Things to bring and not to bring to college

[obeygiant]

Haven't gone to college yet (though I've gotten my first acceptance!), I've gone to boarding school for 4 years, so I'll drop my suggestions.

There are a lot of things that make life in a dorm room much more appealing...you could bring none of this stuff and have a perfectly wonderful time....but making your room comfortable is key.


--A good bedspread. Because your bed takes up so much space you'll end up using it as a couch and a drop zone for random crap. Get something comfortable to sit on that can take a beating.

--Airport Express (or similar....express is small and has great range for one room). You can talk with your roomie about this, but it's great to have and eliminates a HUGE amount of cable mess, which really gets in the way in small rooms.

--Game console (w/ a "Jam Box" so you can play on a monitor, or a TV). People will probably poo-paw this, but it's awesome for breaking the ice. When you have to get to know people that you're living with, it's much easier to do it through watching a movie or playing a game....it brings you all to common ground. Plus, other people will probably bring their systems....16 player Halo over system-link is a wonderful thing.

--Tapestry. Chances are you won't know much about the size or layout of your room before you get there....so poster space is hard to judge, but a big printed cloth packs really small and can adjust to fit anywhere. Excellent wall filler, especially if you have cinderblock walls.

--Floor lamp. If your room only has an overhead fluorescent lamp, you'll want something else. Standing lamps are really cheap, take up almost no room (they can be squeezed in behind your desk or bed), and they totally change the feel of the room.

--Kensington Lock for your computer. I think this is pretty obvious.

--A Shower basket. Depending on your dorm's arrangement you might be going down the hall for the showers. Don't want to be grappling with an armload of shampoo bottles and bars of soap. These can be had for less than $5.

--More than one alarm clock. Sleeping through sucks.

dont bring a condom cuz you'll never get laid.

 

[Glenn Wolsey]

dont bring a condom cuz you'll never get laid.

You have travelled into the future of these upcoming college students and seen what happens too them at college have you?

 

[Steven1621]

Some people I know might have some trouble....it seems like their entire wardrobe is Hotchkiss gear. No worries though....I haven't succumbed to the merchandising scheme yet.

*crosses fingers...only 4 months of resistance left*

Better Hotchkiss than Taft, I suppose...

 

[Chundles]

dont bring a condom cuz you'll never get laid.

Correction, YOU never got laid.

I'd suggest a box of them to start with - O-Week will drive your supply levels down so you may need to replenish your stocks around Wednesday.

 

[obeygiant]

Correction, YOU never got laid.

I'd suggest a box of them to start with - O-Week will drive your supply levels down so you may need to replenish your stocks around Wednesday.

sorry bra,
i think the joke went over your head.

 

[Chundles]

sorry bra,
i think the joke went over your head.

Did it?
We antipodeans can layer sarcasm upon sarcasm upon sarcasm.



And how did you know I wear a bra? I thought that was private....

Anyhoo, has anyone mentioned a little basket for your shower stuff?

 

[Glenn Wolsey]

Did it?
We antipodeans can layer sarcasm upon sarcasm upon sarcasm.



And how did you know I wear a bra? I thought that was private....

Anyhoo, has anyone mentioned a little basket for your shower stuff?

Yep, earlier in the thread.

 

[OutThere]

Better Hotchkiss than Taft, I suppose...

True that....Tuck Faft.

dont bring a condom cuz you'll never get laid.

Ouch. I just got told.

I guess I'll go cry in a corner now that the man on the internet told me I'll never get laid.

 

[LACOSTE]

hmmmmm essentials huh?

essential for me...

1. My iBook (esp omnigraffle & omnioutliner + MS office)

2. iPod nano ... to use as a flash drive

3. 2 ring binder + lined paper
4. Collins 400pg themo-bound notebook ... for lectures i like to take notes serially.
5. Mobile phone... the most essential... for groupstuff and work commitments... use of bluetooth is good for making presentations with ur iBook which we do constantly every fortnight.
6. Gym clothes + 2 pairs of runners + aerosol deodorant for shoes (very important lol)
7. Toiletries, Clothes, extra linen, the lot. ... Make sure you have decent underwear... not Target Kmart stuff lol
8. Comfort books... bring ur Dan brown (conspiracy theories is the cornerstone of adulthood angst) and harry potter (me a geek? no.)
9. A personal locker. see iKea
10. a play station and a tv. good for procastination, essential for not blowing ur mind.
11. ahem contraception and lube
12. a datebook/phonebook thingy
13. a whiteboard/corkboard
14. a Crumpler Bag!


WHAT not to bring!

x1. your PC Laptop... i thought u wanted good grades? then leave this behind. lol

x2. Your yummy sushi pajamas unless they are the aussie "Peter Alexander" brand

x3. industrial grade detergent (unless ur obsessive compulsive)

x4. Photo albums (keep it digital!)

x5. Your Lord of the Rings special extended edition 3 x 4disk dvd box sets. Why? Are you making Orc masks in your spare time? Making elf ears for you to listen better in class with ur super hearing?

 

[rickvanr]

Correction, YOU never got laid.

I'd suggest a box of them to start with - O-Week will drive your supply levels down so you may need to replenish your stocks around Wednesday.

Excellent suggestion. However I suggest a 12 pack opposed to a 24 pack, you don't want to seem overconfident.

 

[OutThere]

aerosol deodorant for shoes (very important lol)

Listen to this, please, for the sake of the other people who'll have to live with you.

Edit: BAM! 2000 posts beaches! Took me long enough

 

[Chundles]

Listen to this, please, for the sake of the other people who'll have to live with you.

Edit: BAM! 2000 posts beaches! Took me long enough

Yeah, one of those plug in air fresheners wouldn't go astray either if you have to share a room. I never had to share a room when I was staying at college (have since moved into an apartment off campus, well, my college was off campus too but that's immaterial) and even then an air freshener was a good thing.

Just make sure it's not one of those awful smelling ones. Get something subtle.

 

[Jason_Bryan]

Long time since my time at Uni but the most important thing to take is an open mind.

 

[Timepass]

bumping it back up after some posted question about this stuff.

 

[w_parietti22]

Most dorm rooms are like 14ftx14ft and you are sharing it with some else.

hahaha 14x14 if your lucky. My room is 13x12 or something like that and my brothers old dorm was probably 7x12 shared!

 

[yg17]

I think our dorm rooms are probably smaller than a jail cell.

My friends and I lucked out this year though and got a suite. Instead of your typical cell that holds 2 people, we have 3 connected cells for 4 people. 2 rooms with 2 people each, and a 3rd room with a couch, fridge, microwave, table and TV. And yes, I do call them cells because our rooms are that bad....Princeton Review even called them dungeons.

 

[macOSX-tastic]

even though some say that you wont have time for DVD's etc, you need time for personal relaxation and reflection.....working al the time will jade you, annoy you, frustrate you and jade your view of college. there has to be time for entertainment that does not involve drinking money away. you can watch a DVD for free!! make sure that you put them in a folder or something in order to save space....DVD cases take up tonne of space.

S

 

[student_trap]

I think that the most important thing you can do is seriously underpack, and just take it as it comes when you get there. All halls are different, some allow fridges/microwaves/toasters etc, some don't. You can buy what you need when you get there, obviously take some things...clothes, sheets (maybe), hangers, books and your computer, along with the things you may need for to do hobbies you like etc, such as cricket bats or roller skates etc etc. The important things are to go there and be yourself, other things such as printers and phones etc you'll find out about when you get there.

This said, you can under-pack too much, there was this one guy down the corridor from me, who came to uni only with a bushido sword, a pile of weed, and an xbox...no clothes, no books, nothing (not even a tv for the xbox!)

 

[jdechko]

A flash drive is pretty useless too, unless you're in a computer based class, which most classes are not.

Unless you opt for a laptop, I disagree. During many projects I had to collaborate with other people. It was simply easier for me to just download my part of the work to the flash drive (sometimes email works, but for large files, its practically impossible). It's a cheap and useful tool that takes up no space for all intents and purposes. I'd definitely recommend one.

I also recommend a lockable fire safe. Nothing big, but I would keep my system backups and restore disks in there as well as a spare book of checks and other important stuff. If you're going really far away from home, or international, keep your passport and a copy of whatever ID you have in there. I never used it to prevent theft (I locked the room it was in...) but if (and hopefully there won't be) there were a fire in the dorms, at least your backup/system restore/ID/etc would be somewhat protected.

 

[GilGrissom]

Be sure to check with your dorm regulations before bringing the Foreman. The dorm I was in frowned on even hotpots. My 4 cup coffeemaker just barely slid under the list of what was allowed.

Oh what?!...Noooo!! Gutted!

Every dorm should have (at least!) one formby grill! Those Foremans are fantastic! Centre of our kitchen!

Also, water filter (Britta etc). Sometimes the water can taste really off or funny so boiling it first or filtering it often does the trick...that and you have to put orange squash in everytime you want a simple glass of water!

 

[Chundles]

hahaha 14x14 if your lucky. My room is 13x12 or something like that and my brothers old dorm was probably 7x12 shared!

My last room at college before I moved into my apartment was about 5x5 with it's own bathroom and shower. It was huuuuuge!! I fit so much stuff in there, it had a little kitchenette in there as well. Big cupboard, huge desk, lots of space, a couch, fridge, TV. And it was $42 a week fully catered. I loved being a tutor....

The first room I had was about 3.5 or 4 by 5 still huge!! Had the big cupboard and the huge desk.

Single rooms too, most of the rooms in my college were single rooms, we put the americans into the shared ones - they were still pretty big but with all the stuff in em could be a little cramped. I guess they didn't want them to feel to out of place by giving them their own big room.

They were quiet rooms too, thick brick walls between them so you could always get some sleep. I had a good bunch of people living around me so the doors were nearly always open and we'd just wander in and out saying hello and watching TV and stuff.

Oh man I miss the college days, and then, I don't miss college. I like having my own space. It's much easier to do my Uni work without 40 drunk blokes wanting me to go drinking. But then, I'd rather be out drinking with 40 drunk friends than do my Uni work. It's a vicious circle.

 

[floriflee]

Once you get to the dorms consider getting 4 cinder blocks to prop your bed up higher (assuming you can). It gives you a LOT more storage space if you prop them lengthwise up at each of the four corners of your bedframe. I think I was able to store about half of my belongings under my bed all throughout college.

Don't bother getting any top of the line stuff for your room or kitchen (if you have one--there were some dorms at my uni that had some). It will just get trashed by other roommates while you're there. I bought the cheapest kitchen stuff I could find for college and I'm glad I did because a lot of it got abused.

I never bothered investing in binders. I thought they were a pain to tote around--especially if I had to go to several classes before I was able to go home. I preferred the 3- or 5-subject notebooks that had pocket dividers separating each section. I stored all the handouts in the pockets and was able to condense and organize various subjects within one notebook.

 

[joker2]

My last room at college before I moved into my apartment was about 5x5 with it's own bathroom and shower. It was huuuuuge!! I fit so much stuff in there, it had a little kitchenette in there as well. Big cupboard, huge desk, lots of space, a couch, fridge, TV. And it was $42 a week fully catered. I loved being a tutor....
(...)
The first room I had was about 3.5 or 4 by 5 still huge!! Had the big cupboard and the huge desk.

... You're either talking metres or being extremely sarcastic... 5 ft isn't long enough to fit a bed except diagonally

For the record, my dorm room was 11ft (at its widest point, about 7ft at the narrow) x about 19ft long, one side was bumped in for the bathroom after just enough room near the window for the length of an XL Twin bed (2 bedrooms shared a bathroom which consisted of a toilet stall and a shower stall with a door to each bedroom, each bedroom had its own access to the main hallway of the floor as well.)

I moved out of the dorms halfway through my sophomore year into a 10ft x 10ft efficiency apartment with an attached bathroom (5ftx4ft) for $250/month, really close to campus and I could actually take a bath OR a shower, and not have to worry about a roommate coming in at all hours of the night either drunk or bringing some guy home to sleep with.
//edit -- found acutal dimensions of dorm room

 

[rickvanr]

... You're either talking metres or being extremely sarcastic... 5 ft isn't long enough to fit a bed except diagonally

For the record, my dorm room was 10ft (at its widest point, about 7ft at the narrow) x about 17ft long, one side was bumped in for the bathroom after just enough room near the window for the length of an XL Twin bed (2 bedrooms shared a bathroom which consisted of a toilet stall and a shower stall with a door to each bedroom, each bedroom had its own access to the main hallway of the floor as well.)

I moved out of the dorms halfway through my sophomore year into a 10ft x 10ft efficiency apartment with an attached bathroom (5ftx4ft) for $250/month, really close to campus and I could actually take a bath OR a shower, and not have to worry about a roommate coming in at all hours of the night either drunk or bringing some guy home to sleep with.

You do know, that the rest of the world uses the metric system. Right?

 

[joker2]

You do know, that the rest of the world uses the metric system. Right?

True, but just about every other post in this thread (including the one he referenced) has been talking about measurements in feet and inches.

Oh what?!...Noooo!! Gutted!

Every dorm should have (at least!) one formby grill! Those Foremans are fantastic! Centre of our kitchen!

If your dorm has a kitchen, then it's a different matter... they're probably more lenient and have better circuit breakers... Mine in my condo now trips the breaker every time it and the microwave are in use at the same time.

Cooking appliances approved for use: toasters (not toaster ovens), coffee makers, crock pots, rice steamers and air-popcorn poppers. All appliances must be UL-approved.
Do NOT bring ANY cooking appliances not listed as approved above. These include, but are not limited to: toaster ovens, hot plates, George Foreman(R) grills and any non-UL-listed appliances.

//edit: combining posts