What They Don’t Tell You to Bring to College

Hello, friends! As of last August, I have officially started my college career. If you are on social media, you know every year there are influencers posting what you “must bring” to college.

As a newbie to college life, last summer I watched some of these videos and even looked on Amazon to see what their recommendations were for college students about to be living in a dorm. Though some of these recommendations were helpful, most were not helpful as most products were aimed at those living in an apartment style dorm. This was not helpful to me as I was about to have one side of a room to myself and that’s all!

In saying all of this, I wanted to create a realistic “what to bring to college” list – what they don’t tell you to bring! Let’s be honest, it is really fun to shop for cute dorm essentials, and not so fun to shop for something like cleaning supplies. However, I think it would be better for you to be prepared for those room checks instead of running to Walmart at the last moment to find a broom!

Before we get into the list, I do want to say, it’s important to think about what type of school you are going to (for instance size of school, region of the state the school resides in…etc.). I go to a pretty small school in the mountains of Georgia, so some of my “must haves” may not relate to your situation as much.

So, without further adeu, here is my list of things you really should have when you go to college:

1. Umbrella: Yeah, trust me, when it’s pouring down rain outside a raincoat is not going to cut it (speaking from experience from a girl who says “she will be fine.”)
2. Cleaning Supplies: Honestly, whatever you can bring, bring it! If you are sharing a bathroom with anyone other than yourself, those bathrooms can get pretty dirty. Also, if your school has room checks, they will be checking those counters, floors, showers…etc. I will add onto this, if you can afford it, a vacuum is also essential!
3. Hair Catcher: You can get these on Amazon; as I said above, if you are going to be sharing a shower with other gals, this is a must have as hair does build up and will cause the shower to get clogged.
4. Large Laundry Basket, Detergent, Dryer Sheets: If you do not own a large laundry basket already, go get one! You will be surprised at how fast your laundry piles up, especially in the winter. Also, go ahead and stock up on detergent and dyer sheets, they come in handy when you are ready to do laundry. 🙂
5. Slip-On Shoes: You are going to want some kind of slip on shoe to wear around your dorm or even campus when you are tired of wearing “nice” shoes all the time. For me, it’s nice to have shoes on that do not really feel like I have shoes on, if that makes sense. Slippers or shoes to wear for showers is also helpful.
6. Medicines: Yep, just bring whatever you think you could possibly need – pain relievers, allergy meds, cold/flu type of meds…etc. Also, if you don’t take any types of vitamins such as vitamin C, I suggest you start doing so! There are definitely sick seasons at school. On that topic, I would say having a mini hand sanitizer to carry around with you is also good idea!
7. Food Essentials: For this one, I had to make it a category. I don’t know about your school, but my school does not have the best food options. What I have discovered to be very helpful is stocking up on quick and easy meals you can make in your dorm/ community kitchen. This also includes making sure you have snacks, water, plastic wear, cups, napkins, and some types of plates/bowls, and a caddy (or some type of bag) to carry your food and dishes in. Trust me, these will come in handy when you are tired of eating your cafeteria’s pizza! If you can, a mini fridge, microwave…etc. would also be extremely helpful!

Alright, that is all I am going to list for now. If you are in college, comment below what has been a life savor for you and what you would recommend to incoming college students!

Much luck to my college students! May God bless you in all your work and reward your faithfulness. 💛

Alyssa Rasor