When you talk about the “long list” that needs to be “pre-ordered,” are you talking about this list? http://residentiallife.vassar.edu/procedures/personal-property/useful-items.html
I don’t remember receiving anything else when our son started a couple of years ago. I do remember there was some pretty aggressive marketing by the so-called “Vassar Linens Program,” which actually isn’t a part of the college but rather an outside company. While it might be convenient to use them, we found that it was much cheaper for our son to figure out what he needed after he saw his room and just buy it at Target (which is in the mall that’s on one of the Poughkeepsie bus routes that are free for students), or order it from Amazon and have it delivered to the college. And, I have no idea why anyone would need an extra mattress!