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Things I can get to outfit my (future) dorm

RainForRent said:
Really, what everyone needs is different, and it depends how far away you are from home, and how much you feel like trucking around. I went from PA to Miami, so I only brought as much as I could fit in 2 suitcases and a laptop bag. Learn to live minimally and you'll be happy.
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Word up. As someone who finished college this past semester, I'll chip in: bring as little as possible. Don't become a slave to your possessions.

I can easily say that besides my guitar, the most important things I took from college (laptop, camera, iPod) fit in my backpack.
I also dragged along a trunk of clothes back home with me, but even that was unnecessary.

Learn to live simply. You don't need a TV, consoles, etc. in college. None of that stuff will satisfy you in the long run.
 
heatmiser said:
Word up. As someone who finished college this past semester, I'll chip in: bring as little as possible. Don't become a slave to your possessions.

I can easily say that besides my guitar, the most important things I took from college (laptop, camera, iPod) fit in my backpack.
I also dragged along a trunk of clothes back home with me, but even that was unnecessary.

Learn to live simply. You don't need a TV, consoles, etc. in college. None of that stuff will satisfy you in the long run.
Click to expand...

true that
 
fair enough, but I have slept with a TV on for the last 15 years. If anything, that would be my most important object behns the laptop.

How about furniture wise? I liked the loft bed design I saw earlier.
 
You might want to wait and see...

Fenir said:
fair enough, but I have slept with a TV on for the last 15 years. If anything, that would be my most important object behns the laptop.

How about furniture wise? I liked the loft bed design I saw earlier.
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It's a dorm room. It's furnished. You have a car. Why not wait and see what you have to work with. See what other people have. And then get it. Over planning/buying at this stage seems premature.

Oh, and learn to sleep without a T.V. on. You can do it now. Be flexible. Your neighbors may not appreciate tv 24/7.

Oh. And loft bed. Not conducive to visitors. Just saying.
 
Electronic things to consider (in decending order of priority):

Necessary
* Laptop (which you already listed)
* Large monitor w/comfortable keyboard for those essays\lab reports (depending on the major) is a must -- you will want to have your research and Word open in full while writing. If you need to have a game system at school, just get a monitor with an HDMI input.
Very Useful
* Comfortable Desk Chair. I am scared to think how much of my college life was spent at my desk writing papers, doing problem sets etc... Your back will thank you.
* Mini-fridge for drinks/munchies. They arn't too expensive and the savings of the fridge vs. take-out/vending machine quickly pays off.
* Massive external hard drive for movies and music.
* iPod Touch I am torn about whether or not this is "very useful" or just "nice to have". It largely depends on the person. With wifi everywhere on most campuses, an iPod Touch lets you work on/surf the internet from anywhere. My school was huge, so I was always taking a 20+ minute walk across campus. All the other usual ideas/issues about whether or not to buy a Touch are applicable.
Nice to Have
* Airport Express. Link up your speakers and give yourself the option of using your laptop on your bed without too many wires. Make sure to put on a password otherwise everyone else will borrow your bandwidth. This can especially bad if your school has bandwidth caps like mine did. An Airport Extreme is probably overkill.
* Crummy pair of 2.1 or 3.1 speakers. You don't need or want super powerful, expensive stuff as you will bug the hell out of your dormmates if your bass is blasting.
* Nice Quality, Noise Canceling Headphones. You can always play your music as loud as you want without bothering anyone and the noise canceling gives you quiet time even if your jackass roommate won't.
DO NOT GET
* Full-sized TV -- monitor can double as this. Unless you have a gigantic dorm room, a 24'' monitor will more than suit your needs.
* Powerful Speakers -- see above.
 
heatmiser said:
Word up. As someone who finished college this past semester, I'll chip in: bring as little as possible. Don't become a slave to your possessions.

I can easily say that besides my guitar, the most important things I took from college (laptop, camera, iPod) fit in my backpack.
I also dragged along a trunk of clothes back home with me, but even that was unnecessary.

Learn to live simply. You don't need a TV, consoles, etc. in college. None of that stuff will satisfy you in the long run.
Click to expand...

Another strong agreement to this. Let me reemphasize the importance of locks for your electronics, especially if you like having them in your possession. Living light will absolutely be a valuable life skill, and I say this as one of the (rare) studying university students (which can save you money in the long run: I'm now getting paid to go to graduate school). If you'd like to buy something with a good wow factor, the mStand can save your back AND look pretty sharp. Unless, of course, there is finally a revision to the old Powerbook g4 design.
 
i agree trojans are a must. I suggest that you don't have all the cool stuff cause than people are always going to be bothering you even at 2am when you have a final in 6 hours. I had a LCD TV, Wii (for kick ass smash brothers tournaments), a portable DVD Player (it can hook up to the tv and it is pretty small), and an alarm clock (you don't want to oversleep). Do you have a roommate, he can be pretty useful for keeping some cash in your pocket. alcohol and girls are always more useful than a 360 or surround system.
 
An absolute must have
Kegerator (Me and my roomates went through one to two full kegs per week for 1 1/2 years then we moved and dismantled the system:()
We got an old full size side by side fridge (freebee), tore out the shelves, then installed the Keg, CO2 tank, lines, handle and spout. The freezer was kept loaded with 60-70 frozen beer glasses (all cost about $250).

If you have the money for all of those electronics get a small apartment instead. Dorms are a 24/7 social fest making it difficult to study and sleep. Plus you don't get a second of privacy. If the restrooms are communal they are always jammed and who knows about the hygiene and cleaning practices of other users:eek:.

If at all possible avoid the dorm. I started with a rental house and it is definitely the best arrangement if you have some GOOD friends to live with. Otherwise an apartment with maybe one roomate.

Otherwise why get all of that stuff it will just fill up the dorm and girls will not be very impressed. Instead use that money for nice clothes, bars, cooking and to keep a clean haircut, girls will be far more impressed by this. They really love going to guys places if they cook well.
 
Dorm is all to myself.

The reason Im asking in advance is because I think it is going to be nice to have a place all to myself. I'm kinda excited about it, and this is giving mr ideas to consider. These two months are going to pass really fast!
 
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