All I can think of that’s been missed so far (I think - I am not a thorough reader) is a long coax cable and electrical tape.
I don’t know why I needed so much electrical tape when I was at the dorm, but I did.
As for the coax - well it was nice to be able to have my TV anywhere I wanted it. Ended up putting it in the closet - sweet!
Oh yeah. Rubbing alcohol. Not sure why I had it but I did and I used it for various things.
You don’t have to purchase them through the school. I looked at the form for the bed set that they sent me, and saw that I had to buy the twin, extra long bed set to fit the dorm beds. And I highly suggest against buying through the school. The sheets they sell are so itchy! I bought my bed set from Target with a 250+ thread count (look for a very high thread count - 300 if you can), and my sheets and my comforter are still SO COMFORTABLE! Whenever my brother visits me at my apartment, he sits on my bed and marvels at how much more soft and comfy my comforter is than his very expensive comforter at home. So much so that I have to watch him to make sure he doesn’t steal it when he leaves 
It pays to shop at Target! 
I got the funkiest most useful gift as a graduation present from one of my high school friends. She gave me a small hammer that has a variety of screwdrivers inside it. You just twist the handle, and a screwdriver comes out, unscrew that one, and another falls out. Even if you don’t need to fix anything, it’s always fun to see people guess and see how many tools I have in that thing.
Best. Gift. Ever.
I highly suggest it!
I like the gift-card idea, as well. I ask for these for my birthday and for Hanukkah so I can get what I need when I need it, and I don’t have to worry about finding the money for, say, some little luxury that comes in handy right around midterms or finals week.
You might find out if the university bookstore has gift cards. There’s always some little supply or book or sweatshirt or something that’s needed when you least expect it.
Robin
MAKE SURE IT"S NOT THE BLUE STUFF!!! Actually I found a wonderful alternative from 3M…these Contact strips that were tabs…worked amazingly well!
A bullition board, cool thumbtacks, milk crates…one of those mattress enhancers (not eggcrate!) Go to Linens N Things and you might get some other good idears…Oh…does she wear glasses? Maybe a special box or something where she can keep her glasses at night…I can’t count the number of times when I lost my hearing aids in my room… :o Oh…I know! Paper clips! In my single there were these tubes running around the room as well as a wooden jut out thingy.I would unbend the paper clips and use them for hooks for hanging stuff.
Maybe also an interesting idear would be decorations for holidays or if she’s really crafty a kit to make her own decoratations! Those cute window decorations.
My parents brought me up a tupperware-like storage unit so that I had a place to store my socks, underwear and miscellauous stuff…
How about an iron? Even if she wears her PJs to class there’ll be times when she has to dress up.
StG
No, it’s a vibrator, and it’s a good idea.
Also, I second the flash memory card. You can get them pretty cheaply from NewEgg and even cheaper if you look on Froogle.
Film canisters of quarters are great. A pallet of drinks that taste good room-temperature (some of the less sticky-sweet Snapples are good) will be great early in the semester.
A Brita pitcher, so she can fill up with tap water in the bathrooms and have filtered water for a water bottle to carry around campus.
Erm, I said some. When I got housing info for Uni they said they were only available from the school. As always Y(University’s)MMV etc.
What’s the problem with blue poster gum? I’ve used it successfully in many situations.
Electric dispensing pots are very useful too. Hot water available any time for tea or ramen.
Regarding the oft-mentioned phone cards: FWIW, I find the best deal on them is at BJ’s Warehouse or Costco, if you have a membership to one of those. Most recent price at my store was $19.99 for an MCI phonecard with** 670 ** minutes on it! IIRC, they don’t expire, either, so they’re great to have on hand in case of emergencies (not everyone has a cellphone, and batteries DO die sometimes, you know.) I use them in lieu of having long distance service on my phone.
No, I do not work for MCI, Costco or BJ’s Warehouse.
How about sending along a few extra toothbrushes? I know it sounds dumb, but those damned things are more expensive than they should be, and mine always wear out just when I’m running short of money. Ditto for toothpaste. Never hurts to have a spare tube or two around.
Don’t know if kids still use these in the age of voicemail, but we always had those “dry erase marker boards” on the hall side of our dormroom doors so friends could leave messages if they stopped by when we were out (or so we could leave word of where we were going, etc.) (Obviously, they were used for a lot of jokes and such, as well.) They were absolutely INDISPENSABLE. They come in a variety of convenient sizes with the marker pen attached. How about two? One for outside the door for friends, one for inside the room for reminders to self.
Oh, and to state the obvious: You can never have too much underwear or too many tee shirts. Sometimes it’s easy to go a wee bit longer than one should between trips to the laundry room.
These ideas have just been great! Some of these things I left for school with in 1961 (the hammer with the screwdrivers inside)! Other things I didn’t know existed – like the flash card.
I really like the idea of the flash card, but I want to find out first if I will be duplicating what is on her iPod. Would a good iPod normally be able to do what a flash card can do?
As for the personal massager, I think her cell phone has one.
As long as you don’t hit me with your older, bigger one.
Oh, yeah: seconded on the dry-erase board (we do still use them in the newfangled age of voicemail). Two is a good idea; or at least something in the room for notes and stuff.
Duct tape, a hammer, a magnetic ratcheting screwdriver with interchangeable bits, duct tape, extension cords, extra long telephone cord, coaxial cable for the TV, ethernet cable for the computer, duct tape, a couple of power strips, and a whole freakin lot of Febreeze.