So I’m considering living on campus this fall when I start college and I’m curious as to what all I’m responsible for bringing. I know a few of the bare essentials like soap, I’ll have to provide, but what else? Meals are covered by a meal plan, so food isn’t an issue, unless it’s something not covered by the plan.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. 
Take something to entertain yourself…?
The two most important words you can EVER see or hear ANYWHERE if you live in a dorm are “free food.”
I’m going to assume that your room will already contain a bed, a desk, a desk chair, and drawers/closet space for each person living in it. Other than that, you’ll need to bring anything else you’d like to put in there. It’s a great idea to have a small refrigerator with a freezer and a microwave; some school provide it with the room, others rent them out, and others don’t offer it themselves at all. Even though you’ll have a meal plan, it’s nice to have some food in your room for when you’re hungry and don’t want to go anywhere. If your dorm offers a kitchen, you may want to have a few cooking supplies like a can opener, a pot, a pan… don’t forget the plates, cups, and cutlery!
Find out what size the bed is so you know what size sheets you need; most dorm beds are extra-long twin, so you have to get different sheets (it’s such a scam, ha ha). Bring the towels, toiletries, all that stuff, and whatever laundry supplies you’ll need for washing them. Oh, and while the bed will already be there, the pillows and bedspread won’t.
Another thing? Flip flops for the shower.
Bring whatever entertainment supplies you want like your TV, DVD player, gaming stuff, and something to put them on in the room. Extra chairs are nice too.
A couple of things you may want to do prior to moving to school are to contact the housing department to find out your room size and what sorts of things are and are not allowed in the rooms. Once you know those things, you can plan a little better. If you’re going to have a roommate, you could contact that person so that your room will be well-stocked and so you don’t end up with two of things like TVs or sofas.
Vicki’s got it covered pretty well. To add a couple things, make sure to find the dorm’s specific regulations regarding things like electronics. You’ll be restricted to certain size/power-consumption refrigerators, certain types of lightbulbs, and extension cords.
Pay special attention to the flip-flop suggestion. If you live in a dorm with the typical 18-22/24 mix, a week will not go by without each and every shower stall being defiled with every type of bodily fluid you can name, aside from the more obvious tendency for unhygienic idiots to spread other problems.
Oh, keep handy a small supply of tylenol/antacids/whatever. Just don’t tell anyone you have them. Fucking moochers.
In regards to the appliances such as microwaves etc, I highly suggest you check with your school first. A lot of schools do not allow students to have things like that in their dorm rooms in an effort to force them into the cafeteria.
I’d also like to expand on Vicki’s sentiments regarding the food. Don’t walk into this thinking the school is gonna feed you. Odds are you have a meal plan that includes a set amount of meals each week which is really, really easy to exceed without trying. Don’t think it’s gonna be a giant fridge you can just walk downstairs and open and pull out whatever.
Flip flops for the showers ;p
Also, I would think your dorm room is probably gonna be tiny, so don’t get too carried away with chairs and TVs and stuff. If you live in one of those 4-bedrooms-with-a-common area then everybody will have brought a TV and suddenly you’re gonna be stuck with this giant end table that you can’t plug up.
I am really glad I posted this thread. I never thought about flip flops for the showers. I guess I’m expecting too much of people again, eh?
Oh, when it comes to dorms - don’t expect much.
You’ll have to supply your own pornography. Even if a former student left some behind, it’ll probably be all sticky and gross 
UGA’s meal plan is the greatest ever because it actually is a giant fridge you can go to any time you’re hungry and eat, especially now that Snelling is open 24 hours a day during the week.
I would actually suggest plastic drawer things. They make it really easy to keep yourself organized, or, at the very least, throw all your crap into one place so it doesn’t clutter up shit. Something like this. They’re stackable too, so they don’t eat up any space. Hell, I still use mine after moving out of the dorm.
If you get extra chairs, get the fold up kind so that you can move them out of the way when there’s no need to have them out.
I actually suggest some sort of area rug. The UGA dorm floors were just bare tile; I assume most are like that. An area rug or old carpetting or something is a good way to not have to walk on cold tile all the time; plus, it makes cleaning up easier, I think. And it brightens up the room.
Check what your dorm does with the A/C. UGA was stupid and shuts off the A/C from December through April. Sure, we didn’t need it December-some of March. But man. Those rooms were fucking HORRIBLE by the time April rolled around. Some sort of fan would be good.
Don’t forget a printer. You would not believe how many people in the dorms don’t have one, and having your own is quite easier and cheaper in the long run than having to print stuff out on campus. And a stapler.
One thing to check on is to see the school’s policy about putting stuff on the walls. Not very many schools like thumb tack or nail holes, some don’t even allow you to use tape to put hings up.
In no particular order:
<ul>
<li>soap, shampoo, flipflops, toiletries</li>
<li>laptop, ethernet cable etc. if your res provides free internet</li>
<li>your local DC++/FTP/Whatever address for inter-college file sharing (this is <u>important</u> and might save you the necessity of a TV)</li>
<li>power bar, extension cords</li>
<li>laundry detergent, laundry basket</li>
<li>headphones</li>
<li>if you’re thinking about bringing subwoofers, get rid of them, you inconsiderate jerk</li>
<li>desk lamp</li>
<li>umbrella</li>
</ul>
Care to elaborate on how this could save me the necessity of a TV?
If you only need a TV for a series you’re following or a show you want to watch, then you don’t need it if you have a good local DC++ network. Video games is a different story.
Originally Posted by Yar Kramer
The two most important words you can EVER see or hear ANYWHERE if you live in a dorm are “free food.”
“Free Beer!”
That said, it might behoove you to wait a bit when bringing certain things like CD players, Video Games, Beer, ect… until after you get to know your roommate (unless you get a single dorm you lucky bastard). It could also help that you write your name on some of your more ‘valuable’ valuables in case something of yours winds up misplaced while your roommate/neighbor suddenly acquires a familiar used item/develops a taste for the same brand of beer that you once enjoyed.
24/7/69
A hot pot for boiling water maybe. Everyone knows college kids survive on cup noodles and instant ramen, and you need hot water for those.
May I remind you that urine is warm when it leaves the body?
I have a terrible tendency to forget to do laundry, so when I went to college, I only brought a week’s worth of clothes. This had the double benefit of making me do my laundry and of having less luggage to bring Even if you don’t do that, don’t go overboard on the clothes. I knew some people who brought enough clothes to never have to do laundry for the entire semester >_>
Well, in my effort to think of stuff beyond bare basics that have been covered:
-Power bars in your room, and make sure you never run out. They’re really helpful when you sleep late and need to run to class. Trust me, you’ll do it at some point.
-Keep some cans/bottles/whatever of your preferred energy drink on a fridge. Helpful after late study nights.
-If you can, get one of those printers that can also scan and copy pages. It can save you a lot of money copying stuff in the library.
-A fan or air purifier serves a double benefit. Not only does it serve its usual purpose, but it can also cancel out unwanted hallway noise at night.