Do you consider guns to be unexpected things to bring to college?

Well, they don’t seem quite unusual for the police nowadays. Notwithstanding the fact that practically each of the 4,400 US colleges/universities has imposed a strict ban on carrying weapons on campuses, firearms are frequently brought to dormitories.

For example, a freshman from High Point University in North Carolina was arrested for bringing two guns to his college dorm. There are thousands of such arrests, actually.

So, you can’t bring any weapon to college, or drugs, or drug paraphernalia, or any other illegal stuff.

What are you allowed to bring, then?

Read this article and learn what you can and should bring to your dormitory to tackle unforeseen challenges that may pop up out of the blue.

You’ll also find out what college dorms forbid bringing to rooms and what you shouldn’t pack into your luggage, as these things will be absolutely unnecessary.

Then, there’s a bonus for you at the end of the article: some fun things for your to-take list (which are completely legal, btw). They can spice up your dorm life and guarantee you an enjoyable pastime.

Dive in.

Packing for College Dorm: Move-in Checklist and How to Make a Personalized One

Most students never think about packing for college seriously.

It’s far from a fairytale in reality. You can’t just make a wish and voila – your baggage is packed and transferred to the dormitory, and everything is ready for you there, shining with neatness and welcoming you with college parties.

Unfortunately, it’s not quite so. Students need to pay due importance to the stuff and gear they are going to bring to dorms for their daily routines and studies. That’s when college packing lists become beneficial.

College Packing List – Things to Bring to College Dorm

Typically, all schools publish such lists on their websites and renew them each year. They fall into such categories as “Residential Life” or “Incoming Students”.

Check some must-have items for students’ packing checklists:

• Class supplies and electronics: backpack, notebooks, pens, highlighters, headphones, laptop/PC, chargers, etc.
• Bedding: blanket, sheets, pillow, mattress pad, etc.
• Bath and hygiene items: bathrobe, towels, shampoo, soap, etc.
• Clothing: pajamas, warm clothes, socks, shoes, hangers, etc.
• Medications: specific prescribed medicine (like pills or mixtures) a student takes regularly

Some students pack all those automatically, even without preparing a separate list. True, the bulk of these belongings seem too obvious, as they are the things for everyday usage.

However, more often than not, some items are always forgotten. Alternatively, you may not anticipate that you can ever need anything else besides the essentials. First, prepare the list with the basics and then consider adding some strikingly practical things to it (you’ll spot them in a few paragraphs).

How to Prepare a Dorm Room Essentials List

If you’re planning to live in the college dorm, wrapping and boxing everything that is in your bedroom isn’t an option.

The best advice we can give you here is to check the school-specific list on the official webpage of your educational institution.

Note: as some universities have incoming student packing lists ready for their students-to-be, it’s significant to check them before all the things are packed. They can mention some particular goods that help students economize or simplify their lives greatly.

E.g., Northland College has the “Things we recommend” section with a “favorite travel coffee mug” listed there.

How can a personal mug be advantageous?

Everything is simple: it gets students discounts on coffee around the town.

When you’ve penned down all the mandatory things for your worry-free college life, consult the three major lists below to help you with packing for college.

Top Three Lists to Consult: Surprisingly Handy, Prohibited, and Useless Things

List #1: unexpected things that’ll become unbelievably helpful, if you don’t forget to pack them heading off to college.

List #2: certain items that are not allowed in dormitories.

List #3: products you might not need at all, becoming a dorm resident.

List #1: Things I Wish I Brought to College

The unexpectedly handy things for a college student are:

• Multi-tool

Pragmatic students always have this multi-functional gadget in their backpacks. It helps keep everything in working order continuously. Multi-tools are highly serviceable, as they become life-savers, when something is broken, for instance. They assist you with the smallest and the biggest repairs.

Leatherman Skeletool appears to be the most convenient one, but there are also some other suggestions from college students.

• Space saving hangers

Cascading hangers can save so much space in your dormitory room closet!

You can, in fact, find a space saver multi-hanger with a specific scent to your liking. Additionally, you may use other closet organizers to keep your space neat and tidy.

• Under-bed storage bin

Such bins may be used for storage of practically anything you want: from your out-of-season clothing to snacks and books.

There are great wheeled storage boxes that can be put under your bed with your stuff carefully folded inside. Rolling under-bed carts can smoothly slide in and out from underneath your bed making it so simple to grab those pieces and put them back. So many variants of such baskets on wheels are available at IKEA, Target, or Amazon.

• Shower caddy

Shower caddies are convenient for carrying all bathroom-essential stuff. When you plan to take a shower or do some other personal hygiene routine activities, prepare your possessions for a shower caddy:

• Body wash infused buffer
• Razor
• Gel-based face and body washes
• Towels
• Shower shoes
• Toothbrush + toothpaste
• Shampoo, etc.

• Stain remover

When you’ve got your clothes or dorm room carpet stained with coffee, juice, blood, or wine, you might want to use this highly-efficient cleaning product. Pretreating stains before washing will help you avoid rewashing the thing again and again, if the stain isn’t removed.

To maximize dirt removal, you can pick either solid or gel stain remover sticks.

• Bedrest (backrest) pillow

Often called a “pillow with arms”, this is one of the inventive dorm extras that can help you ensure consistent relief and comfort for your back. Especially if you like to study sitting on your bed.

• First aid kit

You can never predict sudden, dangerous situations that pose an immediate risk to your health or even life.

That’s why a disaster survival kit or first aid kit can be a life-saving solution. You may buy a ready-made one or prepare a bag or container with all the required products for an emergency.

Here’s a list of obligatory items students need when making their college first aid kits:

• Digital thermometer
• Tweezers
• Scissors
• Sanitizer
• Fever and pain relievers (+ for girls: menstrual pain reliever)
• Bandages (+ adhesive bandages)
• Antibacterial wipes
• Disposable masks and non-latex gloves
• Instant ice pack, etc.

You can add more things, if you think it necessary. Scroll through a possible health care plan and personalize your kit as much as possible.

• Wheels (scooter, bicycle or the like)

Wheels can save you so much time!

More and more students choose bicycles rather than cars. Opting for a bicycle instead of a car helps the environment tremendously. While regular cycling has numerous physical and mental health benefits. Riding a bike on campus, you avoid spending money on fuel and never face any parking-related stress.

• Foldable laundry rack

Clothes-drying racks are indispensable things for dorm residents.

They offer plenty of advantages. Firstly, they take little space. Secondly, retractable or collapsable dryers may unfold from the tiniest to the largest drying space. They can be folded and hidden away, if not needed. Thirdly, they are highly efficient tools to dry clothes, linen, etc.

•  Solar power bank

It should be on top of your must-buy list before moving into the dormitory. It’s a portable, eco-friendly device that is affordable and easy to charge, particularly, if you live in a room that gets a lot of sunlight.

Solar power banks can give your laptop, phone or tablet 50% or even 70% more charge in an hour or so.

There may be waterproof variants too.

•  Word-of-the-day toilet paper

Yup, it’s real. You might have heard of it in the “Friends” series.

For example, Duolingo released word-a-day toilet paper for teaching you phrases, if you’re learning a foreign language. Ready to turn your bathroom into a classroom?

You may also purchase rolls with jokes or sudoku on Amazon.

•  Motivational water bottle

Dehydration is one of the major causes of health issues. A hydration bottle-reminder is a daily water tracker to prevent your body from dehydrating.

Students who exercise vigorously or spend too much time in rooms with high temperatures should give serious consideration to this item.

•  Portable file tote

Naturally, college students should expect they will deal with tons of academic assignments and papers. To organize all those papers in one place, you might need a special box with a handle to store your files and take them to college whenever necessary.

•  Reminder of home

If you are a fresher, there’s a high probability that you’ll feel homesick. A reminder of home may bring you joy and let you avoid sulkiness, as it makes you recall the brightest memories connected with it.

Some examples of such things are: a) your favorite cup, poster, sweater, scarf, etc.; b) your country flag (if you’re an international student); c) your bedroom plant; d) a present from the closest friend; e) some photos of the nicest moments in your life; and the like.

List #2: Banned Things at Most College Dorms

You already know that weapons are out of the question, when it comes to campuses and dorms.

Now it’s high time to check your school’s list of prohibited things (basically, electrical appliances) to save you from spending money pointlessly. Most likely, your school might have the following items on the taboo list:

• Extension cord
• Microwave
• Portable air conditioner
• Candles
• Big kitchen knives (most dorms may allow pocket knives, though)
• Halogen lamp
• Heater, etc.

You may also regret bringing your pet with you, because you’ll later need to take it back home. Some colleges ban all pets in dorms, while some allow only fish. The majority of schools commonly allow small caged pets (chinchillas, hamsters, or birds).

There are few pet-friendly college campuses that have either a couple or no restrictions at all concerning pets. Stetson University, for instance, doesn’t forbid cats or dogs (like most universities do) and also has a dog park for students to be able to play with their hairy friends.

Eckerd College, for example, created special residence halls or “pet dorms” for the students who’d like to live with their pets.

Check the pet-related rules on your school’s website to eliminate the headaches of pet transportation.

List #3: Things I Regret Bringing to College

Then there’s a list of things that are just a waste of space, when it comes to the packing process. They may be extra or useless.

A couple of them for you to re-examine your packing list and make some corrections:

• A package of towels you never even open (two towels would be enough)
• A big shoe container full of several dozen pairs of shoes
• An iron + an ironing board (you may need it only once)
• Tons of books that aren’t for your classes, but you plan to read them leisurely
• 11 pairs of jeans
• Plastic utensils (being environmentally unfriendly, they are sometimes listed by universities in the “Not Recommended Things” section)
• Too many kitchen appliances and cookware

Top Fun Things to Bring to College

While others may prefer you to constantly gnaw the granite of science, without stopping and without distractions, we want you to be able to chill and relax from burdensome courses and academic papers.

Here are some things no one tells you to bring to college, because they are utterly for entertainment purposes:

• Decorations for your room
• Costumes (for Fresher’s week, Halloween, other holidays)
• Board games
• Video game console
• Shot glass roulette
• Portable mini-projector
• Hoverboard

As for the latter, peer into your college’s regulations, as hoverboards may be banned on campuses.

Got the Lists? Pack for College like a Pro

You might need to reconsider your off-to-college checklist now, if you’ve already created one, because there are things that may become unexpectedly useful in real-life situations or. on the contrary, those that you may not use even once during your study years. Moreover, there are certain forbidden items for a college dorm.

With the above lists, you can now prepare yourself for successful dorm room living.

So, is the luggage ready? On you go! Enjoy your college life!