<p>Blah, all my friends just left for college, since the east coast ones start earlier, and I haven't really started thinking about what to pack yet (besides clothes etc. boring stuff)</p>
<p>Any ideas/tips on what to bring? Basically, things that you realized would have been really great to bring when you got there or things that you use often that people don't really think are important beforehand, ie clothes hangers, extension cords, or is there a store really close where we could walk to to buy things.</p>
<p>I was also wondering if you're allowed to have mini-fridges, microwaves or coffee makers in the dorm rooms. Do the rooms have desk lamps by the way? Or would we have to buy them ourselves. Of course, different houses probably have different rules.</p>
<p>Actually, I just read the section I skipped over before in the new student information guide and it pretty much answered my questions.</p>
<p>Uh, one thing that's bothering me is the first week where we have to move from house to house everyday. I love the idea, it's just that I'm going to have like 4 suitcases, most of which are things I'm probably not going to use. Is there a place where I can store them so I don't have to lug them around that week?</p>
You don't move from House to House during Rotation. You stay in one place during Rotation and you go to lunch and dinner at a different House every day. You move into your new House in the middle of the following week.</p>
<p>Hahaha, thanks so much for that last post. I was also afraid to bring a lot of stuff because I thought I'd be moving around the whole first week!</p>
<p>Oddly enough (or typically enough, depending on how you look at it) the most useful things I brought to Caltech with me turned out to be the hammer and cordless drill/driver that I bought before heading off.</p>
<p>One of the most useless things I brought was my calculator.</p>
<p>Lamps were the one thing I didn't realize I would need so much. If you end up in a north house room with a loft, it's dark underneath and the extra light is essential. I also had a ton of trouble finding a fan (if you're in a north house there's no air-conditioning). Most places had already run out due to the college rush and hadn't restocked because it was no longer "fan season," regardless of the fact that it was 90 outside.</p>
<p>Other than that, sticky tack, nails, and a hammer for putting things up on the walls (if you're in the mods, you can NOT hammer into the walls). Blank CDs for burning all the TV shows I started downloading with the faster connection. :) Dressy clothes for formal dinner.</p>
<p>No, you don't, although I usually wore a jacket and tie. Most men will wear ties, a number will wear jackets, a few will wear full suits and a few will wear nice shirts but no ties. That was how it was in my house, at least.</p>
<p>Oh, also, if you plan to play in one of the music groups you'll get a LOT of use out of a decent used or not-too-expensive tux. (And even if you're not musical, if you go to ASCIT Formal more than once you'll likely save money over renting.)</p>
<p>One formal dinner a term, so three a year, usually near the middle to end of the term. It's not terribly formal, but it's pretty much a dress up dinner with good food once a term. I wore either a suit and tie or just a nice shirt and tie and such.</p>
<p>Each house has one each term, and you can't possibly miss it since it'll be announced, emailed, etc. etc. It's not technically "formal" (since formal implies tuxedo for men--living in the UK for any length of time will make you very sensitive to these differences) but people dress up for it.</p>
<p>Here's a photo from way back in my freshman year showing 3 different perfectly acceptable "takes" on what to wear to formal dinner:</p>
<p>The reason I mentioned it is there's one house that in the past usually has had a dressy dinner the night after rotation ends, before you have a chance to send home for nicer clothes.</p>
<p>Yup, very good to point that out. The original poster didn't mention sending home for anything, so I think most assumed he just meant stuff to bring in general.</p>
<p>(Personally, I brought everything I needed on the plane with me, including clothes--other than my computer which I bought new and just had shipped straight to Caltech.)</p>
<p>Formal dinners are House events that happen once a term, wherein Caltech Dining Services provides the food that they should be giving us instead of the usual slops (30% gravy, 70% "other"). People like to play dress-up to celebrate this cherished event. I did once go to dress dinner in shorts and an AC/DC hoodie, but in deference to the etiquette of the occasion, I wore a bright orange striped tie on top of that.</p>
<p>As far as packing, don't bring too much stuff. You can do fine with just a computer, a pillow, soap, and some spare underwear. If you need tools or exotic electronics, you can always find someone on campus to borrow them from. If you need anything else, there's a convenience store on campus, a Target a few blocks west of campus, a J. C. Penney on Lake, and a headshop somewhere on Colorado.</p>
<p>So are we going to need a computer day one after orientation ends? I am waiting on buying a laptop, and just going to use my desktop at first... could I go, say, a week w/o a computer?</p>
<p>I was planning on having my parents throw all the boxes in the mail so that they arrive after rotation, but if I need a computer sooner than that, I will change plans accordingly...</p>
<p>No, you could go several days. You might need itbefore the first sets are due (at the end of the first week). And that's only because you might want to look up class notes/problem sets posted online. You could always go down to the computer lab and print them out if you really want to wait even longer to pick out a laptop.</p>
<p>The new student information guide suggests bringing a few dishes, mug, and a pots & pans to cook in...is this a good idea? Do many people cook on the weekends or do most people end up going out? Are pots and pans available if you decide to cook or do you need to bring your own? thanks</p>
<p>On the weekends I'd usually end up cooking once or twice and going out once or twice. I think that's fairly typical... I definitely found having at least a mug, plates, and silverware very helpful.</p>