Packing For College

For most recently graduated high school seniors, packing for college is the absolute last thing on the Summer To Do list. It is what students want most to put off, to set aside, to forget for a little while. Because while going away to school is fun and exciting, a grand adventure and spree of independence, it is also terrifying and packing for it just seems to bring home the fact that soon, you will be leaving yours and taking up residence in a cramped room about the size of your walk-in closet. Oh, and did we mention that you'll most likely have to share it with another person?

For this reason, you're going to want to be as economic as possible, while still having absolutely everything you'll need. Tricky, right? It doesn't have to be.

If you were about to leave for a family vacation, your comfort (and survival) would depend on your bringing along the right supplies. You'd want a little bag of snacks (some healthy, some not, we're sure) to tide you over between meals; you'd want something to read unless doing so makes you carsick; you'd want some earplugs to drown out the sound of Dad singing along to Frank Sinatra, and so on. But you wouldn't want to bring along so much junk that when it came time for you to pile into the car, you didn't have anywhere to sit.

So think about packing for college as a road trip. You'll be gone a bit longer (most likely until Thanksgiving) and you'll need considerably more stuff, but it's an appropriate analogy. If you run around the day before you leave, just dropping things into boxes and suitcases and throwing it all in the car, you will inevitably forget things. And Mom and Dad probably won't be too keen on getting in the car and driving a few hundred miles just to bring you Paddington Bear, without whom you can't fall asleep on stormy nights.

In order to avoid irritating the parental units with these impromptu trips, keep a running list of all the things you're packing. Add to the list the items that you remember and cross off the ones you've already got. This will keep you from forgetting your stuff or thinking that it got lost, help keep you organized and in control, and make the entire packing (and unpacking) process much easier.

The first thing to do is break up that vast conglomeration of goods known as your stuff' into categories. Let's try "Clothing" and "Other Stuff." Hey, we didn't say the categories had to be specific!

What are you going to need?

You've probably heard this many times already from your well-intentioned mother, so we won't ask it again. But we will help you break this large, general, scary question down into bits and pieces that will actually be useful for you.

First off, consider the climate. Are you going to school in Florida or Texas, or somewhere way up on the East Coast where the winters are harsh and soda is called tonic'? Obviously, your apparel is going to be different depending on which place you're going. You might be able to get away with all summer wear if you're heading down south, but you'll need to pack plenty of sweatpants and sweatshirts and a pair of good, sturdy snow boots (they may not look cool, but boy, will you be happy when you make it to class with your socks still dry!) if you're up in New England. Also, will you need an umbrella? Sunglasses? Sunscreen? Other weather related items?

In addition to this, determine how often you'll be going home. If you're living on campus and your parents live an hour away, you don't need to pack your entire wardrobe and sell your collection of tarantulas because your mother's too afraid to take care of them. You can afford (with gas prices these days, just barely) to come home every few days and pick up whatever you might need, do the laundry, watch free cable, remind Mom and Dad that just because you're a big-time college kid now that doesn't mean you've forgotten them, and so on. In this case, you'd only need to bring what you'll need for the weather right away. Since most schools start in late August or September when summer is pretty much over, you'll most likely be packing for fall.

Obviously, we can't come over to your house and pack your things for you, no matter how much you might want us to, or even how much you'd probably be willing to pay us to at this point. Instead, we can give you a list of things we'd urge you to consider packing. As you skim through the items, keep in mind the climate you're headed to as well as your own personal tastes.

1. Backpack (you might think they're dorky, but as soon as you see just how many books you'll be reading for class, you'll want one post haste)
2. Bathing suit (your campus might have a swimming pool with a cute lifeguard that you'll want to take advantage ofWe meant take advantage of the pool, nothing else!)
3. Bathrobe (because if you think your brother makes fun of you for being almost twenty and still wearing Spongebob Squarepants pajamas, just wait til you meet the lovely individuals in your dormitory)
4. Belt(s) (gotta keep those pants up this is college, not high school! You can't get away with dressing like Britney Spears here!)
5. Blouses/Shirts
6. Casual shoes (you'll be trekking all over campus, so you'll want to pack some flip-flops for the fall and spring and some sneakers for colder days and exercise days)
7. Dress shoes (yes, you will occasionally be expected to look nice. And yes, we know: bummer)
8. Fashion accessories (just because you're an academic now doesn't mean you have to look like one! Bust out those cute earrings or that trendy hemp necklace! From what we hear, those are unisex)
9. Mittens, scarves, hats (if you think you're too cool to wear mittens, scarves, or hats, you soon will be if you don't wear mittens, scarves and hats. Winter's long and cold and full of discontent, and you'll want to be warm)
10. Hair products (gel, shampoo, curling iron, flat iron, rollers, brushes, hair spray, scrunchies, clips, claws, conditioner)
11. Jacket (windbreaker, leather, down, whatever. Just make sure you have something to keep you warm; that cannot be over-emphasized)
12. Jeans (you'll live in these. No joke)
13. Jewelry (you might not want to bring anything that's too valuable or something that can't be replaced)
14. Pajamas (sleep in the buff? Your roomie might urge you to reconsider)
15. Pantyhose
16. Pocketbook/Handbag/Purse (or a murse, if you're a guy and that's your thing)
17. Stereo, portable radio, cassette player, iPod, MP3 player, along with CDs, etc (you'll need those tunes to get you through a paper on courtly love in the lays of Marie de France; for that topic, we recommend Rufus Wainwright's "Complainte de la Butte." Also, bring headphones; get the cool over-ear vintage types and convince people that you're a disc jockey)
18. Storage boxes, shelves, closet organizer (a must! You'll soon learn that boxes are amazing because (a) you can put things in them and (b) you can stack them)
19. Tape (clear and packaging)
20. Message pads (get the ones that you can tack onto your door or your wall; this is great if you have a roommate with a schedule as wacky as yours)
21. Three-ring binders, one per subject (sure, your professors might not ask for them, but more often than not, they come in handy. Plus, they make you look important and all academic-like, and that's what we're going for, right?)
22. Toilet paper (keep your own stash for emergencies and don't rely on the school to keep the bathrooms stocked!)
23. TV (optional; don't most of us watch our shows online these days? Thank you, YouTube)
24. VCR/DVD (you might be expected to view movies for class; besides, it might be something you want around for your downtime: a cheap, slim DVD player and all three seasons of "Arrested Development" heaven in a dorm room)
25. Personal hygiene (deodorant, shaving cream/gel, razors with replaceable blades, band-aids, tampons/pads, perfume, cologne, etc)
26. Laptop/Notebook/Tablet (because if you forget any of these things, you can always log on to eBay and have it sent to you with minimal human contact)

These are just some items that prove to be very useful. Since you haven't yet been to college, it's hard to predict the wild cards maybe you'll realize that, darn it all, that collection of Pokemon cards is really crucial to your undergraduate career. Or maybe you'll need extra hangers, or that that Science Fair trophy to let everyone know that you mean business and that you can discern the bacterial content of the cafeteria milk if someone would just give you a little phenylthaline and a Bunsen burner.

You'll figure this stuff out when you get there and as you go along, so make sure you have some extra cash on hand to pick up what you need when you need it, or make an allowance in your budget for these extra necessities that you can buy once you're on campus. If you can, talk to a few of the upperclassmen (some of them might be assigned as your orientation leaders) and get some advice and additional suggestions.

Also, consider how much room you have in your new living space. A typical dorm will provide you with a standard size closet, a three- or four-drawer dresser, a desk with a chair, and a bed. Most colleges will allow you to bunk the two beds in order to have more space for your things, but some colleges have special regulations about that arrangement, so keep that in mind. You want to be prepared and thorough, but you don't want to hog up all the space.

As you pack clothing, especially, think about where you'll put it: in the closet, the dresser, under the bed? Here are some special tips just for packing clothing:

1. If you don't wear something regularly, don't pack it. It'll take up space space that you might not have.
2. Don't pack too many articles of clothing that need ironing, dry-cleaning, etc. It'll be a total pain.
3. Bring plenty of basics like underwear, socks, jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and pajamas. You will be using these regularly (hey, if worse comes to worst, you can always wear your pajamas to class!) and Mom won't be around to do laundry. A ten-day supply of undies will definitely come in handy and be the hygienically preferable choice to the Homer Simpson method of just turning the current pair inside out. Gross!
4. Pack clothing that you're both comfortable with and comfortable wearing. If those black and white tweed boots pinch your toes like you wouldn't believe, don't bring em. If that top makes you feel like you're going to fall out of it, don't bring it. College is much different than high school, where there was a constant push to wear all the latest designer brands and show off the form. Most college kids don't see fashion as a top priority; in fact, most college kids are on a budget and can't afford it if they want to pay their student loans and actually have something to eat for dinner. You'll find that more basic attire (jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, the occasional skirt) is the norm.
5. Bring along one or two formal outfits for "special occasions." You'll find that you might need that black dress or that silk tie for certain functions, class presentations, conferences and symposiums, or unexpected dinners out at a nice restaurant.
6. Bring along more than one pair of shoes, but don't go overboard. Make sure they're comfortable, too, because you will most likely be walking all over campus. A pair of flip-flops, sneakers, slippers, and fancy dress shoes will probably do.
7. Be yourself. Cheesy, yes. Valuable, definitely. Dress in a way that shows who you really are, or how you would like to be perceived. Don't think that you need to walk around in a suit to be taken seriously, but maybe those leopard print hot shorts or that pair of jeans with the holes on the back aren't the way to go.

Okay, so you're all packed. Now what?

Well, you've got to get it to where you're going, of course!

Cram it all into the van and drive, tape it off and let UPS handle it, or bring it on a plane, bus, or train. If you're taking commercial forms of transportation, keep in mind that there might be luggage fees and restrictions. For example, most American airlines allow you to check two suitcases and two carry-ons and charge up to $50 per suitcase past that. If you choose to ship your stuff through the American postal service, make sure the addresses are printed clearly in bold marker and that they are correct. You might also want to insure the parcels in case they get lost or damaged. Make allowances in your budget or planned expenses for this.

If you get there and find out that you desperately needed something that you completely forgot to pack, don't panic. Chances are, unless you're sitting with your copy of Beowulf in the middle of a cornfield, that you're near some sort of city or town. And if you're near some sort of city or town (again, we're not being picky) you will most likely be near a Wal-Mart. Heck, you will most likely be near more than one Wal-Mart. They grow faster than kudzoo, it seems. (Note: if you're going to school down south, you will be expected to understand that joke by the first day of official classes. Consult Google.) You can always pick up whatever you need at any sort of mass merchandise store. Or, if you have a computer and internet connection on hand, you can log onto eBay and send away for it.

Whatever you need, you can always get your hands on it. So don't worry if your list isn't complete.' Just pack what you need to get by (and don't feel guilty about bringing along Paddington Bear if you're reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road in one of your contemporary fiction classes, you'll need the stuffed little guy!) and go with the flow once you get there.

But in all honesty, the things you leave behind might be more important than whatever you choose to bring along. Remember to thank your high school teachers for preparing you for this next step in your lives (if you feel they did, that is) and remember to say a proper goodbye to all those friends that helped make you the person you turned out to be at this critical juncture.

And most importantly, remember to tell your parents that you love them and that if you could, you'd pack them up in your suitcase and bring them along for the next four years, too. (But only if Dad promises to stop singing Frank Sinatra tunes.)