Back to College: Dorm Room Supply List, Part 1

With fall semester coming in just a few short weeks, parents and students will be flocking to Wal-Mart, the mall, office supply stores, and more to get all those must have dorm room supplies. But for a kid that's never lived away from home, and for a parent that's never sent a kid to college, it can be an overwhelming experience, and it can be hard even knowing where to begin when it comes time to shop for everything. The best thing to do is to sit down and make a list of items. It's best if you divide the list into categories for organizational purposes (and to make sure nothing is forgotten)

But I don't think you ever really have an idea just how much time and effort goes in to preparing to move in to a dorm and how much stuff you actually need until you do it yourself or watch someone you know do it. The good thing about online schools is that you don’t need all these supplies. For that reason, I'm posting my own list here of college supplies.

For the first half of my list you'll find School & Office Supplies, and Furniture/Big Items. And part 2 of this post will include Housewares, Everyday items, and Entertainment items.

School Supply Items

• #2 pencils
• blue/black ink pens
• Loose leaf paper and printer paper
• Backpack
• Planner
• Wall calendar
• Spiral notebooks or 3 ring binders (I prefer binders w/ clip & pockets b/c you can always add more paper, and it gives you a place to put handouts/syllabus/internet articles)
• highlighters
• Jump drive/Removable computer drive to store work. (a must!)
• Computer (I recommend a laptop, must have internet/Microsoft office, Word is a must, and Adobe Reader)
• Printer (good to have your own for 24/7 use, to save you a trip to the computer lab, and to keep you from having to pay for copies)
• Post-it flags (I use these to mark my page in a book I'm reading and to flag important pages in books and articles)
• Post-it notes (obviously to write reminders to yourself, but I also use these for research purposes...I leave the post-it note on the appropriate page, and make a note on the post-it about what is important on that page)
• Stapler (for print outs and work that is to be handed in)
• Hole punch (to place syllabi & handouts into a binder)
• Paper clips (comes in handy for research projects)
• Envelopes & stamps

Other Office Supplies You Might Need

• File box/cabinet (great to keep important notes and term papers, although for myself, I keep all my papers/notes in large binders)
• Index cards (good for research notes)
• Graphing calculator (if taking math/chemistry/etc)
• Notepad
• Tape
• Tape recorder
• file folders or folders with pockets (good for keeping up with and organizing research articles)
• tab sheets
• page protectors
• For certain classes you may need other tools, software, or supplies as well.

Furniture/Big items

• Student desk (if one is not provided)
• Mini Fridge
• Microwave
• Desk chair
• Bookshelf (at least a 3-shelf, if you don't have a collection of books now, you'll have them soon. between text books & library books, they'll pile up soon.)
• Futon, loveseat, or extra chairs
• Night table
• TV table/stand