<p>I'm an incoming freshman. I was wondering what things are already in the dorm rooms before students move in. Also, what items (furniture, electronics, etc.) do students bring with them for their dorm rooms?</p>
<p>Every room comes with a bed, desk, desk chair, bookshelf, and dresser per occupant. After that, you can bring pretty much whatever you want.
Sometime this month your college should be sending you a giant packet of information that should provide some details as to what kind of room you have - if you have a common room, etc. It will also tell you who your roommate and suitemates are, so you can coordinate (and don't show up with 2 couches, 2 tvs, etc.)</p>
<p>I made this list for tours a few years ago. You might find it helpful.</p>
<p>WATER FILTER because you never know what you're drinking otherwise
NALGENE BOTTLE – you can get them at Target; they're virtually indestructible, come in cool colors, and are perfect for carrying around campus or to the gym, especially when it's hot
MICROWAVE-SAFE BOWLS, PLATES, & SILVERWARE because left-overs become your best friends in college. You will use these.
HEADPHONES are good for more than just listening to your iPod or Walkman: use them for not bugging your roomie with your music, plugging into the TVs on every treadmill and elliptical in the athletic facility, for use in your college's computer room so you can watch language films there rather than in the LRC (Language Resource Center)
SWEATSHIRT because even if it's hot outside, your dorm or classrooms may be really cold
POSTERS & WALL DECORATIONS – don't be boring! No one likes plain, white walls. It's your room for a year, so express yourself.
RUG since you might have concrete or tile floors
LAUNDRY RACK to dry hand-washed clothes (or clothes that got wet from those abrupt Houston downpours)
COFFEE MAKER
DISH RACK
WIRE CUBE SHELVES – you can get them from Target. You'll need them since you might not be provided with bookshelves.
FLOOR OR DESK LAMP or maybe even both. You'd be surprised by how little lighting there is in many dorm rooms.</p>
<p>I know it rains a lot in Houston - is an umbrella sufficient to keep you dry walking to classes or would you say a rain jacket is needed?</p>
<p>An umbrella should be okay, but if you don't want totally soaking pants/shoes, I would recommend rainboots as well.</p>
<p>earplugs are very useful too in case of noisy neighbors</p>
<p>A roll of duct tape is the most massively useful thing you can have in a dorm room.</p>
<p>D and her freshman roommates emailed ahead of time and agreed what everyone would bring for their "living room". They had a futon, TV, chair, TV stand etc. The did have a Britta (water filter pitcher), microwave and mini-fridge. There were bookshelves in their room, but you might need another shelf unit. Find out the layout of the room first- there are many variations. She was in a suite that had two bedrooms (2 kids in each one) opening onto a shared living area which opened onto a bathroom that was shared with another suite of 4 (the bathroom had 2 of everything).</p>
<p>I'd ditto the extra desk lamp/floor lamp - some rooms can get pretty dark at night with only the lights provided.</p>
<p>I was in a suite this past year, and the room didn't come with any bookshelves or any mirrors except for two in the bathroom. I ended up grabbing a ladder that someone in a double didn't want (to bunk the beds) and using that as my bookshelf for the year, and my roomie eventually got a a mirror. Though I didn't take advantage of it then, there's an Ikea like 10 miles away from campus, and they have some really inexpensive furniture. I was just there this past weekend and bought a wire mesh 6-foot-tall, 2 foot-wide set of shelves for $20 (for my apartment), and a slightly narrower model was selling for $15. There's also a Target 10 minutes away from campus. The point is that if you forget stuff or realize that certain stuff would come in handy once you see your dorm, there are cool stores with economically-priced stuff nearby =).</p>