I hope you find this list pretty useful. These are items I came up with during those “shoot… I forgot to bring” moments during the first few weeks of freshman year, seeing what things my friends brought and was like, “why didn’t I think of that?” or just being a RA (an older student who’s in charge of dorm life) this year for lots of amazing enthusiastic freshmen. This list is in no way complete. So please, if I left anything out comment below and help your fellow classmates. Hope you have a great year and enjoy one of the best years of your life! 

Extra long twin bed sheets

Many students don’t realize that college beds aren’t exactly regular. They’re extra long twin. I don’t know why they did that. Maybe college students are taller than the nation-wide average. And no, even if you pull and stretch the regular fitted bed sheet, it won’t cut it. You could get away by wrapping the top sheet around your bed. But in all honesty, you’re probably better off for the next four years with the right size sheets.

 

Printer Cables

Coming to college, I was so excited to find an HP all-in-one Printer/Scanner/Copier for under a hundred dollars. Little did I know, it didn’t come with printer cables to connect to your laptop or computer. You would think they would come together. What can you do with just a printer? Plus, the only printer cables they sell at the electronics store is about the fifth the price of the printer. Moral of the story: bring you own printer cables. You can get this one for pretty cheap.

 

Hangers

Several people told me hangers were a big one. I don’t seem to remember that was a problem for me, but then again, maybe my mom was with me that day. Dorms come with a closet of some sort and by having your clothes on hangers, you can save a lot of space. It’s easy to forget about hangers when you fold all your clothes for the flight or drive over to college.

 

Laptop Lock

It’s always good to be cautious. But when you get to college, your RA will probably forward you at least one email of a lost laptop incident. I remember hearing about a thief climbing through a student’s dorm room window and running off with their laptop. Or another incident, when a thief cut the laptop lock with a big wire cutter. That being said, even with a laptop lock, you can still get your laptop stolen. But it really prevents people from easily running away with one of your most precious items (can you imagine losing all your music?). You’ll probably have a roommate, friends coming in and out, and possibly your door unlocked sometimes. It’s just one less thing to worry knowing your laptop is locked.

 

Water Purifier

Lots of my freshman dorm mates ended up going out and buying a water purifier after they arrived. I think the reason is that the dorm water might not be that clean, bottled water can get pretty expensive or hard to come by without a car, and if you’re from another part of the country, the water might taste different.

 

Headphones (and maybe earplugs?)

It’s probably the first time for many of you to have roommates. You’ll soon find out that you have different sleeping schedules, work habits, and so on. With headphones, you can block out sound and study. If you get big ones, it can provide a signal for others to know that you’re busy. Plus, your neighbors could be playing loud music and people outside your room could be making noise. You could always talk to them, but sometimes in some situations it might be easier just putting on headphones or earplugs.

 

Alarm clock(s) – one that really wakes you up

Maybe y’all are light sleepers and any type of alarm clock wakes you up. You’ll soon find out how important sleep is to you in college and might start developing the sub-consciously fast reflexes for hitting the snooze button. It was funny and probably pretty mean, but in high school, my alarm clocks were used not to wake me up but to wake up my family. I’ll have them right outside my door full blast, and my brother or mom would run into my room and “nicely” wake me up. It was the perfect system. In college, you don’t want to wake everyone up and you do want to make it to some classes. I’ve just recently discovered the perfect alarm clocks I wish I had during college. Some shake your bed really hard, fly into the air, jump off the desk and run away from you (Clocky), or have lights that imitate the sunlight. You should really take a look if you sleep as soundly as I do.

 

Umbrella

For some reason, lots of people never remember to bring one, or snow/rain boots for that matter. And guys, this definitely comes in pretty handy when you want to walk with that special someone in the rain.

 

Easy Mac/Instant Noodles

Might as well get everything you need while you’re at it, right? College students are hungry all the time. There’s no meal between dinner and the time you sleep. And nothing tastes better than hot Easy Mac or Instant Noodles or is easier to make. Just add water and microwave.

 

Red Bull/Coffee

So many new faces to meet, lots of activities to participate in, parties to go to, classes to attend, homework to do, high school friends to call… hmmm… red bull, anyone?