First year university

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

I second what others have said about not bringing every single thing you own. You'll be amazed how much stuff you accumulate over the average school year, so the less you take, the more room you'll have to expand as the school year goes on. Shower shoes are a must. Community bathrooms get pretty gross sometimes. Bringing all of your own bedding will make it feel more like home, but make sure to double check whether your school buys extra long mattresses, which most schools do.

 

Rather than dishes, I bought Rubbermaid containers, since they could double as food storage. I often used to sneak one into the dining hall with me and load up on veggies or sandwich fixings for the weekend, when cafeteria food got even worse than it usually was (I teach at a college now, though, and from what I've seen, campus food is far better than it was 10 years ago). I had a small coffee pot that brewed directly into a travel mug, as well as a microwave and mini fridge. I also found a good reading lamp was important, since my roommates and I often kept different hours and that would be all I'd have to work by late at night.

 

Ask your parents to buy you the medicines most likely need to take, things like Tylenol, cold medication, etc. Those things are really expensive, so chances are you'll avoid buying them yourself even if you need them, so it's better to get your parents to get them for you.

 

Most colleges have poster sales right at the beginning of the semester, so you don't even need to take that many decorations with you. That can also be a good thing to go do with your roommate when you first move in, since choosing some things together can be a good way to get to know one another.

 

If you don't have your own bank account and credit card by now, now is a good time to get them. Check to see if your campus has a bank on it, and if so, try to open an account there. A cell phone is helpful, especially if you have a roommate who must talk to her boyfriend for six hours every day. Make sure you have information about your parents' health insurance if you're on it. If you have a car, something like AAA (does Canada have an equivalent of that?) would be helpful.

 

Have fun!

[Mr. Kinsley]

You'll have a kitchen? Damn. My dorm room was only about 12' x 20'. I decided that whatever I could take in my car was all that would fit and that was that. Of course after I got settled in I realized there was still room for plenty more (with some creative organizing.) The only problem with that was that at the end of the year I couldn't fit everything BACK in my car!

 

Plan accordingly.

[VenusStopsTrain2]

Another good idea I just thought of would be some sort of shower cleaner..spray stuff and maybe a scouring pad on a handle..I'm not sure how else to describe it. So you can clean the bottom of whatever shower stall you are using. That will definitely help keep you healthy. Then keep the scouring pad on a handle in a large ziploc bag so you don't contaminate any of your other shower stuff. Just keep it in your shower tote with all your shampoo/conditioner/soaps and you will not have to remember it everytime you go.

[Kalle]

this is the list provided, would you all say thats good?

 

http://www.uottawa.ca/students/housing/bring.html

 

Hey Katie, I'm staying here at Algoma U next year but the year after I'm going to Carleton! Tons of my friends will be going to Ottawa as well, we can be pals!

[Katie3]

So many great suggestions, thank you all so much! I would have never thought to bring Tylenol and things like that.

 

Hey Katie, I'm staying here at Algoma U next year but the year after I'm going to Carleton! Tons of my friends will be going to Ottawa as well, we can be pals!

 

I know people going to Carleton too! What are you taking? We should talk more.