“Not everything that’s recommended by the school is necessary for a successful school year.” …
http://www.consumerreports.org/coffee-makers/what-to-buy-for-a-college-dorm-and-what-to-skip/
What an odd article. A coffee maker is the #3 essential?
“See whether the college provides a desk and chair”? What college dorm DOESN’T provide bed, dresser, desk and chair?
I don’t know anyone who had a humidifier. I’d put an extra set of sheets before a humidifier for sure.
Disagree with many items on the “skip” list…
–Extra sheets are useful – both of my kids would take the old sheets off and put the new ones on at the same time.This way the bed was made when they were sitting around waiting for laundry. A second sheet of sheets is a small expense and useful to have.
–My kids always liked having alarm clocks – although they use their cell for an alarm, they liked to see the time from anywhere in the room and they had iHomes which could be used to play music when friends were over.
–And extra pillows (not expensive) were very useful in making the dorm bed comfortable to sit and read on or to have friends sit on.
Also on the essential list, many dorms forbid microwaves (unless part of a microfridge) and coffee makers in the rooms.
And my D did bring a humidifier one year when the heat in her dorm was so dry that her skin started to get dry and scratchy. But generally it is not something on the top of people’s li
Humidifier is definitely one that depends on the indoor climate. I had dorms that were as dry as Death Valley, and others that were humid enough to feel like New Orleans.
I think the iron is an essential. At many of the preppier schools it could even be an everyday essential. I rarely used mine at college, but it was still essential for when I needed to look nice (dinners with faculty, attending fancy receptions on campus, etc.) Anything that called for a blazer and a nice button down shirt. I wouldn’t have been without it even though I only turned it on maybe 6 or 7 times a semester.
I disagree on alarm clock as well. Cell phones are not an acceptable substitute. No one ever forgets to charge an alarm clock. No one leaves their alarm clock in a study carrel at the library and then can’t retrieve it because the library is closed. No one drunkenly drops their alarm clock in the toilet and then has do without one until they can get a replacement. No one leaves their alarm clock set to the wrong time zone when they return from spring break. No one steals an alarm clock. Alarm clock is an essential in my book. But hey, I’m old, and I’m probably showing it.
We have just ordered bedding, and she will take some towels and some under-bed storage containers. Most stuff she will wait and see. I have to laugh at the “necessary” coffee maker. My kid drinks tea and we just spent hours hunting down the perfect small kettle. She can’t find any info saying it isn’t allowed, and it’s certainly much less bulky. Not a useful list, IMO, and surely every woman needs two sets of sheets. Don’t need to say why.
I think the list is okay. It mentions that microwaves might not be allow, so check first. If you think your kid needs an iron, get one but just because it on a list that the college ‘suggests’ doesn’t mean the kid who has never ever used one will suddenly start using it. I have two of those kids, and there was no iron in their suitcases. Extra sheets went unused. Towels were pretty beat up after a year of being the last thing shoved into the washer.
The suggestion was to not load up on expensive bedding like decorative pillows. I think a lot of kids want the dorm to look like the BBB catalog on day one, but then don’t have any room for the stuff they start acquiring, like the 30 school t-shirts, or the school mascot pillow, or the free poster won at the Union. Less is more.
My mom got me microfiber sheets when I went off to college and I have never bought any other kind since. I LOVED my microfiber sheets.
Neither I nor my roommate of 3.5 years ever drank coffee. I can think of only one person I knew with a coffee maker until my friends moved into apartments. The cafe and cafeteria in our dorms more than met caffeine requirements.
I think this was pretty essential to every one’s dorm rooms. Imagine not being able to store leftovers anywhere!
As someone who went to a party school, I must say an extra pair of sheets is essential. Imagine having no extra sheets if you get sick on your bed or something. :-&
Now romani, you went to school in Michigan where we all know nature’s refrigerator/freezer is available at least 6 months of the year. You slide open the inside window and leave closed the outside one, and viola, refrigeration. Or freezer if you leave things there too long. It’s also designed to hold a six pack perfectly, or even some bottles so some window designer was thinking ahead too.
Yes, some of us went to college before the days of mini fridges. We could also cook using only a popcorn maker. College wasn’t for the weak or pampered.
S looked at the suggested iron on the list and immediately laughed and said “no.” He knows a couple of girls who will be attending and living in the same dorm. He figures for the one or two times the might need an iron he’ll seek one of them out.
S’s school said no to coffee makers but yes to Keurigs. No to microwaves but there a few in the common area in his pod.
I’ll be happy if he washes his sheets once. (He did put Fabreze on his grocery/cleaning list).
Only Kuerig style coffee makers were allowed in my daughter’s college freshman dorms (but she and none of her friends drink coffee so she has never owned a coffee maker) - she still has never used an iron (even now after graduation) - I agree with having the extra sheets (if there is any kind of emergency you will not want to launder the one set of sheets to get back to bed) - my daughter uses an alarm clock (and even got her BF one to get him up in time - phones are unreliable for this function) - she had a few pillows on her bed (although decorative they were functional and she used them to be comfy when hanging out) - when she was in a really dry dorm I got her a humidifier which she never opened (it seemed like too much work to change water etc.) - she had a microfridge freshman year (only type of microwave allowed).
So, the real answer for dorm needs is it depends on the kid and the dorm!
Yes, of course people went to college before mini fridges and survived. They also went to college before computers and internet but I think you’d be hardpressed to argue that they’re not essential. 8-|
LOL. I had one of those plug in mug/hot water heaters. They were maybe 20 oz in size. They’d corrode so fast because of the heavy metals in the water. I can remember making spaghetti and frying eggs using the popcorn machine.
I went to school in the Stone Age and there were those little cube fridges in most rooms. We were NOT allowed to put anything on an outside windowsill…ever. Because if it fell off, someone could,really get hurt.
Re: electric kettles and the like…many schools do not allow these at all. Not at all. While,there might not be a specific reference to an electric kettle, the school might say a blanket “no appliances that are heated”. Fire hazard…yes even the ones that turn off automatically can cause problems.
Funny list! Wonder who created it?
FWIW, my D was told over and over how essential a mini-fridge was for her room. I refused to purchase one and she kept her fingers crossed that her roommate would have one to share, which neither did lol. She has survived quite well without one. What she couldn’t survive without though is a fan…boy does it get hot in those first months 
It wasn’t on a sill, but sandwiched between the inside window and the storm (or screen depending on how cold it was outside and how cold you wanted your beer.
I agree an extra sheet is going to get used, if only so it can go on the bed immediately when the old is taken off to wash. And of course, for emergencies. Or for when you haven’t gotten around to doing laundry for awhile…
S took a single serve coffee maker to college, not a Keurig. It made drip coffee into a travel mug with a washable mesh filter. As it had no “hot plate” type element to keep the coffee warm once made, it was OK fire-wise. Much cheaper to buy and use, eco-friendly, etc. Also a nice small size.
Some local person could make a mint buying old fridges, coffee makers, shelves, chairs, etc from college students in spring and selling them to the new batch in fall. One of these days I will do this, I live in a college town.
My shopping for towels was in my parents’ linen closet. There was no way I was getting new towels, coupon or not, before my mom. 
Also disagree on the extra sheets and the alarm clock. This will depend on the kid of course, but I do rotate my sheets, and I do like to glance up to see what time it is instead of having to reach into my pocket.
Many schools have a ‘yard sale’ and do exactly that ^^, except they don’t buy the old stuff in the spring, just have an area near the dorms where it is donated at move out. At daughter’s school, it was several of the clubs that organize it and use the money for their causes. Daughter got a fridge for $25, but it was too big for the dorm by rule, and they had to cover it up when there were inspections. They sell sofas, appliances, shelves, bikes, blankets, and whatever else might be needed.