<p>Is there a section of CC that discusses this stuff?</p>
<p>This thread might be of help:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=53990[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=53990</a></p>
<p>well for starters you can take a look at the thread in the parent cafe: last year’s shopping, checklists and bedding:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=53990&page=11[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=53990&page=11</a></p>
<p>Many schools will also send out information in the summer about what to bring or what not to bring.</p>
<p>Don’t know why you couldn’t do this, but all I did was I googled “what to bring to college” and here are some of the results:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=82285[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=82285</a>
<a href=“http://www.aboutcollege.com/whattobring.htm[/url]”>http://www.aboutcollege.com/whattobring.htm</a>
<a href=“http://www.thedormitoryonline.com/Wh...toCollege.html[/url]”>http://www.thedormitoryonline.com/Wh...toCollege.html</a>
<a href=“http://www.collegeview.com/articles/CV/campuslife/what_to_bring.html[/url]”>http://www.collegeview.com/articles/CV/campuslife/what_to_bring.html</a>
<a href=“http://www.fastweb.com/fastweb/resources/articles/index/102646[/url]”>http://www.fastweb.com/fastweb/resources/articles/index/102646</a></p>
<p>Look at the college’s housing lists for carpet sizes, refridgerator/microwave policies, what they provide and suggest to bring. Also look at photos of the dorm rooms for hints. Use the CC lists for all the mundane items you forget about as you take them for granted until needed. I’m a happy mother this summer- no more hunting for stuff, only need to restock…</p>
<p>I say it every year: consider taking very little. Yes, your kid needs clothes and sheets and towels and a pillow. And maybe a laptop.</p>
<p>But really, you don’t NEED a refrigerator or a microwave or a stereo or a TV.</p>
<p>Like Wis said, check your schools website. My S’s room already had micro/fridge in it. We also bought a floor rug and rented loft units through the school. They were in the room waiting when we walked in, much easier than lugging stuff from home.</p>
<p>You can search for bedding in google by typing in “Dorm Bedding.” a bunch of companies will pop up. I chose DormAid. You can just go to dormaid.com/bedding to check out their offers.</p>
<p>just a note on lofting. It sounds like a good idea, but if your kid gets ill or breaks a leg - major problem. My kid had mono, and nearly passed out getting down from the loft bed, as night sweats would leave her dizzy and dehydrated. Also, if the bed is lofted, the kid can’t use it as a sofa - easily flop on it to study, etc. What ends up a good compromise for many is to raise the bed so that there is room for a minifridge, storage, laundry, etc. under the bed, but not a full lofting with desk underneath. Definitely JMHO!</p>
<p>don’t bring too much! you might want to pick up stuff after you get into your room and see what you have to work with. the rooms get real crowded – real fast–and that can make it seem even smaller!</p>
<p>I agree with dmd77. My son will be flying from Chicago to Pasadena with 2 large suitcases and a laptop bag. I do not want to ship a lot of stuff back and forth every year or pay for storage.</p>
<p>If it doesn’t fit in your car, it won’t fit in the dorm room.</p>
<p>You may hit the lottery with a room that looks like the ads from Bed and Bath or Linens and Things-- all decked out with comfy chairs and a fridge and a coffee maker and lots of other stuff… coneniently available for sale at their store. Or, you may get a room that looks like my kids Freshman roon which had a bed and a desk and a chair. Once we made the bed and put his lamp and alarm clock on the desk, the room was stuffed. We worried he’d have to store his textbooks under the bed (except that’s where his clothes and extra sheets were going.)</p>
<p>We hauled half the stuff we’d brought back home, and I spent 2 evenings after work standing in the returns line at Walmart, Staples, etc. along with all the other new college parents with the cute wastebasket, shredders, blenders,microwaves, bathrobes, etc.</p>
<p>A kid can order virtually anything on Walmart.com or Amazon-- show up with the bare basics and fill in afterwards. Easier than buying, hauling, returning.</p>
<p>Make sure you read your college’s literature about what to bring and what not to bring. Things that are allowed or even recommended at some colleges may be forbidden at others (e.g., microwaves).</p>
<p>Also, check on the size of the beds. Some colleges have extra-long beds that require twin extra-long sheets. Others have standard twin beds that take standard twin sheets.</p>
<p>Don’t take “everything you think you’ll need.” Take what you are sure you’ll need for the first 3 months, and then decide whether you’ll need (and have room for) additional items.</p>
<p>Others have mentioned the XL twin beds. Do get two sets of sheets for these (only the fitted sheet has to be XL) and look into a thick, additional mattress pad for XL twins. College mattresses can feel thin and lumpy. It’s best to get these ASAP in the summer, as stores do sell out nearer to September.</p>
<p>Most of what you’ll be bringing is clothing. Bring what you will wear for the fall. If you go home for Thanksgiving or Fall Break, bring home most of your shorts, etc., and exchange them for winter clothes. </p>
<p>Some schools will provide a wastebasket, mirror, bookshelves, etc. You may want to bring a reading light to clip to your headboard. In warmer climates, a fan would also be worth it’s weight.</p>
<p>I couldn’t believe what some of the kids in my son’s hall brought for freshman year. Perhaps they didn’t live far away, but - an 8X10 rug for a new dorm? (A very generous dad schlepped it up two flights of stairs, but who will take charge of it when it has to leave?) A half-dozen sets of plastic drawers? (There was barely room for the school-issued furniture in the room!) Illegal cooking devices? (Not the way to get off on the best foot with your RA.)</p>
<p>one other thought on fridges, TVs, bikes, etc.</p>
<p>Think used … a great used market will exist for these items and the items can be essentially rented for very little without the hassle or dragging them back and forth to school. I actually made $5-$10 on the fridge I owned for a couple year of school … and paid about $10 for my bike my first year of grad school (the amounts above are my net cost … purchase price - sale price).</p>
<p>"A half-dozen sets of plastic drawers? "</p>
<p>Midwestern,
I don’t know about a half-dozens sets, but my son found the plastic drawer sets very handy. He had the kind of bed that you could raise up about a foot more (kind of had to jump/climb up into it). He put two sets of plastic drawers underneath and the extra storage came in handy for supplies, personal items, whatever he didn’t want out sitting around taking up space on his desk/chest of drawers.</p>
<p>Since we drove up, we used the plastic drawers to pack a whole bunch of stuff in. The drawers fit in the back seat.
Also, he used the big plastic crates in his closet. Stacked about 4 one on top of another and used them for shoes, folded items, boxes/jars of food, etc. (Sort of like a pantry). Again, he used the boxes to pack stuff in on his way home. He didn’t use luggage.</p>
<p>One set of bedsheets works- after all, they should be awake when washing them (especially so they don’t forget them in the laundry room… last year a mother told of a never used second set). Do consider a mattress pad, the thin flat oblong provided at son’s school was useless (just be sure they keep it to turn in later). Under the bed boxes can hold a lot of stuff if they don’t loft. The one thing our underage son rarely uses and couldn’t buy was regular Sudafed; I will send some next year along with the bandaids/other OTC meds… things you hope they don’t need, but when they do they’re not in shape to go in search of them. We had a chance to see a room in his dorm the summer before and I measured the closet; he put up a 5’ tall shelving unit in his closet, he didn’t need all the hanging space, but could use more shelves. The amount of furniture students bring these days is unbelievable; lofting makes such a difference, although I like my feet on the floor…</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone’s mentioned that you should always have the ‘what to bring’ discussion with your future roommate, especially for things like tv, fridge, microwave, keeping in mind that many colleges rent fridges and microwaves. No point in both of you showing up with duplicates. The plastic drawers are useful as a nightstand, which I’ve never seen a dorm provide. I haven’t heard of anyone bringing an 8x10 rug but I’ve seen many smaller ones in dorm rooms that aren’t carpeted. A collapsible laundry bag is probably one of the most useful purchases my Ds made. </p>
<p>Lists are going to vary, school by school, and kid by kid. That’s why it’s important, if you haven’t seen the dorm room, to have a look at what your school recommends; talk to current students, if possible; discuss with your future roommate, and take it from there. :)</p>
<p>S and roommate lofted both beds and put a good sized futon underneath one bed with the TV and a chest of drawers underneath the other. The futon was very handy. They had friends visit on weekends fairly often and their room turned out to be the gathering spot for watching weekend football on TV.<br>
Another thing that was handy for them was those cheap fold up camp chairs. Easy to pull out when needed, easy to fold up and throw under the futon to get out of the way.</p>
<p>Sheets,haha, S and roommate each had one fitted sheet the whole year and a comforter on top. The fitted sheet never came back home. S trashed it at the end of the year. I’m sure that was a wise decision. </p>
<p>No need for lots of towels.
They take up a lot of valuable storage space.</p>
<p>S found that almost everything he wanted to cook/eat could either go in a plastic cup or on paper towels. Heaven forbid they wash any dishes.</p>
<p>Girls will be far different I’m sure.</p>
<p>Mathson likes to eat a bowl of cereal right before bedtime. If I sent him with more than one bowl that would guarantee there would always be dirty bowls in his room. With dishes less is more!</p>