Originally Posted by: nicoleeolee 
Hi, all! I'm Nicole, a current high school junior, and I'm starting to think about going to college. My main choice is a private university (Seattle Pacific!), but this question is to anybody in college/has been in/knows somebody in/whatever.
I'm curious as to whether I should bring what will hold me over for the entire year, or the semester, or for a few weeks or what. Clothing, DVDs, books, shoes, childhood things; what should I bring and what should I leave behind, stuff like that.
Thanks in advance for answers! :)
Hey Nicole!
Ok so I've been in college for 3 years and I think I've got it narrowed down to what you should bring:
1. A mattress pad. College dorms are not the lap of luxury so a mattress pad will make sleeping a lot more comfortable. (Before you buy one though, check with Res Life to see whether the beds are normal or extra-long. It will save you from getting the wrong size bedsheets too!)
2. A refrigerator. Despite the fact that you will likely have an all-access pass to the dining hall (at least for your freshman year) at some point you're going to want to bring something back that needs to stay cold. Also, it never hurts to have a few good snacks stored in there just to have.
3. STORAGE. You can never have enough storage. You'll find that once you start to accumulate all of your stuff you start to run out of room fast. I recommend lofting your bed to add extra storage space so then you have room to, you know, walk around.
4. Obviously, all of your basic needs like clothes, shower stuff, contacts, toothbrush, whatever. I find that I've gone one too many times forgetting my glasses at home and I actually need to remind myself to bring all of these important things.
5. Last but not least...get an alarm clock! You might rely on your cell phone or iPod but I'm telling you (from experience) that you'll need to have a backup! Sometimes electronics just like to turn off or decide that they just don't want to work today and you can't use the "my alarm didn't go off" trick to get out anything. Get a cool alarm clock with an iPod dock or a sound machine (mine does both ;)) and make it worth the investment.
I hope I've been able to help! If you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask ;)
-Laura the Intern