University, things to take, and general advice

Come september, alot of us are moving into UNI halls, What things do we need to take? And is there any advice people who have lived in halls can share?

Thanks people

Im sure there has been a thread like this, but i cant find it, I did search

 

If you have a wired lan, take patch leads, the ammount of people who don't bring them.... normal people suck

And a 24 pack of cold beer's always a good start

 

And watch out for freshers week. your hard earned money will flow out of your wallet during that week.

 

Please note that some of my advice may not be valid for you as we're on opposite sides of the pond.

First and foremost, keep this in mind when you're selecting what to take: will this take up too much space? Not only that, but you have to think about the packing material also. I know some of the boxes for the stuff I had got in the way, but some of it proved useful (like the box for my Klipsch speakers; they provided a nice platform for my microwave under my bed). And while you're at it, try to find out what your roommate(s) are like so you can identify problems before you run into them.

Provided you have a roommate, talk to him/her/them and see who has what and who will bring what. For example, a friend of mine brought an Xbox and a PS2, but neither he nor his two roommates brought a TV. Irony so thick you could cut it.

Scavenge stuff from home. Good examples would be old silverware and towels. Not sure how loaded you are, but odds are at this point in your life you don't require everything to be brand snaking new.

Be prepared for fire alarms. Last year, I was in 13 (yes, 13) fire alarms, all but 3 of those were drills, and all but 1 of those happened in my dorm. The last one was particularily fun, as it occurred at 4AM on the Monday starting finals week. If you're particularily paranoid, make sure you have everything you'd want to save from a fire close to your bed. I got to the point where I could grab my external HD, keys, wallet, PDA, cell phone and slippers, down two flights of stairs and be out of the building in about 30 seconds.

 

when moving in halls keep your door open for the first day until you go to sleep. so you can say hi to everyone coming past and they can come in to say hi.

as for stuff to bring dont take too much! its a pain talking it all back at the end of term.

 

umm, its been 2 years since i first moved into halls so lets think bout this one.

ok well think basics first:
*bed sheets, duvet cover, pillow and a nice thick duvet. I'd say take 2 sets of bedding - you never know when you'll get round to washing, so its good to have a spare set hanging around.
*Kitchen bits n bobs(if u have a self catering hall of course). no need to pack your mum's kitchen, cos it will get stolen/broken etc. buy a cheap set of pots n pans, a good sharp knife, an el-cheapo set of cuttlery, some mugs, glasses etc.
*General bits - a lamp maybe?, pc gear, take it all but make sure u have some insurance.good kit has a nasty way of disapperaing in halls. Endsleigh insurance are excellent and have a student policy(speakin from experience, after a little sh**e stole my laptop).
*Pack all the clothes you can, beause believe me washing is the gonna be the last thing on your "To Do List", but when it is, you may also want to take a small box of washing up detergent.
*Also, try and get your parents to buy your shampoo, tootpaste, deodrants, shower gels in bulk(not 100's but 3 or 4), to save you having to buy em while at uni, which will mean more BEER MONEY!!
*A 24 pack of beer like EL said is a good idea. I remember i used mine as a door stop on the first night and met loadsa people like that.
*Bottleopener, padlocks
*stock up on stationery too b4 you leave as that costs money at uni, which you can easily save by buying b4 you get there. Dont go mad on files mind you, best to check out the course/work load first/storage in the room.
*Plastic box always comes in handy to store stuff in/ontop off
*2 towels, and some FLIP FLOPS---->a must if you have a communal bathroom
*a 10 pack of andrex bog roll
*a loaf of bread, multipack of heinz beans(staple diet during freshers)
*condoms
*a little medical kit- painkillers, throat losenges(sp?), lemsip, that sort of thing

It does seem like a lot, but remember you dont want to be worryin about this sort of stuff while you're there.

Loads of other stuff too just cant remember all at mo.

Rav

 

I've got all this coming in September as well

So far apart from that you've had mentioned i'd recommend the following...

Coat Hangers
A MultiPlug Adaptor


Also i'm gonna do what Dom suggested and leave my door open all day (while i'm in obviously) as i wanna get to know as many people as possible on the first week.

 

a decent but small stero is nice ot have, but make sure you have headhpones for them. When i was in Uni we had a rule in the dorms about no load noises after 20.00hr or something like that. I for one was not ready to crash at 20.00(more like 02.00hr) so i would put on my headphone and still listen to load music while doing homework, and not piss off my room/flat/floor mates. Trust me no one wants to hear your music (even if it is their favorit song) at 2 am while you are puting the finishing touches on your essay.

Also if you are bringing a computer (full size vs using a laptop) and i recomend that you do. Get either a KVM switch or a KVM extender cables so you can put your computer in the closet/walllocker or even just under the bed so that it is out of site, and one that is out of site, is alot less likely to get swiped (or scavanged for ram/extra hd's) If this is not an option for you i would get some sort of locking cable for it and hopefully its in a case where the front and the sidepannels are lockable.

if you are in a small room, see if they allow the building of a loft soemthign like this http://www.loftconcepts.com/program.html if you dont want to build one or like this if you do www.oploftbed.com. A great way to get more space and still have a decent place to sleep.

 

yeah pretty much everything they said except for the loft bed. How can you do any lovin' on a bed thats 5 feet off the ground and 2-3 feet from the celing? You just cant

 

my friend has just finished his first year and said his george forman grill was the best thing he had. obviously only if you are self catered, because you can cook all your meat on it very easily and quickly and heathily, Cheesecake

 

unless you have very low ceilings, or a very large, or just very akward, it is very posible to do it, and do it efectively and in many ways up on the loft. Hell my son was started on a loft style bed (after Uni but stilll living in a very small flat 65m^2 (iirc)).

 

Ooh its so exciting. I've found a person on the newstudent forums who's in my very flat, so I have a chum allready

Thanks for the lists, I hadnt thought of mini medical kits n such like!

 

i went to a military academy for college. all we got to bring was undies (white), undershirts, socks (white), toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, laundry detergent, and shaving equipment. everything else was supplied for us (ie. given to us, but paid for by us)

 

Vacuum Cleaner, Paper Towels, Couple of 100W lightbulbs, and a toolkit (Screwdrivers, Pliers, Cutters/Stripper, Soldering Iron, and so on)

Do not forget the nail clipper and maybe a hole puncher. Those professors, well at least some of mine, do not punch holes in their handouts and they expect you to carry them in your binder.

 

Few more tidbits.

*LOCK YOUR DOOR! If no one's inside, it should be locked. I'm not saying that it's a guarantee that your stuff will get stolen if you don't, but dorms have a tendency to bring out larceny.
*Don't carry your textbooks with you unless you're going to use them, because they're bloody heavy, and the kilos add up pretty quick. The only things I carry with me in my bag to class are a partitioned spiral notebook and a file folder for each class to stuff papers in.
*Take this opportunity to explore, to learn, and to find out just how terrible people's taste in music and movies can be.
*Caffeine pills are the lose. Don't go there.
*Finally, relax. Sure, you can bust your ass and maybe get a 4.0 in everything, but it's not worth being a nervous wreck over it. You're not going to be the smartest person on campus by a longshot, as undoubtedly someone who graduated high school at 12 will start the same year you do. Or you'll have a Nobel prize candidate who is also on England's summer Olympics team. Just take it easy, do what you have to do to accomplish what you want in college while doing the stuff you need to do to stay sane.

 

i hate moving back out...anyone moving into quay point in newcastle??? i wanna see if i can find anyone

 

Dont buy recommnads text books, staright away, go libary and borrow them, half the ones you buy, are no good, or in the libary, if you want to buy any, use amazon. Uni's just rip students off. Spent last 4 years at uni.

1st year in catered hall Made most friends then
2nd year in flat in middle of town lived with 3 girls, and 1 guy, guy was never there, i hated it, all i every heard, was topshop this, make up that.
3rd year in a house (6 of us included me) wicked fun
4th in self-catered halls (just 2 mates, and 3 new strangers) had no time, just work work work.

 

Gaffa tape
Multi-plug Adaptors
Tool kit

Sorted.

 

only thing i can suggest is, bring some beer....best way to break the ice. bung it in the freezer soon as you get there. soon as you see another person in the flat or whatever, WANNA BEER!!! and all is well. If there are ladies, erm offer a beer or some girly alternative.....they like guys who think of things like that....


oh and don't take a cube case (looks at Rawk Chic project) they erm....take up a fair bit of room....

 

Your friend is right, take his word as law.

All students should have a George Foreman, fullstop.

oh and they should give them out but if not bring some 'protection' just in case