<p>Now I know there are a good number of threads that exist on this topic, I read through most of them, but figured it would be wiser to start my own discussion instead of digging up a grave.</p>
<p>I will be entering college in fall of 2013. I will be taking some valuables and other material that would be best kept private. We shall leave it at that. Now I'm not necessarily afraid of my belongings being stolen, but I'd rather be proactive in preventing theft. Not only would I be out of a good bit of money, but I'd be running into some other issues (we shall leave it at that).</p>
<p>Most posts I've read discouraged bringing a safe on campus, but for me that isn't an option. Under the circumstances simply locking the room or placing items in a desk would be stupid. I currently have a fairly cheap safe that I store these items in. It is an electronic and designed for fires, not theft. It isn't too heavy, barely weighing over 100 pounds. That being said, no one would be able to break it open without a fairly powerful electronic saw, the ability to throw it around, and a couple years of free time. So I'm primarily concerned with it being physically removed. I would be in a dorm room, but still 100 pounds seems a bit light and I don't think would be too much of an issue. Not to mention that security generally draws attention. A thief would assume anything in a safe would be worth storing, so I'm sure they may go the extra mile. I'm hoping that I will be allowed to bolt the safe down, but I'm not sure if I will be allowed to do that. I would like to respect the school, so I will do not be bolting it down if they don't allow it. So I guess I'm rambling right now, so I'll try to quickly summarize my concerns and ask a few questions.
- Is 100 pounds too light for a safe?
- If the safe is not bolted down, is it even worth bringing?
- If the safe is bolted down, am I good to go?</p>
<p>Any other tips would be appreciated for keeping valuables safe while in school. My primary concern would be items kept in my room, but even when going from A to B I may need to carry around a few smaller things. General advice would be appreciated. If you've made it this far I'd like to thank you for reading my thread, even if you don't respond!</p>
<p>In the likely event that you can’t bolt it down, another approach (one that may or may not work with your safe) is somehow using like a bike lock to secure it to a piece of furniture. It’s a lot less likely they’ll go through the trouble of taking out your whole desk from your room or try to saw through the desk leg or something.</p>
<p>The best and only way to KNOW if it’s OK for you to bolt a safe (or anything else) to your dorm would be to ask the U that you will be attending & get the name & contact info of the person in authority that provides you the answer.</p>
<p>The Us I have attended & the one our kiddos attended would NOT allow anyone to bolt down anything, especially not something like a safe. That said, S’s freshman dorm HAD a safe for each occupant his his dorm (the only dorm on campus that had built-in safes, to my knowledge–remanants from a long-ago Olympics). He & his room mate mostly left theirs unlocked, to the best of our knowledge. D has never had a safe & S never had one after the built-in one freshman year. Neither has had any issues with theft, even though their school is in south central LA.</p>
<p>It’s not that big of an assumption. Most college dorms won’t even “allow” you to use tape to hang decorations for fear it’d damage the paint job. The odds of any college dorm allowing you to bring in a 100+ lb safe and bolt it to the floor are slim.</p>
<p>OP, if your “things” are so valuable–whatever they are, you are being so cagey–leave them at home, and go home to visit them.</p>
<p>Drugs or guns? Not allowed on campus. Not in a safe, or otherwise. Porn or other sexy stuff? You wouldn’t be the only one on campus, and no one else would care.</p>
<p>@Himom,
Thank you for the well-written response. I am also in a fairly rough area, but I don’t think theft will be a big problem. I’d just rather not take chances and I’d like to know my belongings are out sight.</p>
<p>@Ladeeda6,
Fair enough. I confused myself by reading an older post where the user said their school even offered a service. I don’t think bringing the safe in will be an issue, but yeah I guess bolting is out of the question. I’ll try the bicycle lock idea.</p>
<p>@boysx3,
I need them close to me and once I enter school I will not be visiting home, but thank you for the suggestion. It is not anything sexual, though I do store by protection in there than parading it on a table. Thank you for the response.</p>
<p>@Sing, must I spell it out lol. I will occasionally be storing my laptop, phone, and cash there (easily over 5 grand at a time), but I’ll also be storing some ‘other’ things.</p>
<p>edit: I meant to say a couple hours, not years lol.</p>
<p>Drugs are illegal and can be cause for a lot of heartache for you & your loved ones, if that is one of those “valuables.” Having $5K or more in cash on college campus is just asking for trouble, IMHO. Guns or other “protection” is generally illegal nearly everywhere in the US–perhaps it is legal in other countries, but be sure you know the law or you could be spending a lot of your time and money on attorneys.</p>
<p>It’s much safer to use debit/credit cards as opposed to having large sums of cash–temptation will make you an inviting target, especially if the word gets around.</p>
<p>Laptops & phones will be owned by most college students–keeping them out of sight and in a locked bedroom/dorm room usually is adequate protection.</p>
<p>Drugs are not my valuables. I’m not a supporter of guns, I don’t own one myself. I wouldn’t think about bringing one, I don’t think that would be a good way to introduce myself to my roommate. </p>
<p>Uh that is true. The thing is I don’t currently have a bank account, and I won’t be an adult when I enter college. So as far as I know, my only option is cash.</p>
<p>I guess you’re right, I just have a fairly expensive laptop.</p>
<p>Laws vary by state and rules by banks. Call a local credit union and see if you can open one up as a minor. I opened my first independent bank account at 17.</p>
<p>Subsidized—You are wise to be concerned about theft. If you explore CC, especially the Parent forums you’d be amazed at the instances of theft on campus. Footlockers are an excellent way to store valuables! I got my girl a dorm trunk. She stores jewelry, her computer (when not in use), credit cards, extra cash, medications, digital camera, mp3, etc. There are dorm trunks that fit under the bed as well as traditional trunks. My d’s bed is lofted and her trunk is at the foot of her bed. It has removable wheels for easy movement that was welcome on move in day as well as a cable that she’s attached to the bed. She keeps it locked at all times and she uses it as a coffee table/seating option/step stool etc. I found out about it somewhere on CC. We bought hers from C&N Footlockers. It’s an American company and all trunks are made in America. Superior construction and customer service. Go to dorm trunks dot com (not permitted to add link here) </p>
<p>You may also want to look into buying dorm insurance. It protects you against things like theft, fire, flood and accidental damage. There are two companies that provide low cost insurance for students—CSI College Student Insurance (collegestudentinsurance dot com) and NSSI–National Student Services Inc.(nssi dot com)</p>
<p>We went with CSI because of the ability to add low cost personal liability insurance protection ($35 a year!) and the free Identity Theft protection. I like that the coverage is for Replacement cost rather than depreciation. For your convenience, they have an “instant quote” feature online which can show you immediately what it will cost. Both companies are great resources. I hope you find this helpful.</p>
<p>You can open a bank account when you are under 18, especially if you are student. You can also have debit cards at sub-18, also because you’re a student. Carrying around that much cash is just asinine and asking for trouble, whether you’re in yuppie land or the south side of Chicago.</p>
<p>I got a bank account at 10 opened under my grandmother’s name. It was turned over to my name when I was 12.
If nothing else, you Doyle just get a pre-paid debit card from just about anywhere.</p>
<p>@bunalowdweller,
Thank you very much for your response. It was very detailed and helpful. I’ll look into everything you suggested. I think I may buy the dorm insurance, but since I have the safe I’m not sure if I’ll go with a trunk as well. </p>
<p>Thanks again for the well-written response!</p>
<p>@soccergurl7988,
Thank you for the response. I’ve been carrying around a good bit of money for awhile now, not in the best area either, and I’ve been fine so far. That being said, I guess an account wouldn’t hurt. Would I need a parent to sign-off on a bank account?</p>
<p>@ladeed6,
Thank you for the information. I hate pre-paid debit cards, I’m not sure why that would be any better than cash.</p>
<p>Someone who steals the debit card, but doesn’t know your PIN, has a worthless piece of plastic. Someone who steals a debit card that can be run as credit has a useful piece of plastic - but as long as you report it in 2 days, you’re only out a maximum of $50. Someone who steals your cash has your cash.</p>