If you have a son or daughter heading off to college soon, you may be wondering exactly how much “stuff” you need to bring from home.
Soaring college costs and a lack of extra cash means you can’t afford to waste money on items you can’t use. Here are some tips on minimum essentials and how to save money acquiring them.
Twenty-five years ago, students trucked off to school loaded with hot plates, popcorn poppers, coffee makers and cooking utensils. Today, interests have turned away from food and more toward technology and entertainment.
Michael Coakley, executive director of Student Housing and Dining at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, says: “There is a real change regarding what kids believe they need. Many students deal with perception and not reality. They expect they have to bring TVs, VCRs, stereos, microwaves and everything else. I’d say it’s a fair guess that most public colleges, at least, provide a number of those items for rent. We know kids and we know what they want.”
Mindy Mangialardi, associate director of the Office of Residential Life at Illinois State University in Normal, suggests that new students should begin by checking a “needs list” typically provided by their school.
“Besides bringing the necessary personal items like clothing and grooming items, the list tells you what’s already provided and what’s not allowed, and suggests supplemental things you might consider,” Mangialardi said. “One of the biggest mistakes I see new students make is trying to bring it all the first time. Moving in is hectic, and there’s a lot of waiting. The less trips you have to make to the car, the better.”
“We provide a list of things that are essential, other items that would be nice to have, and still others that aren’t allowed,” said Mary Novello, administrative assistant in Residence Life at North Central College in Naperville. “As early as April, we start getting calls from freshmen parents asking what their son or daughter needs to bring.”
Moving day often finds students moving in with all the creature comforts, including microwaves, televisions, furniture, computers and fax machines.
Mangialardi says these items are often unnecessarily duplicated, while others might be available on campus.
“Roommates ought to try and coordinate who brings what to a room,” says Julie Thornton, assistant dean of Students/Residential Life at Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington. “There’s no need for two TVs, two VCRs and so forth.”
Colleges vary, but those who work in residential services say to thoroughly investigate what extras each school provides–items either included in tuition costs or for purchase or rent.
“We have microwaves on every floor of our dorms. Students can rent refrigerators from the school for about $30 a year,” Mangialardi said. “Our student government sells sheets that fit our oversized mattresses and carpeting that can be put in rooms. It’s a waste to try and buy all that at home. Often, you can buy it cheaper at school, plus you don’t have to haul anything back and forth.
“Students need to first spend some time in their room and see the configuratio. We have different room sizes, and a lot of the stuff brought from home won’t fit.”
Coakley says there are services at Northern that provide such items as area rugs and sheets. “Some schools have carpeting already in the rooms, but that involves a lot of maintenance and eventual replacement,” Coakley said. “Students can pick the color carpet they want and it provides variety.”
Computers provide convenience, but college residence advisers say most living halls, libraries and academic buildings provide ample computer access.
“All our rooms have Internet access, plus we have a number of labs for students to use their e-mail accounts that are provided,” said Patrick Gagnon, freshmen housing coordinator for Northwestern University.
“We see a lot of standard PCs or laptops brought in,” said Northern’s Coakley. “It’s something kids have probably been used to, or they feel more comfortable with their own machines.”
Phone use is another issue that can be handled less expensively through most schools, rather than trying to use the service provider at home. Schools often offer students the option of using their own phones rather than those provided.
“We’re looking at going away from providing phones because most students take them out and use their own anyway,” said Illinois Wesleyan’s Thornton.
Gagnon said Northwestern has stopped providing phones since the standard design typically offered did not fit most students’ needs.
“We sell long distance service through our own trunk lines that we use for regular university business,” Coakley said. “Kids get a better rate because of the huge volume of accounts we have, plus most of them are making their calls home after hours when the business lines aren’t being used.”
“Our students can buy phone cards in the residence halls, and our service provider offers better rates,” said Illinois State’s Mangialardi.
For necessities, college residence advisers suggest the best way to save money is to prepare for going away by shopping garage sales and second-hand shops for fans, travel irons, ironing boards, used computers, lamps and other items.
International students, in particular, are encouraged to inquire at smaller colleges about items that might have been donated by previous students.
“Every school has international students who come with appliances not wired for American voltage,” Novello said. “They come here and have to buy new appliances, and can’t use them when they go back. We had a student here from Ireland one year who knew of another student coming the following year and left things for him. It doesn’t hurt to ask.”
All of the schools contacted suggested similar items that were banned for dorm use. The most common item named was halogen lamps, followed by cooking apparatus with exposed heating elements, pets (except fish), water beds and decorations made from illegally obtained items such as traffic signs.
“Students are very creative in the ways they decorate their rooms, and how they manage to fit everything in,” Thornton said. “We caution them about removing things like bolsters that run along the length of the bed that are used for storage, or chairs they don’t like.”
“Most of the beds today are bunked,” Gagnon said, “but I’d discourage bringing a lot of furniture, especially with new students who haven’t roomed together before. There isn’t a lot of space.”
