<p>I was born in the states and then moved to Pakistan when I was 13. Finished middle school and did high school over here and now i’m a graduating senior. Got accepted to the University of Minnesota :Twin Cities with a decent scholarship (still waiting to hear from Chicago). So in about 2 and a half months, I’ll be moving back to the states for the summer before I start college without relatives or parents even remotely nearby.</p>
<p>What are the things I need to bring from here and what sort of things should I wait to buy when I get to the states. How much money do you think I’ll need for buying college things as well as what are these things going to be. And does anyone have some helpful advice or things that they wish they’d known before college? What are the dos and donts of coming to America for college and even just for starting college?</p>
<p>You will absolutely need a computer or laptop, you will need warm clothes for Minnesota heavy jacket, scarves, gloves, boots and warm bed blankets–but those can be bought after you arrive, also via catalog-online shopping or in the twin cities. You will need to buy textbooks–$200 should cover that–some may be available second-hand. You will not need “fancy clothes” --mostly jeans and sweatshirts are fine. Bring a few small things to remind you of home and a few small items typical of Pakistan that can be given as gifts if you are invited to someone’s home or if someone has been especially kind to you. </p>
<p>Otherwise, bring as few things as possible. Foreign students from distant countries generally have fewer things cluttering up their dorm rooms. Assuming you will return home after freshman year, you will then have a better idea of what you really need and want to bring back. Minimalism is the way to go! College provides a roof, a bed, desk, meals, medical services–anything else you can do without or use your ingenuity to compensate (temporarily).</p>
<p>thanks! actually i’ll be staying in minnesota for the whole four years. no going home for me. the rents are not up for paying for flights here and back for me. i’m all on my own, hehe.
also, i didnt even think of the thing from Pakistan idea. thats the kind of things i’m looking for. things that i’m overlooking. awesome.</p>
<p>anyone else with advice? i could use it all. thanks.</p>
<p>I flew overseas with one suitcase full of clothes, and some books and random personal items in my backpack. My advice is: do not pack a lot and do not pack heavy. I had to carry stuff from terminal to terminal then from city to city. My friend, who flew with me, brought a lot of stuff and it wasn’t an easy task lugging it around. Good thing I had practically nothing on me so I could help him out.</p>
<p>There’s no point in bringing a lot of things you think you might use. Dorm rooms are typically small, and you will end up clogging them up with unnecessary stuff. Once you get to Minnesota, buy a lot of socks & underwear (trust me: these are the two most useful items you will have during your undergraduate carreer), some warm clothes and other necessities like shampoo, deoderant, soap, nail clippers, note books, pencils, a phone, a towel, bed sheets, etc.</p>
<p>It’s very unlikely you will buy everything you need that first time. So during the first month or so, keep a list of items that you wanted to use once but didn’t have. Then go buy them some weekend (unless of course you really really need them :)).</p>
<p>Personally I bought a computer once I got here and burned everything I needed from home onto DVDs. You might want to bring a laptop with you if you really want to, but I’d advise against transporting your desktop. (If you’re a hardware fanatic and spent lots of time modding it and stuff, then I recommend you FedEx it.)</p>
<p>like you wouldnt believe. yeah i think i’ll end up getting a computer over here. and the DVD idea is good. I’ll just bring an external harddrive instead. yeah i’ll try and pack light. i’m the type of person who always thinks “oh man, i KNOW im gonna need this when I get there” or “there’s no way i can leave that here!” but I’ll definitely try to! thanks!</p>
<p>Yeah, you’ll need a LOT more for books, just ridiculously expensive I’m afraid. Never buy new books if you can help it, always try to get used ones and try websites instead of the bookstore, they want to rob you blind, at least mine does.</p>
<p>If you’re coming from Pakistan, try to get a booklist early (e-mail your professors) and buy your books over there. AbeBooks pretty much always ships out the India/Pakistan version of textbooks (they’re paperback instead of hard cover and black and white instead of color), but they’re also REALLY cheap. You can just ship them to your school address from Pakistan, and save the markup that AbeBooks charges. If you do that, you’ll save about $200 on textbooks (my bill for my first semester went from $530 to $150 or so)</p>
<p>Also, I remember when I went to China a couple years ago that every tech thing was cheaper. If there are going to be substantial savings from buying a laptop there rather than in Minnesota, it could be worth it.</p>
<p>Other than that, you can buy a lot of stuff when you get there (I moved across the country from CA to Pittsburgh) so I just bought sheets, towels, notebooks, etc. when I got here. I brought two suitcases full of clothes and stuff from home.</p>
<p>but how will i know which courses and which professors i’ll have? i guess this shows how behind the college process i am. im actually waiting to hear from chicago. otherwise im going to minnesota. but i can get my parents to buy the books from here i guess and ship them, no?</p>
<p>Set up a bank account, credit/debit card if at all possible, attached to your parents bank that they can help you with. Plan on paying for a local health insurance : the school will require it of Int. students. Plan on buying new clothes appropriate for a new climate. Bring a few things that remind you of home: my son has a map of the city where he grew up and a poster from a local jazz festival on the wall. Get a HD and put everything on it. Travel light. You will have to pack up every year. You can get what you need after you arrive and see what things you would like. Find out what the shopping will be like. Will it be possible to shop close to campus? Email them once you have made your decision. Son shopped online at Christmas to get the “stuff” to make his room better. He started school at the end of September and is in the far north after growing up in a lovely climate. It took him a while to know that, yes, he did need snow boots sometimes and it did get very cold. My best to you and a great first year and trouble free transition. What fun!</p>
<p>i wanted to know that as well…is it possible to buy Low Price Edition books from countries like pakistan, india, nepal, bangladesh…etc…and get them shipped to USA…I mean can it be cheaper that way??
Has anyone done this before?</p>
<p>set up your handphone line, and make sure you set up skype for your parents before you leave pakistan (they may not know how to do it). clothes, credit cards, etc. the rest of the incidentials can be bought there.</p>
It took him a while to know that, yes, he did need snow boots sometimes and it did get very cold. My best to you and a great first year and trouble free transition. What fun!</p>