<p>Hi guys!</p>
<p>I just had a question for current Penn students and even maybe students who have visited the campus. Are there any bare necessities that we should definitely bring with us? Or maybe something that's not essential, but have really helped you out while you were living at Penn. Also about how much "spending money" do you think it is wise to have a semester?</p>
<p>Thanks!!</p>
<p>I would bring a bike. I’m from Philly and it never hurts to have a bike with you, in fact, a bunch of people at Penn have bikes, even with all of the transportation services.</p>
<p>Hey randomstudent7,
I’d agree with D3NT4L in that a bike is definitely a handy thing to have. It’s easy to get around without one though, so don’t kill yourself trying to find the perfect bike.</p>
<p>My first item is LIGHTS! Most of the dorms (and all of the rooms in the Quad) only come with rinky-dink little white florescents over the door, which hardly cast any light. DO BRING a good floor lamp or at least two or three desk lamps between you and your roommate. Your eyes will thank you.</p>
<p>If you have a printer or can get one cheap, I’d personally recommend it. The one big downside to Penn (and I admit, it’s the only one!) is that printing costs between 7-10 cents per sheet, depending on where you print (or free if you bring your own paper to the LGBT Center, but that’s out of the way if you need something printed immediately). While it’s easy to load up your card with PennCash to pay for printing, you’ll find that printing out all of your readings for class may cost you upwards of $30 per class!</p>
<p>When you get your Penn email address, sign up for your free trial of Amazon Student. It has been my savior. If you buy a lot of stuff online, consider renewing your subscription annually to save on shipping.</p>
<p>When it comes to spending money, I’ve spent about $500 this first semester. Granted, a chunk of that is travel expenses, but about $400 covered most of my food, show tickets, and supplies while on campus.</p>
<p>If you end up living in the high rises, make sure to bring a roll of toilet paper and soap for the first day.</p>
<p>These days, I find myself pining for an iron.</p>