 
SECTIONS:
Dormitory
MustHaves
...for your room
...for the bathroom
Academic MustHaves
Lifestyle MustHaves
Lifestyle CouldHaves
|
CollegeMustHaves: Dormitory Needs, Academic
Needs and College Lifestyle Needs!
A+ Hints for going Off to
college, college sports and more!
Congratulations! You are off to the college of
your dreams and now you want to be ready for dormitory living and for
the college experience. Here, you will find hints for what you will need
to be ready for that first year.
Dormitory MustHaves
Dormitories or residence halls vary from school to school, as do facilities
and room set-ups. The first thing you will want to do will be to check
with your college. All will have web sites with contact information specific
to undergraduate life or residence halls, and you can then exercise your
choices within the parameters established by the college as to the type
of residence you want to be in. Frequently, colleges and universities
will have residences that group students with like interests (for example,
performing arts), and facilities will take these interests into account.
Just make sure to check what is provided, the occupancy, general facilities
and distance from the areas of campus which you will be frequenting.
Standard equipment or furniture will include a desk for you, a bed (bunk
or foldable), chairs, shelving and storage. There will be a computer
hook-up in the room, with ethernet, or it will be wireless access. Many
places will make it your responsibility to have a computer that is "ethernet-ready"
although there will be consultants to help you.
Communal spaces will include bathrooms on each floor, rooms for gatherings
and relaxation e.g. a TV/media room, and sometimes, even a space for performances
like concerts, plays and presentations by faculty or guests. There will
be internet access or terminals, but nowadays, every student will want
and need a personal computer, preferably a laptop or notebook.
...for your room: i
- Your own linens (if
you wish), including towels and favorite comforters or blankets.
- A small compact refrigerator
- A hot-pot or tea-kettle,
a coffee-pot, even a very small
microwave (check to see if these are allowed)
- A portable music system e.g. a boombox, or else
you could play music through your computer, if you have small
speakers to go with these.
- Headphones so you don't bother your roommates
- A selection of ear-plugs
so you can get to sleep if it's noisy!
...for the bathroom and
personal hygiene:
- Some flip-flops to go to the bathroom -- some may even want
to get in the shower with these.
- A hairdryer, perhaps
- A soapdish/personal shampoo or soap dispenser
- Towels mentioned above. Splurge and get a couple of nice,
big ones -- they can be a big comfort!
Academic
MustHaves
- A good selection of obvious school supplies e.g. notepads,
pens, pencils.
- A good, strong backpack!
- Your trusted laptop computer or notebook. Your own printer
will be helpful. Choosing a computer that you will be comfortable
with is of paramount importance! New lines of computers are coming
out all the time, and you can get an education discount as a student!
See macproguide.com
for complete information on Apple's newest baby!
Campus lifestyle
MustHaves
- A cellphone.
Everyone will have different ideas about the sort of plan the busy
student needs for his cellphone needs. You could go on your parents'
family plan, or some parents may co-sign but make you responsible
for your own payments out of your allowance! No student now uses the
dorm room answering machine or voice mail too much -- with cellphone
communications, your professor can contact you, and should there be
an emergency, you can reach out from wherever your are. Check
for cellphones, cellphone plans, have fun with cellphones!
- Some sort of credit card. Again, this will need several
family conferences. You could be given a pre-loaded card by your parents.
Assume that your parents will help you set up your bank account. Some
of these will come with a card that functions as a credit card, except
that the funds will come directly out of your account. This is a good
budgeting tool! If you clean out your account before allowance day,
it may be time to get a job!
- A camera. These
are special times in your life, and you will want lasting memories.
Digital cameras now come in a variety of qualities, and have gone
down a lot in price. Definitely, college students enjoy sharing the
photos via email, which makes a digital camera a logical choice.
- A bike? A car? Some parents would like to send their children
off to school in style. A lot depends on the sort of campus and area
you will be going to college in and whether or not you might, in fact,
need a car for you to go back and forth from that high-paying part-time
job!
- A portable music-playing
device like an iPod or Zen Creative. Saved up a ton of money?
You might find it worthwhile investing in the umpc, which will do
just about everything you want, except your homework!
- For the newest gadget that is poised to take over from the
iPod, see http://www.miniplayer.info
to see how the iPod-sized miniplayer has larger-than-life features!
- Or think of the new Zune, Microsoft's deathblow to the iPod!
Click below for information on another hot tech product!
ZuneDomains.com: The Best
Zune Domain Names on the Net!
And for the rest, every
student will figure it out! Good luck on one of life's great adventures.
Please enjoy these links:
http://www.xbox360dreams.com
http://www.umpcstyle.com
where the net meets for UMPC-related
news and information.
Music, Photo, Movie - Mini
Player www.miniplayer.info
For student loan links, see: http://www.bestcreditsite.com
Poochsite - Best Doggone Site for Dog Information and
Supplies!
Quick bytes on computing,
tech toys and the internet: Bytessite.com
Chicago's Top Tourists Tips: ChicagoForTourists.com
Wii - wiinames.com The Best Source
of Wii Names on the NET!
For New York City's Top Tourist
Tips: NewYorkforTourists.com
Cruises, all-inclusives,
vacation packages, themed vacations and more!
|
