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Lets make a list of what you should take to your dorm and...

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Should: as little as possible. i have led and continue to lead a near-ascetic lifestyle in college and it really keeps my mind clear and focused on my studies - sorority girls and alcohol.

Should not: tidy whities, pocket protectors, or this website ; ) at least try to clear your history when you have a one night stand. it's tough to explain why I like to look at pictures of other people's macs on the Internet, but I do...
 
zioxide said:
not necessary. just lock your door. they make locking doors for a reason.
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That's assuming you have a dorm room to yourself. Many dorms require you have a roommate. That roommate could be dishonest, leave the door unlocked consistently or have bad judgement in whom they allow in.
 
velocityg4 said:
That's assuming you have a dorm room to yourself. Many dorms require you have a roommate. That roommate could be dishonest, leave the door unlocked consistently or have bad judgement in whom they allow in.
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I had a roommate for 4 years... actually, freshman year I had 2. You gotta be able to trust your roommate.

I lived with the same kid soph, junior, and senior years though, and he's still one of my good friends, so maybe I had it easy.
 
zioxide said:
not necessary. just lock your door. they make locking doors for a reason.
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Speaking of locking doors - remember, if you lock the door when your roommate steps out for a bit to have yourself a wank, your roommate has a key and might walk in on you.

I say that from experience. No, I wasn't the one flogging it, I was the one who walked in on his roommate doing it. Needless to say, I did NOT want to see that. Fortunately I only lived with him for a semester.
 
Skip bringing condoms, your health center most likely provides them for free. STI testing is usually also free. Spend the condom money on lube and mints.
 
Definetly your own bedding even a mattress foam topper. Made sleeping much more comfy. Also desk lamp, fan and black curtains for those mid day naps. I took lots of those.
 
Should: 8-Track, Hi-Fi with your LP collection, a beeper (on your belt), and dimes for the pay phone.

Um.. I went to school a few years ago - maybe there are some newfangled things you can bring. :confused:;)
 
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i want to take this to my dorm room. i worked hard for it and i appreciate good sound quality. i might leave the sub at home though. but the tv and the speakers are going. along with my ps3. if it becomes a problem then i could easily take it back home. i live in the same town as my college.

EDIT: im thinking twice about the speakers. i do have a set of decent headphones so i could just use those. ah god danggit! why are dorms so small??!! but im still taking the ps3 with me. love gaming too much.:) cant wait for uncharted 3 and batman arkham city.
 

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Heading off to university soon - any things you guys recommend having?

Are there any things in particular that you guys found really helpful to have at university, the kind of thing that you found surprisingly helpful, or wish you would have had?

Thanks guys!
 
I remember when I was in the dorms my first year I took a bunch of crap with me I didn't need or want and on the flip side left a bunch of crap at home that I did want. I fixed that my 2nd year in the dorms.

Remember space is VERY VERY limited in a dorm room so anything that saves space is good.

You have the standard computer, sheets, and clothing stuff. Make sure you have a cell phone with a text messaging plan.

I would check with your room mate about a TV and video game systems so not to double up.

Other items to make sure you have is 3 ring binders for school, hole punch, printer, and stapler.


I would leave you DVD collection at home. Limit any number of pleasure reading books at home. I made the mistake of bring up way to many of mine. I would say 2-3 books tops. You can buy others while you are there.

I would recommend you get a good desk light, alarm clock, and a desk chair as school supplied desk chairs suck so having your own is really nice just to sit in.
As for personal items to make it feel like home I would say limited number of them. A picture if that is aways on your bed stand. Some things for me I have are some figurines that were on my desk at home. Hell those same things appeared on my desk at work years later but still needs to be limited as I said before space is a premium in the dorms.

First semester it is better to go to light than not enough as you can easily fix it at either thanksgiving or after Christmas.
 
iDuel said:
That was totally uncalled for.
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No it isn't. Kids have sex and they need condoms. Bring them, or get them from your schools wellness center.


Other advice, don't bring furniture, maybe a chair but that's it. Make sure you bring sheets, pillows, clothing for summer and winter, an Ethernet cable (your campus might have wifi that is complicated to set up without help from the Internet, or no wifi in the dorms at all, like mine), limit books and movies you will be meeting lots of people and probably won't have time to watch them or read.

Before you connect your computer to the net, REMOVE ALL P2P software. University networks scan for p2p traffic and ban it immediately. Also, certain game updaters (world of Warcraft is one) utilize p2p. These may not work on campus, my school didn't but others have.

Bring an extension cord as well.

Also, check with your roommate about the tv situation

Headphones are a necessity as well, for dorm quiet hours when you want to listen to music. Those walls are paper thin sometimes, respect your neighbors.

Most of all, bring an open mind or you're going to miss a lot of opportunities to meet new people.
 
^What this guy said exactly with the exception of the movie thing. Where I went to school everybody went home pretty much because everybody lived within 50 or so miles so I would bring movies, TV shows (The Office), etc.
 
oh yeah power strips. Power strips are a must. I would recommend 2 at least. I know I was using them like crazy.
 
Just bear in mind that however much stuff you take, it has a tendency to grow whilst at uni. That means it has to come home (fit in the car) again as well. Therefore I would suggest not taking speculative items; my room had a perfectly nice desk, chair and lamp. Also someone came in and changed the bed sheets - so none of that stuff was needed.

You also have to bear in mind that you are also embarking on that stage of your life where stuff gets nicked. Student accommodation/digs are usually targeted as it is easy to get in and has a high concentration of shiny things. Personally I would just take the laptop and leave the cinema display at home (or get/borrow a cheap lcd monitor for the mini - or crt even!).

Have fun! It is easily the best time of your life, but bear in mind all the cash you spend has to be paid back. My partner has just made her final student loan payment 17 years after finishing!
 
Rodimus Prime said:
I remember when I was in the dorms my first year I took a bunch of crap with me I didn't need or want and on the flip side left a bunch of crap at home that I did want. I fixed that my 2nd year in the dorms.

Remember space is VERY VERY limited in a dorm room so anything that saves space is good.

You have the standard computer, sheets, and clothing stuff. Make sure you have a cell phone with a text messaging plan.

I would check with your room mate about a TV and video game systems so not to double up.

Other items to make sure you have is 3 ring binders for school, hole punch, printer, and stapler.


I would leave you DVD collection at home. Limit any number of pleasure reading books at home. I made the mistake of bring up way to many of mine. I would say 2-3 books tops. You can buy others while you are there.

I would recommend you get a good desk light, alarm clock, and a desk chair as school supplied desk chairs suck so having your own is really nice just to sit in.
As for personal items to make it feel like home I would say limited number of them. A picture if that is aways on your bed stand. Some things for me I have are some figurines that were on my desk at home. Hell those same things appeared on my desk at work years later but still needs to be limited as I said before space is a premium in the dorms.

First semester it is better to go to light than not enough as you can easily fix it at either thanksgiving or after Christmas.
Click to expand...

This a million times over. Try and be as minimalistic as possible, it will make life much easier in the long run.

Another thing to consider is a pair of noise canceling headphones. These can be a godsend when trying to study when a roommate feels like being noisy or watches TV or something.

Also bring an ethernet cable and grab a laptop vs a desktop if you can. Not all schools allow wifi and because space is limited, a laptop will be much more beneficial, not to mention you can take it to class.
 
More advice from my experience: leave relatively cheap things like lamps etc at home. There might be one there already, but if not they're super cheap to buy and it will save you hauling things you don't need back and forth (or if you live nearby just fetch those things later). Essentially all I took to uni were my clothes, my computer, my phone, and condoms. The rest I got later as I needed it.
 
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