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Things to bring and not to bring to college

As a former RA..

joepunk said:
A hot pot can be very useful but it would be best to purchase one when you have moved into your dorm if you traveled from afar.
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Most of the time, colleges won't let you have these because they're a fire hazard. Same with any cooking-related electronic device, like a toaster.

My suggestions would be:
An address book/planner - keep track of your homework, appointments, friend's dorm phone numbers, and addresses and/or directions to friend's houses/dorms.
POP UP HAMPER - this thing saved my life, and a TON of space. Get one with handles.
Tide Laundry tabs - they're a little expensive, but easy to use, and they're light and small.
Yaffa blocks (or milk crates) - I kept a few stacked in my room, and they were great for stuff like non-perishable food, shoes, books, or cleaning supplies.
Bathroom caddy - nothing fancy, just a little plastic box with a handle to keep all your shower stuff together and easy to carry around.
Laser Printer - you never, ever want to have to go down to the library to print out a paper you were working on until 2am for your 8am class, only to find the library is closed due to a power surge.

Things Not to Bring:
CANDLES - you won't be able to use them, and if you get caught with them, you're screwed. If you NEED something that will smell nice, get a glade wisp.
EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE - leave it at home. You get to start over!
 
well with all the famus collage threads popping back up I think it high time this tread get bumped
 
good thread. i am in the exact same boat. to discuss with your roomate to would be a microwave. it is not necessary to have two in the same room. i share my microwave and tv and we both have different fridg. i love college <3
haha
 
I disagree with the 3-ring binders. You're still going to have to take loose paper and put them in the binder. At my university, I've always used spiral notebooks (I'm a junior this year, by the way) to keep all of my notes in place. Loose paper isn't really needed unless you're always turning in homework. Professors usually give out handouts like the syllabus and whatnot. I tend to put these in a $0.10 paper folder. Honestly, the classes that I've been in weren't homework intensive. (I'm an undergrad business student.) Most of the time, I usually have a test, midterm/final and/or a final paper.
 
Things to bring to college...

Condoms and HP Sauce

...not necessarily to be used at the same time :eek:
 
rickvanr said:
Cell phone's are not a necessity. All of the dorm rooms I've been to have had land line phones, which are usually free!
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Cell phones are definitely a necessity now. Your social life will suffer without one.

timepass said:
Hamper for dirty clothing.
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Amen. Mine broke in the middle of second semester last year, and within two weeks, my part of the dorm room became a sty.

Printers are really nice to have, especially if you're the type that doesn't want to run down to the computer lab at 8AM to print out last night's completed assignment.

A lot of these "what to bring lists" will vary. At my college, for example, mini-fridges and ethernet cables are included. Also, some of the things like 3-ring-binders may or may not be required, pending on your course load and what you're doing. As an undergrad business major, I got by just fine on 2 or 3 spiral notebooks a semester and a whiteboard.

Flash drives aren't too useful. I'm pretty sure that most universities have every computer enabled with high-speed internet access, and many have started moving towards campus wifi. It's pretty easy to log onto gmail, send an email to yourself with an attachment, and download said attachment at the location. Nothing to carry around/forget on your desk, and it's just about as fast as using a flash drive. And free too.
 
A lot of my views on school supplies are tainted by the fact I am in the college of engineering so hand outs are pretty common plus I print out a lot of notes stuff online and need a place to store it. That an for the post part I quite taking notes in note books. I either used notebook paper or engineering paper for all my notes and need a place to store it. that and it was just easier for me. I got the idea from a friend after seeing her do it and how well it worked. For me I found it amazing that I could find my notes and stuff after month or 2 of class veyr easily.

As for the flash drive even if you are not using it for class it extremally helpful when it comes to just moving files bettween friends. Like I have been at a friends room and he had some stuff I wanted. I just handed him my flash and we loaded it up. That and my roommate and I have used it to transfer 400 meg files bettween eachother. Also I know some deparment on campus require you to use one. The Carreer center at my school wants you to bring you resume on a flash and not anything else.

Beside they are not to expessive and very helpful. personlly I think they are woth the 20 buck cost and compare to your book cost that is pocket change (my rough estimate for me this fall is something over 750 but most people 500 is normal)
 
I'm at university and I live at home but I would say the most essential item is the USB key or an ipod shuffle. Makes transferring files between home and uni so easy. Ipod also essential for walking around campus
 
ham_man said:
What about as a backup for really important stuff...?
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Flash drives aren't that great for backing up stuff. I mean, they could, but there are a lot of alternatives like backing up stuff online (might be free, if your university gives you online storage), using an external hard drive, or backing up onto cheap CDs.

rafifreak00 said:
Do you guys prefer a desktop or laptop for a dorm?
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Totally laptop. Also makes moving in/moving out very easy.
 
ham_man said:
What about as a backup for really important stuff...?
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I think they are not good for backing up stuff. Not enough memory and not relible enough for it. Now they are great for moving around files and putting stuff on them really quickly and are the easiest way to transport files.


rafifreak00 said:
Do you guys prefer a desktop or laptop for a dorm?

I'd say laptop... something small like my iBook.
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I am going to have to say laptop. Just it needs to be a desktop replacement (macbook pro) in my openinan because it needs to last 3-4 years as the main computer and the macbook just doesnt have the power to do that. But the portablity of the laptop is great. It can go home with you while a desktop cannt. I fly home with my laptop and leave my desktop at school. Plus you can take it around with you and work on projects. So yeah laptop is the way to go if you only have one.
 
something that I havent seen on this list is some advice on how to keep you stuff safe. Like locks and stuff.

But really the best way to keep your stuff safe is get to know other people in your dorm and become friends with them. It saved me from getting rob once. some guy was going around the dorms breaking into unlock rooms (my room happen to be unlock and open by accident at the time) and he start to head to my room and got stopped. The other people in the dorm knew he didnt belong in my room and was some one who just didnt belong and was chaced off with out taking any thing. Be defeince is making friends with people in your dorm. They then will know who belong and who doesnt. Also they then will know hwo to question going in an out of rooms. Plus it makes things more enjoyble.

In my dorm the ones of us who where friends (most of the hall) we had a lot of fun just hanging out in eachother room. Plus we played quite a bit of halo (and had land cables to prove it) but that was 2 years ago. But some of those guys I still hang out with today even though we all have moved off campus.
 
Timepass said:
I am going to have to say laptop. Just it needs to be a desktop replacement (macbook pro) in my openinan because it needs to last 3-4 years as the main computer and the macbook just doesnt have the power to do that. But the portablity of the laptop is great. It can go home with you while a desktop cannt. I fly home with my laptop and leave my desktop at school. Plus you can take it around with you and work on projects. So yeah laptop is the way to go if you only have one.
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A MBP can cost almost twice as much as a MB though. You could get a MB for the first two years, and a new one for the last two. Laptop's are super for moving. First year university I had my trusty TiPB, it was great. I could just throw it in my book bag, and hop on the train home for a weekend. Super convenient. I can't say that about the second year with my power mac.
 
talk about bring a thread up from the dead. A good tread to bring up. Just it might of been better to bring back about a month ago when people where all heading off to school.
 
for me, the only thing that you need to bring is your brain..and dont bring your laziness attitude
 
What to bring - A list of phone numbers from home - doctors, dentist, Aunts and Uncles, cousins, etc. The relatives will come in handy, especially if they are closer to your school than your parents are.

If you bring a bike, don't skimp on the lock.

Things to do before you leave for college:
Think about money - Are your parents going to pay your credit cards and other outstanding bills or are you going to have the bills forwarded to school and back home during the summer? Are you going to have access to your accounts from school (Debit cards and electronic banking have sure made this stuff a lot simpler).

Call your parents' insurance company. I had a brand new bike swiped. Turned out it was covered under my parents' homeowners policy since I was in a dorm. Check your coverage and look into a renter's policy if need be.
 
Would bringing a 40" Hdtv be a bad idea? (theft reasons)

An would bringing a small dekstop along with a laptop be a good idea for backup just incase?
 
Bring:
Condoms
Alcohol
External HD
Thumb Drive
iTunes g.c.

Don't Bring:
A TV over 32"
Nice Camera
Kindle (Go for the ipad)

I promise you, if you have any game, you'll do fine. If not, hopefully you'll at least do good in your major.
 
waloshin said:
Would bringing a 40" Hdtv be a bad idea? (theft reasons)

An would bringing a small dekstop along with a laptop be a good idea for backup just incase?
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You and every other student in the dorms, or at least everyone who cares to have one, is going to have a big HDTV. Just lock your door when you aren't there and you will be fine.

A small desktop is just a waste of money and space. All schools have hundreds of computers now if you have problems and need a back up.
 
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