August 6–12, 2008, Number 504
Preparing for the School Year
For those parents who are preparing to bring their students to Michigan Tech to live in one of our Residence Halls, it is important to know what to bring and what isn’t necessary. A good way to think about it is to bring only what the student absolutely needs to make his or her college career successful. Living with three other people (or even one other person) in one of the Residence Hall rooms can be tricky, but if each student takes the time to bring only the necessities, then everything should be fine. This article will discuss what items are important to bring and what the students can leave behind.
Room Items
As many of you already know, the mattresses require extra long twin sheets, mattress pads, and blankets in order to fully cover them. It does get pretty warm in the residence halls, even for the winter months, so a down blanket might be too warm for most students. Many students just use sheets and then a top comforter that is on the thinner side or a comfortable blanket to cover them during the night. A fan is usually helpful to compensate for the heat that can make rooms very warm. Almost every room has a window that is large enough to fit a box fan in and this makes the air flow through the rooms much more appeasing to the overall comfort and temperature. Another helpful purchase is plastic crates or storage bins/tubs. These make things a lot easier to store in the room so that if you have something you don’t always need, but could as some point find a use for, it can be tucked away in an easy to find location. A few other items that are helpful are a small refrigerator (a.k.a. mini-fridge) or a microwave. If you’re having problems with space, the mini-fridge would be the better between the two as there is a microwave in all the Kitchenettes in the Residence Halls and therefore doesn’t make it as necessary in each of the rooms. Another room item that I highly recommend is a basic tool set. You never know when you may find them useful. I’ve had several small tools that have come in handy over the years and I’m grateful to have them available when I need them.
Academic Items
There are quite a few things under this category that are very important for students to have for use during the school year. A backpack of course is necessary for hauling around the books, notebooks, and binders used in the classroom. Other items that I have found extremely helpful over the years have been: a hole punch (3-hole punch), binders, stapler and staples, tape, scissors, rulers, paperclips, and highlighters. When I arrived at Michigan Tech I had no idea that the hole punch and stapler would be so useful, but many professors put lector notes on the web and the best way to keep them organized is in a binder. The stapler came in handy because the professors appreciate it when the homework is stapled together, but many don’t carry a stapler with them to the classroom, hence your student having one in their backpack will help both the professor and the student out. Other useful supplies include pens and pencils, graphing calculators, dictionaries, and an assignment notebook. Each of these items I have found turn out to be extremely helpful and necessary during my last three years at Michigan Tech.
Electronic Items
Each room comes equipped with the ability to have internet, televisions with basic cable, and a telephone (with free long distance). It is up to the students whether they want to have a television and/or phone in their rooms. A computer and internet is a must, in my opinion, as it makes the ability to read lecture notes online, work on assignments, or take online quizzes (required by some classes) easier and more comfortable when in the privacy of the students own room instead of in the labs on campus. Other items I found useful, especially when I lived in the Residence Halls, were power strips, extension cords, and an Ethernet cable. Students have to make do with what electrical outputs they have and so using power strips and extension cords can go a long way in making the availability of plugs easier. Probably the most important item would have to be an alarm clock, especially one that your student can definitely hear and wake up to.
Miscellaneous Items
Over the years of being at Michigan Tech, these more random items have always become useful to me in one way or another. Items such as a flashlight, camera, batteries, umbrella, social security card, first-aid kit, and health insurance card. Your student having their own copy of the insurance card will help them get into the clinic at the Student Development Complex with more ease. All the other items come in handy as well for use throughout the school year.
DO NOT BRING
The items under this section are ones that are not allowed in the Michigan Tech Residence Halls, so I strongly advise against trying to bring them to the university. Any type of open heating source such as a hot plate, toaster, toaster oven, or electric heater can be dangerous and pose a hazard to the rest of the students. Air conditioners, halogen lights, candles and incense are also not allowed. Again, many of these items can be a hazard and therefore to reduce the risk of accidents occurring it is advised that your students not have them while in the residence halls.
There are many other items of the more personal nature that are necessary. If you are wondering what else your student may need to have while living at Michigan Tech check out the Orientation What to bring – What NOT to bring list online. Keep in mind that many students don’t need to bring multiple of the same item, such as two mini-fridges or multiple box fans and so if your student keeps in communication with their room-mates for the upcoming school year, it is possible for the students to determine who can bring what. That’s what happened between me and my two room-mates my first year and it worked out great.
If there are any questions or comments about this article feel free to email me at my personal email address. Any recommendations for future articles are welcomed as well.
Until next week,
- Michigan Technological University
- 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295
- 906-487-1885