^^Second that.
Stay away from bedding and the bigger appliances as specs for these vary from school to school. Christmas when she was a HS senior we bought my daughter a nice heavy winter coat (she was going to be in the northeast whichever school she decided upon) - she wore it for 5 years and we just replaced it and a rolling duffel bag (never got used I just got rid of it - she used a small spinner suitcase for her train rides home instead), Also got her a new laptop and iphone for her birthday spring of senior year. Wanted her to have new when she started college (what she had wouldn’t have worked) and give her time to get used to them before that September.
Also got, DS2 in high school nice sunglasses and quality dress shoes.
I like the idea of getting her a complete “interview/business” outfit. A pair of low heel black pumps, a skirt with matching jacket, and a conservative shirt.to complete the outfit.
Just thought of another thing I got that year. A vera bradley messenger bag to carry her books and laptop around campus. The vera was what she wanted but basically a good backpack or tote to use going from class to class. The backpack my daughter used in HS would not have worked as she didn’t carry any kind of laptop with her.
@kiddie DS2 is also excited about the new suit which we choose with the help of CC. Really the suit and shoes are his largest gifts. They were pretty expensive. And all those other things needed ties, wooden shoe trees…
Yep the boys need more - belt, ties, and dress socks (don’t forget the socks - I think that is often overlooked when putting a nice men’s outfit together)
@kiddie As someone here suggested to me, three pairs of matching black dress socks. Got that covered.
Another gift possibility, nice watches. DS2 and DS1 received nice dress watches and running watches. The Garmin running watch was another expensive item.
Haha I was hoping this thread existed. My daughter has an Amazon wish list of dorm stuff and she wanted a “lady suit” because her likely college takes students to a lot of conferences. I asked her about her stuff clashing with what her roommate might have…”too bad”. Lady suit purchased and I need to do some shopping on Amazon 
@PAclgmom She’s a girl after my own heart. “Too bad,” that was my reaction. I kept the bedding for four years even though my roommate changed from year to year too. I thought it was pretty.
@gearmom LOL that’s the issue! I wonder what the percentage is of freshmen who hate their first roommates 
I’d pay for her to get TSA Precheck to make airline boarding quicker and easier.
Tile tracker to find phone and keys might be good too.
@PAclgmom My daughter asked for a tapestry for her dorm wall. I asked if she’d want to coordinate with her roommate first and got a firm no - why should she? Made me laugh. It’s her tiny little space away from home. I guess she should decorate it however she wants.
I picked up a clothes steamer this last night on amazon. It has an auto turn off so it should be OK. If it’s not, I’ll keep it.
@AlbionGirl Great ideas! She’s never been on a plane before and I haven’t flown for 15 years, so I wasn’t even thinking about the TSA lines. And we just spent 10 minutes this morning doing the “call my phone” bit
what’s the “call my phone” bit?
@doschicos I do that too. You use your home phone to call your cell phone to find it. I also have a Find My Phone feature I could log into a computer and activate which sets off a ringer on the phone even if the batteries are dead and also locates (GPS).
Amazon dot/echo/spot - so she can ask Alexis all of those questions she asks you … what time is it? what is the weather in Timbuktu? What is the GDP of Spain?
@bacmom , my college bound freshman asked for a wall tapestry for her birthday last May without even knowing who her roommate would be or what her dorm assignment would be. She ended up being in a triple converted to quad. The roommates did not bother coordinating their bedding - they didn’t even find out until the end of July who their roommates were and what dorm they were in. Due to the furniture configuration with two lofted beds and one bunk bed (the remaining walls had doors to both their bathroom and walk in closet, and the other having two windows and door to the outside). No open wall space for anyone to put up a tapestry!
Funny thing is, coincidentally, their bedding, etc. was all in similar color schemes even though it was never discussed - shades of gray, slate blue and salmon pink.
Every time I walk in dd’s room at home, I grumble seeing the expensive tapestry sitting folded up and draped over the edge of her bed. She’s keeping it and still planning to use it next year when she is guaranteed an apartment with a double and plenty of wall space.
Back to the question, someone in another group I belong to said the Catalina weekender bag from Lo & Sons is very popular among college students in her area of the country. I’d never heard of the company but the bag does look pretty nifty for a college student. It’s currently on sale - different sizes and colors. https://www.loandsons.com/the-catalina-deluxe-small
My DD is nervously awaiting decisions. I’ll be getting her things to help remember & celebrate her time in high school and what she enjoys now – thinking of making a shutterfly book and getting tickets for her and a friend to the local theater. I don’t think either one of us wants to focus on next year just yet.
Fabulous idea @Counselmom ! For my D, I’m taking her and a couple of her HS friends away for a weekend.