College Checklist: What You Need in the Dorms

When going off to college, it is often a daunting task to know what to bring and what to leave at home. Since dorm rooms are small and often shared with other students, knowing how much space one has is essential. Bringing extra stuff can be burdensome to the student or his roommates.

Also, students often forget to bring items that they have never had to buy before. Maybe they were provided by their mom or by their teacher. Either way, those items were always readily available. Now that they are living on their own, they need to rely on their resources. It is easy to forget such essentials as toilet paper, printer paper, and insurance cards. The comprehensive list below will help you not to forget anything for your first year at college.

Many of these items are not items you generally buy yourself, although it is often items you will need in a pinch. It is a good idea to have medicine ahead of time, because when you need them, you may not be up to walking to a store. Although some dorm rooms will provide toilet paper, you may want to buy some that are softer for your bum. Some will also allow you to rent a vacuum and other supplies. It's a good idea to find out what you can borrow from your front desk.

It all depends on the college. Some do, and some do not. You would need to check with your college of choice. The most common setups for bathrooms include one bathroom attached to the dorm room, a bathroom that is shared by two dorm rooms, and a communal bathroom that is shared by those who live on that floor. You will want to know the bathroom setup as you pack for college so you know what supplies you may need as you may wish to a more convenient bathroom tote for one that you have to walk to rather than one you have in your room.

Below is a comprehensive list of all the clothes one might need for any occasion, but everyone's needs are different. When heading off to college, you may not need all your clothes, but how do you know what to leave at home. Some questions you may want to ask yourself when deciding which clothes to bring are:

• Does your college do formal events? Are you going to need formal wear? If not, leave it at home!
• Are you planning on attending interviews for college?
• Are you planning on attending a church?
• Do you like to work out, or are you planning on taking a sports class?
• How cold is it during the school year? Are you going to need all of your summer clothes, or a couple of pairs of shorts just in case?

Often it is a good idea to bring at least one dress outfit, just in case. You never know when you might be invited to an event or have an interview, where you want to have something more dressy than your jeans and sweats.

Don't forget! Now you are the one who is going to have to provide the paper clips, pencils, and other supplies. There is often on campus stores for the items you forgot, but these usually charge much more than you could buy at a local store, especially if you can get back to school prices.