<p>Hope this helps a little. Don’t forget that anything you don’t bring, you can buy. The Mall of America is only a light rail trip away and they have everything!</p>
<p>OP, if you expect to do laundry every week or every other week, you don’t have to bring as much as I mentioned. My kids tend to procrastinate and I know that as long as they have enough underclothes for 3 weeks, they should be fine. Also you might get away with less shorts as the short weather season (September, maybe October, May) is not very long. Good luck in your freshman year. Hope you enjoy orientation week…my umn son had a blast!</p>
<p>Here is what I would suggest as a starting point.</p>
<p>T-shirts-10 short sleeved, 3 polos, maybe a few Nike dry fits
Shorts (no cargo, I hear?)-2 pair NON athletic
Athletic shorts-2-3 pair
underwear-base on how often you want to do laundry
socks (wool, normal, athletic, etc.) socks you prefer and maybe 2 pair of wool
Shoes-flip flops/sandals, athletic shoes, everyday casuals, boots or hiking boot style for cold
hoodies-4
Jeans and similar pants-3 jeans and at least one other pant
Sweatpants-3
Long-sleeve shirts-3 long tees, 3 long casual shirts
Polartec or similar sized jacket-1 lightweight 1 for 40-55 degrees, 1 rain
Parka & Snowpants-1 winter jacket - snow pants depend on outdoor activities
Beanie-2
Scarf-1
Earmuffs-?
Long underwear - 1 set (smartwool is amazing and some is very lightweight)
DRESS OUTFIT for class presentations, career fair interviews</p>
<p>I am not sure how expansive your wardrobe is currently, but I brought most of my clothes to school because…well it is my new home.
I don’t think you should necessarily think about the quantity of each item to bring…you aren’t going on vacation. Instead, you should think about what you aren’t going to bring, like what you won’t need for the season or things that you don’t want to wear around campus. </p>
<p>This is your new home, so you should probably bring all of your shoes that you will need until you go home next…all of your shorts, all of your underwear, etc. Bring as much as you can to fill up your closet but no more because you will definitely put off washing a lot. College students tend to get lazy about doing that.</p>
<p>Finally, as I kind of hinted, make sure you know how big your closet space is because things get really difficult organizing properly, especially since it will most likely be smaller than at home.</p>
<p>Oh, and for Carlson, definitely bring the business formal attire that you have.
As for style, people are really laid back on campus. Since there are so many people you will see lots of different trends, so definitely do your own thing.</p>
<p>You need a dress shirt / slacks at a minimum, suit if you have one. As well as career fairs you can also expect presentations in your Carlson courses.</p>
<p>The res halls have laundry facilities and you get plenty of free loads, so there’s not really a limit on how often you can do laundry. It is a pain at peak hours but you can use LaundryView to look for available washers.</p>
<p>Laundry is easy to put off. The number of days you take between loads is proportional to the amount of clothing you bring.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for the in-depth replies! The part about laundry was definitely eye-opening but makes sense, as I probably will also end up procrastinating on that!</p>
<p>It got really cold starting in middle to end of September. I pulled out a sweatshirt in the 3rd week of school. It was warm before that, though.</p>