I second the idea of a scale, they don’t take up much space.
A good baking cookbook like https://www.amazon.com/Im-Just-Here-More-Food/dp/B004KAB31G
I’d also add a cheap rubber spatula for getting the batter out of the bowl and a cheap ‘offset’ spatula that can be used for icing or lifting.
You don’t need a cooling rack if you have dishtowels & paper towels handy. You don’t need a rolling pin if you have a wine bottle handy. I’ve done my share of baking that way. 
Is there an Aldi where she is? Tell her to keep her eyes peeled for silicone baking mats and oven liners. Usually those appear in the fall in time for holiday baking.
Another vote for parchment paper instead of silicone. It’s easy clean up and can be it’s own cooling rack. Just slide it off the hot pan.
Think easy clean up, small scale, stores all in one box with a seal.
A towel, a small sponge or dishrag (a friend suggested cutting a sponge into quarters to make it last longer and always have a fresh sponge), and a small bottle of dish soap.
My daughter loves to bake but her dorm kitchen was not the best. Other students didn’t leave it clean. As soon as she had a campus apartment she baked all the time.
Parchment can be used to line pans of any size, including cake pans. It can also be used in lieu of muffin/cupcake liners.
Silicon also doesn’t brown as well IMO.
Our friend (a baker) seconds the mini cup-cake pan. Cookies on the sheet and then muffins or endless varieties of cupcakes give her a lot of flexibility. Then if she continues to do it get her a cookie decorating kit with bags and tips and coloring.
Wow, so many great suggestions!!!
@doschicos , I LOVE the idea of her using parchment in lieu of cupcake papers. I can get her a roll of aluminum tape for $3.24 on amazon and it’s heat proof. She can fashion bread pans! Endless possibilities, lol!
So I think I’m going to get her some essential supplies, a baking cook book, and a grocery gift card. I’ll send it to her in a storage box, but I’m going to try and keep it all as compact as possible.
She’s a big fan of Great British Bake Off. They always use flat baking trays with no lip. I think I’ll get her one of those. Uses less space.
As an FYI, we’ve been using the bbq outside to bake stuff for the last two summers. I live in an old house with a giant professional range. It’s always pumping out heat. She started baking last summer, but I wouldn’t let her use the range because it made the house too hot. We mostly have had success, and it’s easier all the time. So far, we have made MANY pizzas (the best crust ever and now my preferred way of making pizza), lots of cookies, several cakes, absolutely delicious pan-free blueberry pies, cupcakes (big disaster, don’t recommend), and a loaf of bread.
If anyone is interested, the best advice is to use an overturned bbq grilling basket, one with holes all over. Put your tray or whatever on top of that. Get the temp high, then turn down the flames to between medium and low.
First of all, +1 to secure containers for food items like sugar, flour, etc. - ants seem to find a way…
I’ll be honest. I would take one of two approaches. I have had three kids who at some point or another used their dorm kitchen on and off - really in the scheme of things, not that often cause COLLEGE.
I’ll bet that will satisfy them for now - until they have an apt with better room, storage.
Can’t she just go through your spares, or is she far away?
My daughter was a college baker (and very popular as a roommate, plus she’s also a very clean minimalist, increasing her popularity). I gave her a set of baking sheets that came with some cooling racks and a spatula - about $10 near Christmas time at JoAnn’s fabrics, but you might be able to get them now with a coupon. They really are pretty nice. (Unfortunately, her roommates ruined them.) Macy’s also has ‘beginner’ baking sets with lots of different sized pans for pies and cakes and cookies. When D moved into a new apartment after graduation, I sent her a set. I’m sure Amazon has sets too.
If you are going to buy ingredients, I’d pick one or two recipes and buy what those need - for chocolate chip cookies, for oatmeal cookies, for peanut butter cookies.
My and now DD’s favorite baking sheets are the ones with air. They take a lot of hard work to burn anything. So if you are getting no lip trays, those are the best.
You can get parchment paper in a roll, or separate sheets. King Arthur Flour has a wonderful baking store, and lots of parchment options (and lots of other goodies!):
https://shop.kingarthurflour.com/kitchen/parchment-and-baking-mats
I like that they have a parchment sheet and baking sheet set, so you know they’ll match. I’m forever folding the edges of my parchment roll and it gets annoying.
This is a brilliant tip too:
Binder clips! I’m always wrestling with tape that doesn’t stick. Binder clips are a great idea.
The precut parchment is handy but so much more expensive. I just buy in a roll. It’s easy to trace your baking container of choice and cut to fit with scissors. Just takes a minute. And less room for storing.
No offense intended but I hate those air baking sheets. Things are supposed to brown on the bottom.
As far as mixes go, sure it’s easier but I got the impression that @Lindagaf’s daughter wants to learn to bake more being a fan of GBB and having “a passion for baking”. Most mixes really aren’t very good and I really don’t consider that baking vs. baking from scratch. Cakes can be tricky but things like brownies and cookies are worth the small extra amount of time to make your own, IMO.
Depending on what she bakes, a Thermapen. Love love love mine.
Also use my set of Pyrex bowls with lids all the time. Have had good luck with dough for yeast breads instead of looking around for something else to use as a cover while rising.
I wouldn’t say that a mix equates home baked - depending on the baker. But mixes are a reasonable solution in a situation where there is limited access to space, supplies, etc. - and if your audience is your college friends they will likely be very thrilled with a doctored up brownie mix from Kroger.
A note about tools. Yes to spatulas. She’ll need a softer silicone spatula (one piece is best) for mixing and scraping (my favorites are made by Di Oro) and a firmer spatula for removing the cookies from the sheets. If you want it to multitask, an offset spatula will work for the latter task and can also be used for icing. A whisk is a must, not just for mixing but also for fluffing the flour before measuring in cups (assuming no scale). If she’s baking cakes, she’ll also need something for sifting.
Perhaps of interest to OP or others on this thread…
One of my favorite baker bloggers, Joy The Baker is joining The Washington Post for a free 8 week email “Baking Basics” - you do not have to be a WP subscriber to subscribe.
The description:
Our 8-week guide will show you that baking really is a piece of cake. Fundamentals, irresistible recipes and more, in your inbox on Fridays.
Just keep in mind that things are not treated with much respect in a dorm - they take a beating. My daughter witnessed several pots being burnt by students cooking in her dorms, lots of utensils just disappearing, and things being put into the microwave or dishwasher when they shouldn’t. I would send her my spares or at least buy inexpensive stuff.
My son likes making pies. I sent him off to college with a glass pie plate, a mat like this for rolling dough https://www.amazon.com/Non-slip-Measurements-Folksy-Super-Kitchen/dp/B01ACUA8HC , a rolling pin, a set of three nested mixing bowls (plastic), a mixing spoon, a rubber scraper, a set of measuring cups and measuring spoons. For ingredients he had tupperware type containers of flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, a stick of Crisco and a spice jar full of vodka for vodka pie crust. When he actually was ready to make a pie he went to the store and got fresh butter and fruit. He made at least two pies freshman year in the dorm kitchen, maybe more. He took back the supplies every year and I got calls fairly regularly as he could never seem to remember where he’d put the blueberry pie recipe.
Thanks again for all these great tips.
I want to keep it simple, compact, and affordable. I am pretty sure that she will probably stick to cookies and hand-shaped bread loaves. She is resourceful and I am confident she can improvise as needed, such as a wine bottle for rolling stuff.
I think my list now is:
Potholders. Less bulky than mitts
Cheap but well-reviewed nesting set of measuring cups and spoons.
Same for a set of two bowls and a sieve.
Baking tray with no edges
Whisk
Parchment paper.
A couple of different sized spatulas that can double as bowl scrapers, mixing spoons, etc…
Oven-proof tape
Fork for mixing
A few packs of wooden chopsticks. Lay them side by side, hey presto, it’s a cooling rack!
A tea towel
Ziploc bags, large size, for storing flour, sugar, etc… (We are big ziploc fans.)
A small tin for putting cookies in, though there probably won’t be much leftover, because she usually halves a recipe. I’ll put in the gift card, vanilla, cinnamon, almond extract, maybe some fancy sugar crystals for decorating.
The other ingredients she can get herself.
I’m planning to put all these items in a storage bin and send it to her so she can open it on her birthday.
Is there anything absolutely critical that anyone thinks is missing?
How about a large spoon for mixing? I use a spoon more often.