<p>So I'm starting to look at things that I'll need to buy for Tufts. Since I live in L.A., I'm going to hold off on buying winter clothes until I get to Boston. But what about things for my dorm? Comforters, shower stuff, lamps, etc. What are the essential things I should be buying, and where should I be getting them? A couple of my friends are ordering from Bed Bath and Beyond, and having it shipped to the city their college is located at. Is that the best place to go? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I got my stuff at a mix of bed, bath and beyond, linens and things, and target. It's all pretty much the same but it's fun to look around to make sure you get the bedspread you like best, etc. I suppose though since you're coming literally across the country you might just want to go with bed, bath and beyond for the shipping feature. See you in August!</p>
<p>Go to IKEA. It´s incredible. Is there an IKEA in Boston?</p>
<p>There is a costco/target/bed bath and beyond fairly nearby Tufts if you have access to a car.</p>
<p>there is a brand new IKEA in Stoughton, MA just about 30 mins from Tufts. That should have everything- those places are amazing</p>
<p>If you have a car, it should be easy to go to BB&B, Costco, and IKEA. Really consider renting, because, otherwise, you'll have a bit more trouble. You could always, depending on how much stuff you are getting, take the T into Boston and just cab it back from Davis Square.</p>
<p>I would actually suggest shipping comforters, sheets, and pillows. They are light, so the postage is pretty minimal. They are also bulky, so it doesn't make sense to pack them on the plane.</p>
<p>Coordinate with your roomie. They might have paired you with someone from New England, and you can just offer to pay 1/2 or whatever for the stuff. Or, you & your roomie could go shopping once you are both at Tufts.</p>
<p>does anyone know if the bed sizes at tufts are regular of like extra long ...i hjeard at some colleges you have to buy longer sheets for the beds in dorms</p>
<p>They are extra-long beds, but you can use regular sheets.</p>
<p>I know that no one here will believe me; y'all will go out and by the XL sheets anyway. Then you'll realise that your beds are thinner (yes, thin - buy an eggcrate) and more narrow than the standard twin, so normal sheets fit perfectly.</p>
<p>I used lovely Laura Ashley sheets. I've had people (who have never been to college) tell me that, no, I must be mistaken and that I must have used XL sheets. Not so. Normal twin sheets work fine!!</p>
<p>I would suggest that, unless you are bunking your bed, you get a full-size comforter. It will hang over the edge a bit (but do you really want everyone to see the stuff hanging out under your bed?), but gives you more squishy warmth. Also good if you go off-campus as a junior/senior and don't want a twin bed.</p>
<p>First of all, WAIT TO BUY SOME STUFF UNTIL YOU FIND OUT WHO YOUR ROOMMATE IS. It makes no sense to buy a fan, or TV, or whatever, and then find out that your roommate already owns one. </p>
<p>Last year they organized a trip during orientation that sent a bus to and from the Target plaza for a large part of the day. However, my roommate and I were retarded and purchased such things as beanbag chairs, and together the two of us don't break a two hundred pounds and it was hell trying to get that crap on and off the bus. (Lucky all our fellow male jumbos are so nice). But THAT SUCKED. No, even worse was the enormous case of Poland Spring bottles that had no handles and we had to kick down the hill.</p>
<p>I was actually JUST going to add a thread that was like, Ongoing List of Things You Should Bring. Basically I'll list all the stuff that I personally forgot...plus a few others I want to make sure none of yall forget. But yeah, I also went to Bed Bath and Beyond, Linens N Things, and Target. I also then realized that I didn't use, like, ANY of the **** I bought. AT ALL. Another thing was, every girl I know towards the end of the year was like, "Wow...I brought wayyyy too much clothes, and wore about half of them." So basically, if you don't wear it at home, don't bring it to college. Besides, you may not have enough drawer space.</p>
<ol>
<li>Laundry detergent</li>
<li>Calculator, notebooks, pens, etc</li>
<li>Shower caddy</li>
<li>Rain gear: Umbrella, rainproof jacket (soaked sweatshirt = not fun), rain boots if you're a girl</li>
<li>a fan could be nice...but if you're coming from LA it'd probably suck</li>
<li>Small cheap bookcases proved very useful for most</li>
<li>Cheap snacks/drinks from somewhere like PathMark are appreciated...haha, I wish I had gotten a huge case of NutriGrain bars, because those served as daily breakfast bought in Jumbo Express on the walk uphill haha</li>
<li>Some sort of desk organizer is always good...</li>
<li>More than one pillow; one pillow and a boyfriend are unfortunately not enough lol</li>
</ol>
<p>(I had a LOT more on the plane...but I just got back from France and am brain-dead, lol.)</p>
<p>In the middle of the year I also splurged and got an amazingly comfortable featherbed/mattress topper that was just heaven compared to the twenty dollar memory foam thing I had before. I actually looked forward to getting in my bed...best decision ever, since it's also now on my bed at home, lol.</p>
<p>Don't get bed risers, the beds can go super-high on their own.</p>
<p>Anyway. It's 6 30 am Paris time, I have no idea why I'm posting this, lol. Good luck!</p>
<p>is it possible to bunk my bed so that I can put my desk under it?</p>
<p>Just so you know, this is an extremely helpful thread. Thanks guys :)</p>
<p>meaning, make the bed a loft bed? I don't think loft kits are available at Tufts...The beds go high, but I don't know if you could fit the desk under it AND have a computer on top...also I think some desks come with bookcase topper-type things. in Wren, I seem to remember. Why the hell would you want to put your desk under your bed, though? The desks are narrower than the beds, so you'd always be studying with some inches of bed behind your head. I'm about five feet tall and I think I'd find this extremely uncomfortable...</p>
<p>I'm five one and it doens't bother me at all. Several of my friends have it at their schools and I like how much space it saves.
Also, I like the feeling of seclusion when I'm trying to do work or write papers, it helps me concentrate.</p>
<p>Before you even considering lofting a bed, see your dorm room. Some of them are quite spacious anyway - you will simply have dead space if you loft. Lewis, South, Hill, and perhaps a few others have big enough rooms so that lofting simply doesn't make sense.</p>
<p>Second, the beds are easy to bunk, and Tufts will give you a ladder. :) Why not just do that?</p>
<p>Other Things To Bring:
1. A really really good holepuncher
2. White board with bulletin board. Not for your door (get a white board for that), but for your desk. Trust me on this. Put your homework on one side, random stuff to do on the other, and important things you don't want to lose on the bulletin board.<br>
3. Bookcases if your room doesn't have them. Staples has a nice folding one that collapses for easy travel.
4. If you like to eat, get a mug, microwaveable plate, and microwaveable bowl. A few things of silverware can be nice, too.
5. Buy a window fan. Floor fans take up more space and don't work nearly as well.
6. Those collapsible captain's chairs. They fit under your bed when you don't need them.</p>
<p>or those hiking chairs, they were really useful in my friends' room.</p>
<p>And some roommates may not want to bunk the beds. I'm still confused as to how you would put the bed above the desk, though...but aries is right, rooms in Hill or South are huge enough that you'd have enough space anyway.</p>
<p>As far as binders/notebooks go, what do you guys suggest? I was thinking of just getting like 1" 3-ring's for each class and maybe a spiral notebook of paper, as I think I'll be printing most assignments and typing notes...</p>
<p>Oh, a more important few questions...</p>
<p>Is there a closet in the rooms or bureau...I somehow never though to ask. Also, are outside mini-fridges allowed, or only the one's they rent?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>closet or bureau: I am almost certain that they all have bureaus, although of varying sizes. As for closets, all of the rooms have a closet, but again, varies in size. Lewis closets are huge. South has nice bureaus, except that the ones on the 4th floor are half-sized because of the slanted ceilings. Some dorms have built-in bureaus (Lewis, Haskell, I think Wren, Miller), while others have normal, freestanding ones. </p>
<p>So... ask when you get your room assignment. :)</p>
<p>Microfridges: you can bring in your own fridge but not microwave. If you want a microwave, Tufts requires you to rent a microfridge. Last time I checked (3 years ago), the microfridges weren't very great. All very old. It'll cost you $1,000 over four years to rent them. </p>
<p>So, what's a girl (or guy) to do? Buy a nice fridge - spend $100-$150 on one in Sears or Costco - and buy a microwave. Store said microwave under your bed during room inspections. They aren't allowed to move anything aside, so if it's not in plain sight, they can't search for it. Most RAs don't care anyway. (One RA even told me to do this - her attitude was that she wasn't going to sweat the microwave issue on a sub-free floor - she was more concerned about it really being substance-free.)</p>
<p>No guy I know had a problem with space, Ben. Even the really rich kid that needed a Ralph Lauren and Lacoste polo in every color of the rainbow, lol, but he kept them in plastic storage boxes under his bed.</p>
<p>^ lol, okay Renee, thanks.</p>