the most important thing you took

[tipiwoo]

Well, I leave for college tomorrow morning. I am sooooooo nervous. So I thought I would ask a somewhat pointless question to ease my nerves. What was the most important/useful thing you took to college with you and why? :)

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tipi :)

[Byzantine]

Money. Lots of it. The more the better. Also, a stereo with headphones (especially if you'll be living in the dorm).

[Born2Read]

Phone card. So you can call for more money.

[bernard]

I can tell you what was utterly useless ... all my high school notes! Now if that doesn't scare you I don't know what will.

Another useless thing. My 8-bit atari 128XE.

I tell you what though. Seriously, you are in for the time of your life! I miss be at university. I was so great to have all that potential ahead of me (not that I wasted it or regret anything). But it was so grand learning all sorts of new things that I never would have imagined back in high school! Bring an open mind I guess. That would be most important.

[mr john]

Seriously, electric coffee perculater (this was before coffe makers,we had to walk to class thru the..) they were illegal in the dorm but every one had one, set it in the open window fan the aroma out. The 'dorm dicks let us get away with it,but not hot plates. Also used it to boil water for soup (don't make it in the pot,bleh coffe later, pour it slowly into another pan with the soup, stirring all the time),tea, all kinds a stuff. Coffe makers won't make so much aroma,get one you can set a pan under instead of the pot for soup etc. The little heating coils you dip in a cup are nice too,but keep your eye on it and don't set it down without unpugging it. the coffee filters are good for filtering potasium iodide crystals(? that aint it, any mad bombers out there?) which you carefully funnel into a key hole,then wait for some one to insert their key.

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"............"-Marx

[Jahender]

No bullshit...a sense of adventure and willingness to try new things and meet different/new types of people. Don't be too set in your ways, get your ass to class and have fun, in four years you'll have to get a job and you will miss college like crazy. Good luck!

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The power of accurate observation is frequently called cynicism by those who don't have it.
George Bernard Shaw

[Jahender]

Also, don't forget a fan, most dorms don't have A/C and those cells don't ventilate for shit.

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The power of accurate observation is frequently called cynicism by those who don't have it.
George Bernard Shaw

[cmkeller]

The most important thing I owned while in college (I didn't dorm) was my laptop computer. Mind you, I was a computer science major, so it might not have the same importance to others as mine did to me.

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Chaim Mattis Keller
ckeller@schicktech.com

"Sherlock Holmes once said that once you have eliminated the
impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be
the answer. I, however, do not like to eliminate the impossible.
The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it that the merely improbable lacks."
-- Douglas Adams's Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective

[bernard]

Ohhh ... yes, not that somebody mentions it. Yes, a fan!

[bernard]

Ohhh ... yes, now that somebody mentions it. Yes, a fan!

[Cheese Head]

Comfortable clothes for chasing around on a big campus. A backpack with supplies and books, but don't carry around heavy books. A watch to make sure you are on time. A campus map. A wallet/purse with some cash and plastic cards, but not too much. These days, a water bottle would be good.

Sounds a lot like a back packing trip. A good brain is what is needed most in college.

[Drain Bead]

A VERY powerful alarm clock if you tend to sleep heavily.

A ton of quarters. You'll need them for laundry, making copies, vending machines, etc. It's nice to have them around just so you don't have to go around getting change. And that leads me to my next item...

A strongbox. Padlocked with a key or a combination lock or both. Put your quarters in there, along with anything else that you don't want anyone to steal or "borrow." Most people will respect your stuff. Some won't, however, and this box is designed with those people in mind. Keep the box well-hidden. Under the dirty clothes in your laundry hamper is probably a good place for it.

[Drain Bead]

Oh, before I forget. Your first week or so, a bunch of people will set up tables outside of everywhere on campus, trying to get you to sign up for a credit card. DON'T DO IT, no matter what kind of cool free gifts they offer you for doing so. You may think that you'll just cut up the card, but they'll hit around Christmastime, and you'll need the money...and trust me, it's better to be broke and debt-free than it is to be broke and in debt. A girl I went to high school with had to file for personal bankruptcy because of her credit card debts from these cards. If you want to develop good credit, get one or two store cards that you can use every now and then and you know you can pay off, but wait for a while before you get a "real" credit card.

[Shirley Ujest]

A coffee pot and a year's supply of Ramen Noodle Soup and Oatmeal that can be made in the coffee pot.

Patience and and open mind.

[liverTwist]

hmmmm... probably condoms....

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"Minds are like parachutes; they work best when open."

-Lord Thomas Dewar

[Maitlandish]

Hey! I leave tomorrow too! What a coincidence! Not really, but . . .

Wow, I'm nervous. The most important thing I'm bringing is my underwear, but then again, I might not have much use for it . . .

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Die, foul crouton!

[wireless]

Also important: the things you leave behind.

College is very different socially than high school. At least it was for me. Cliques, while they still exist, are very different and, to my experience, much looser than in HS. So leave behind the preconceptions (including those you have about yourself) when you go to college.

This is especially great if you were less than totally popular in HS. This is a chance for a whole new start. Even if you already know people who will be there, it'll be a much bigger "sea" for you, the fish, so that HS stuff won't have to follow you there. Conversely, if you were the prom queen in HS, it doesn't necessarily follow...So don't presume you'll be locked into the same group. Even if you liked your HS group, now's a chance to explore others.

And if you have any stuffed animals, well you might want to think about leaving them behind, too.

[funneefarmer]

Watch, small microwave (if they allow it), a walkman (trust me nothing better for studying with others in the room), and a picture of your family (no one thinks about this but the opposite sex seems to really dig this)

[Sassy]

If you can find time to keep a journal you will find it a wonderful tool later in life... because you can look back and see how far you've come or the patterns you're repeating. I treasure those records...

[Pickman's Model]

Looking back, the single most useful thing I took to college with me were the baggy combat fatigues the Air Force issued me. They were loose enought to be comfortable in summer, and also to wear long johns underneath in winter. Worth their weight in gold! Also, the ALICE pack I had made the most fantastic bookbag on the campus. (Room for books, lab equipment, supplies, coffee cups, gloves, hats, food, you name it.) If you're going to school in a northern state, and the campus is relatively large, then you will need not only a large, warm parka, but also about a dozen heavy sweatshirts. (You can buy one of the "school" ones if you want, but the problem with those is, they want too much for them, and they don't last any longer than the ones you get at Wal-Mart.) Anyway, have fun and stop to smell the roses now and then. Your college years are some of the best you'll ever have; mine were, right after the military.

[jayron 32]

Bring a TV and VCR... Having a movie party in your room the first week is a great way to meet people...

Remember all those fashionable clothes you wore in high school? Remember how long it took you to primp you hair and look perfect? Forget those. After a few days, you'll realize everyone dresses as comfortable as possible (Jeans & T-shirt) and no one bothers to "pretty-up."

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Jason R Remy

"No amount of legislation can solve America's problems."
-- Jimmy Carter (1980)

[According to Pliny]

The most important thing I took to college was a Vespa scooter. What a chick magnet that was! In my first two weeks at school I must have taken half a dozen co-eds for "a ride". Granted, this was 1982. Are Vespas still cool?

[Rilchiam]

Several boxes of tissues. You will get sick in October; everyone does. If you live on an isolated campus, as I did at my first college, tissues will be worth more than gold.

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Remember, I'm pulling for you; we're all in this together.
---Red Green

[Gilligan]

Bring an address book with the addresses of all your friends and acquaintances. Getting letters from old friends, even if it's just "hi", is a nice thing, and you've got to write them to get them. Of course, when I went to school we didn't have email. But even if you email them, send them a letter every once in a while. And if they're leaving for college, too, make sure you get their new addresses.

[middsy]

Drugs, and lots of 'em

Whenever you're feeling down, pop a pill, or have some amphetamines and you'll be fine

[Stevie Rave On]

Incense and Visine. No one will know (Yeah right)

[Stevie Rave On]

Incense and Visine. No one will know (Yeah right) :)

[nene227]

Tipiwoo, leave the condoms behind. If your college is like my son's they give them out free in the student lounge!

[Leslie]

Your first week or so, a bunch of people will set up tables outside of everywhere on campus, trying to get you to sign up for a credit card. DON'T DO IT, no matter what kind of cool free gifts they offer you for doing so.

Oh, Drain Bead, this is such good advice. Granted, if someone had given me this advice it probably wouldn't have stuck, anyway. But I was thousands of dollars in debt when I graduated. It was just too easy to charge things I couldn't afford.

Milk crates. You can pack stuff in them, and in the dorm room they can become storage containers, shelves, or just about any piece of furniture.

Doctor J, my husband and I graduated from college in 1988. We just this year got rid of the last of our college milk cartons. :o

[mr john]

I sense a definate generation gap. Microwave?
Take that if they let you and a melita coffee filter/funnel. gotta have coffee.
Ah, ramen, my wife and I were responsible for bringing that to our campus. I had relatives in Guam, they were always bringing that stuff back.She had transferred from Sophia university in Tokyo. We each had a supply,every one thought it was the greatest thing ever. We talked the small town grocer into finding a wholesaler.

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"Something inciteful that some one else once said"- Suhm Wonn (1397-1334)

[MrKnowItAll]

I went to a small college, and walked everywhere. If this is the situation you are going into, get some comfortable shoes with durable souls.

Also:
-coffee maker
-backpack

And finally, if it's your first year, some unusual item of clothing that you will be willing to wear regularly. People tend to recognize other people by unusual features, so it may help you establish an identity early on. I owned a wool olive army overcoat with a removable lining, and wore it everywhere as long as it wasn't hot out. That would be kind of passe' now, but in my day I believe I had the only one on campus (outside of the ROTC students).

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Carpe hoc!

[RTA]

I thought this was a thread about stealing ... I recommend you take acid.

[Drain Bead]

Leslie,

Thanks for agreeing with me. All of my friends ask me if I wished I had some sort of credit . . . but I rent, and pay my phone bill, and that should be plenty for now.

What really freaked me out, though, is that your name is the same as that girl I mentioned who had to file for bankruptcy. Until I read the rest of your response, I thought for a split second that you might be her.

[Leslie]

Nope, I'm not the one. I have perfect credit, and always have had. But I had to do an awful lot of juggling and tap dancing, along with a lot of hard work and sacrifice, to keep it that way.

Not worth it.

[DoctorJ]

Milk crates. You can pack stuff in them, and in the dorm room they can become storage containers, shelves, or just about any piece of furniture.

You can buy them at most department-type stores, but they're not as good as the ones you can steal from the milk company (which is illegal, by the way, and I officially do not recommend).

Dr. J, grizzled dorm veteran

[OpalCat]

Don't be too set in your ways, get your ass to class and have fun, in four years
you'll have to get a job and you will miss college like crazy. Good luck!

Is this really how it is for most people? I mean, when I went to college, I was sure as hell working! Didn't always make enough money to keep the electricity or the gas on and didn't have a phone most of the time, but I paid rent and ate, at least. Also, at 19 I got married, so there were two of us working (but both in school). From my perspective, the people I knew, etc... "parent funded dorm life" seemed like a pretty small thing... but I don't really have an accurate gauge.. I mean I supposed if I'd lived in a dorm, it would seem like most people were in dorms, with their parent's money... so really, how many of you had your way paid through college?

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>^,,^<
"Cluemobile? You've got a pickup..."
OpalCat's site: http://fathom.org/opalcat
The Teeming Millions Homepage: fathom.org/teemingmillions (http://fathom.org/teemingmillions)

[funneefarmer]

Opalcat, I think you're right. I had a scholarship to pay for tuition but worked on the farm all 4 years of college. All of my semesters except one I was able to stuff my classes into 4 days and worked the rest of the time. My first 2 years I commuted (45 min.) the last 2 I was able to afford a basement apartment so that I was able to enjoy at least 3 nights a week in the city where I went to College (Oneonta,NY). Walked away with a degree and no debt, of course that has changed in the past 8 years.

[easystreet]

An electric hot plate, a toaster oven, and some Goodwill pots & pans (no aluminum, it scorches & supposedly laces your vittles with aluminum). If you can afford it, the smallest fridge you can find.

Most state colleges have meal plans for monday thru friday, or all seven days. Trust me, by friday you'll be ready to fry up your tennis shoes rather than face another slab of mystery meat loaf with strained vegetables and synthetic mashed potatoes.

OK, sorry Cookie, it usually wasn't all that bad, but the other motivation if you are on a budget is that you can save a bundle by cooking for yourself on weekends. Some schools even have an option for just breakfast & dinner, that saves even more.

Safety sermon; most places have rules against this sort of thing, they get pretty shirty if you torch the building. Causing an electrical fire is very unlikely in a modern building, but if the lights dim when you fire up the hot plate, find another outlet or turn off everything else including the lights and the fridge (romantic candle lit dinner op). Don't run both the hot plate and the toaster oven at the same time off one outlet. Look on the labels, you can usually find how many amps they pull. Most outlets are only good for 15 amps, 20 if you are lucky. DO NOT leave stuff like this on when you aren't in the room. The most common way fires happen is to get too close to something flammable. Use your fingers; if something near your toaster oven feels hot, rearrange. Keep flammable liquids such as whiskey put away while you are cooking. You have 300 other people in the building, think how bad you would feel if you accidentally barbecued the cutie down the hall. Be paranoid about it and you'll be OK.

Courtesy; use that fan that you cleverly brought to blow the smell out the window. You probably can't feed all 300 of your neighbors, and it's just downright mean to tease them with delectable smells unless you are going to come across. Besides, the Hindu next door might not be as crazy about pan fried steak as you are. If the wind won't cooperate, you can minimize it by keeping your door closed. See the exception outlined below.

Tips; this is kinda kinky, but try baking a potato and a pot pie in the toaster oven. Split the potato, butter & salt to taste, and dump the pot pie over the whole mess. Boil up some frozen veggies on the side, and delve in.

Another angle; most cafeterias close around 7 PM. So by 10 PM you could probably get volunteers to write your master's thesis for some of those frozen dough chocolate chip cookies out of the toaster oven. It's a fantastic ice breaker and you'll probably make some good friends, possibly even of the opposite sex. Oh, and you get to snack on hot cookies at midnight, with friends.