For starters...

bring some reminders of home to make you feel comfortable and happy. If you have had a lamp by your bed since you learned to read, take it along. Think about items to make your room homey — cushions, pictures of family and friends, posters for the wall.

Also, you may want to wait until you get to school and check out the bookstore and nearby shops.

Take your yearbook. It makes a great ice breaker. But, don't take really valuable items. They have a tendency to "walk off."

If you expect to have company — a younger brother or sister, or a friend — to spend a weekend, you might want to consider taking an air mattress or a sleeping bag and an extra pillow.

For desk and study

• Scissors, tape, stapler and staples, paper clips, push pins or thumbtacks and ruler;

• Highlighters, pens and pencils.

• A hole punch;

• Either a loose-leaf notebook with dividers, or several spiral notebooks for taking notes in class;

• CD player and CDs and a mini tape recorder and tapes (optional) to use in class;

• Stick-on notes, several sizes;

• Personal stationery, post cards, and stamps;

• Message pad, your address book, complete with up-to-date street and e-mail addresses, zips, and phone numbers

• And, don't forget to bring a phone book from home, too.

• A calendar to keep track of assignments;

• A calculator (and, if needed, replacement rolls of tape);

• Computer and disks;

• Batteries -- all sizes

All of these things are available at the bookstore, but you may not have time to shop until after your first few classes.

To decorate your room

• Cushions, machine-washable, inexpensive throw rugs;

• Wastebasket or even two--with trash bag liners;

• Pictures and posters (foam-board backing--optional); and double-stick hangers that don't mar the walls;

• A couple of plastic "milk crates" in decorator colors (You’ll be surprised how versatile these can be.);

• Storage boxes--cardboard or the more-durable plastic kind with secure lids (Tip: Be sure to get the right size to fit under the bed.);

• Flat-top trunks can be used to store sweaters, extra blankets, throws, pillows, along with doubling as a coffee table.

Storage at college is usually at a premium. If you are traveling quite a distance to school, then it's helpful to be able to store your possessions over the summer, so you don't have to cart them back and forth. If the school doesn't provide enough storage, students may even use commercial lock and key storage units.

Also, if you aren't traveling home often, it might be easier to bring clothes for all seasons at one time and store those you aren't using. Ask about this at orientation if the information isn't in your kit.

On the other hand, if distance isn't a concern, you can wait until Thanksgiving vacation to bring back winter clothing and any other things you might need.

It's good to wait and see. You can always bring things later, particularly after you find out what your roommate is bringing. And, don't forget about parents' weekend. You can always get them to bring a couple of things from home.

What to Take to College.....Continued on..Page 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before you buy a computer, check with your school to see what they recommend.