<p>Hello all. As most incoming college students, one of the things that cross my mind is keeping my items safe. I have very valuable items that I will be taking to college (Macbook, iPhone, iPad) and I want to make sure that at the end of the year, they are all there. </p>
<p>My parents mentioned the idea of a safe, but I thought that that may do more harm then good, because if it's a small enough safe anyone can run off with it, and if its a 400 pound safe, I don't want to be lugging that into my room. I also don't think you can bolt a safe on your own in a dorm room. Not only that, but also the ruckus and attitude that may come from being seen making a big deal out of safe. </p>
<p>I thought about the idea of maybe a locked drawer that I put under my desk for paperwork, and also use one drawer to keep my items. Is this a good idea? Better than a safe perhaps?</p>
<p>In either case, if there are methods of making sure your stuff is safe without having to get a safe or a locking drawer than please share them with me. I understand keeping your room locked when youre not in it, but what if I leave the room with my roommate in it and he decides to invite friends over? Then that method is out the door. </p>
<p>I think it’s a terrible idea.
These things may seem valuable to you but the things you mentioned are things everyone will have.</p>
<p>By having a safe or even a locked drawer, you’re essentially sending a message to your roomate that you do not trust them. If you’re truly that concerned, get some form of renters insurance.</p>
<p>Theft from dorm rooms doesn’t happen that often. Dorms at most colleges are pretty secure with security on campus, keycard access, etc. And 99% of college students will have their own laptops. </p>
<p>That being said, if my roommate just had a lockbox or something, I wouldn’t take offense or see it as a trust issue. Obviously some people take more interest in security than others. I’d say get a small footlocker of some kind with a combination lock. This should be enough, like I said colleges have security, nobody’s going to walk out with your entire footlocker and escape notice. </p>
<p>What I’ve done is have my laptop equipped with a software called Absolute (this is more for when I’m out in public, if I leave it somewhere, when it’s in my luggage, etc. Not because I worry about ti being stolen from my dorm) that can track the laptop if I report it stolen and is password protected from being uninstalled. It’s fairly expensive, but my laptop is the only computer I use so it has a lot of vital information.</p>
<p>As for your iPhone, you can download a free app called Lookout (which I highly recommend, it saved my phone when it fell out of my pocket while I was in my car, and then out of my car when I opened the door) that lets you find your phone using any computer or even another cell phone.</p>
<p>Great advise about the tracking programs. You can also purchase a laptop lock. Check with your housing contract as some schools do not allow safes.</p>
<p>Angryelf, I don’t know if these are things everyone is likely to have. Most students have a laptop, but there are plenty who don’t have an expensive Macbook, iPhone, and iPad. They’re items that could easily be stolen when left lying around carelessly.</p>
<p>That being said, you really don’t need a locked drawer, and a safe is just excessive. Instead, keep valuable belongings out of sight when you’re not using them, lock the door when you leave, and ask your roommate to keep an eye on your stuff if you leave the room while he or she is there. If you do that, your stuff is unlikely to be stolen. </p>
<p>Also, I wouldn’t take anything to college that I’d be devastated about losing and would not be easily replaceable (such as items with sentimental value).</p>
<p>Eh… The safe is overkill. A locked drawer is fine.
You won’t be “sending a message to your roommate that you do not trust them.”
A good roommate will not give a damn. And if your roommate does give a damn, then you have more things to worry about.</p>
<p>What if my roommate decides to bring over friends of his that im not familiar with? And they happen to have sticky fingers while im not there? What can I do about that? Should I just trust that my roommate will watch out for my stuff?</p>
<p>Just put your stuff away. It is very unlikely that your roommate will have company going through your stuff on the hunt for an iPad. Really.
Lots of people have Apple products at college. Lock your door, put your things away dont get a safe. That’s ridiculous.</p>
<p>I knew people who had trunks with locks on, but that was just to store alcohol and drugs. I got one too just to make packing easier, but I guess it could work in your situation if you’re so worried. Just use it to save space or to stash your iPad. I don’t think anyone will break into your room and steal a trunk without being seen.</p>
<p>It’s simple - Don’t leave things in plain sight if you’re leaving the room. Put your laptop in a drawer and keep your iStuff with you. If the opportunity is not in plain sight, it’s much less likely that items will get stolen.</p>
<p>Have your parents check their homeowner’s insurance policy. Our biggest concern was my son’s laptop that was given to him from Stevens and the replacement cost was over 3k but fortunately it would be covered by our homeowner’s insurance. His dorm had a safe for each student to rent but it was expensive.</p>
<p>Keep your passport and cash, etc in your carry on luggage stashed in your closet with your dirty clothes dumped on top. Lock the luggage with a TSA lock.
Or:
Get a 2 drawer filing cabinet with a lock.
Stash your laptop, iphone, ipad, wallet in the filing cabinet when you leave the room.
Take key with you.
Lock your room door.
Thievery happens when you leave stuff out and opportunity happens for them to easily steal.
Take the stuff with you when you leave for the weekend.</p>
<p>every dorm room at my school has a lockable drawer in the dresser they give you (bring your own lock). Your school might provide them too, you can also ask what size it is. Mine was enough for a laptop, cash, ipod, wallet, etc. but a really tight fit, other dorms had big drawers.</p>
<p>My daughter had several things missing from her dorm room. Money, IPOD , Ether Net Cords, Food… She questioned her roommate who acted insulted. My daughter got a new roommate and nothing ever went missing again. I think it is rare, but I say err on the side of caution.</p>
<p>Use a safe and a locked drawer. Hid things when roomate is not there. I do not know if it was her roommate, her roommate’s friends, or her roommate carelessly leaving door open.</p>
<p>I think I will go with the locked file cabinet. Only thing that worries me are the people that are going to come into my room that my roommate invites whilst I’m not there. Not saying he’ll purposely tell them where my stuff is, but idk, just a worry of mine.</p>
<p>For computers, you could always use a locking cable to protect your pc/mac from being stolen. For smaller valuables, just put them in a small lock box. There is little chance anyone will try to steal something larger than a shoe box-sized item. Too easy to spot and not worth the trouble.</p>
<p>Thus, take your wallet, credit or ID card, your phone, and such with you wherever you go.</p>
<p>You need to be able to trust your roommates. Also, like others said, security on campus are usually good. So, no need for a safe…at worst, take all valuables with you when you leave room !</p>
<p>Agree with FearThe, the roommate may not be a thief but his acquaintances and their friends that tag along.
Keep things squirreled away.
Don’t leave anything important, personal and irreplaceable out on surfaces.
Prescription meds
Expensive hair products, colognes
Designer Sunglasses
200 buck textbooks
Air Jordan Nikes-the collectible ones
Plus the obvious-wallets, jewelry, cash, credit cards, gift cards</p>
<p>I think this is probably one of the number one concerns of incoming freshmen that quickly disappears.</p>
<p>I know a couple of guys on my hall who purposely bought everything as cheaply as they could because they were terrified that their stuff would be stolen. By second semester they were laughing about it.</p>
<p>Just lock your door when you’re not in the room and put your stuff out of sight. I had a habit of taking my laptop off of my desk and setting it in the drawer underneath whenever I wasn’t using it. I did that so in case someone did come in my room, they wouldn’t immediately see where my laptop was to take it.</p>
<p>My dorm also had large lockable closets, so if I would have been really skeptical, I could have locked pretty much all of my stuff up at all times and even my roommate wouldn’t have been able to get to it without picking the lock. That being said, I only locked my closet over winter break.</p>