I'm starting Uni in September (Bangor University, BSc Creative Technologies Hons) and was thinking about the things needed for staying at Uni.

So for those there now what did you find essential? And for those going next month what are you planning to take?

Some basic tools come in handy. Scissors, boxcutter, duck tape, super glue, a multitool, screwdriver set. Bring food. Stockpile your parents' food while you can, because once you're buying your own, you realize how much money it is.

I believe these are the most essential things:

1. medical tape (trust me on this one)
2. gum (because smoking gets expensive; and talking to idiots starts to get boring)
3. peanuts / peanut butter / sesame seeds out of the shell (high protein, good fiber)
4. a bottle to hold water
5. Multivitamins (scurvy occurs often, seriously)

Yes, stockpile your parents food. Preferably canned vegetables, dry foods (peanuts), and cans of tuna or something low in methylmercury.

I'm starting Uni in September (Bangor University, BSc Creative Technologies Hons) and was thinking about the things needed for staying at Uni.

So for those there now what did you find essential? And for those going next month what are you planning to take?

lol srysly? I went to check out bangor's chemistry department and IMO it all looked fucking awful , I mean really bad.

the little gig room thing was cool, but well thats all it had going for it.

thank fuck I got into sheffield this year.

GLHF any way

you living in a dorm you mean? haha fuck, i just picture everything in the UK as being so bizarro world-like to things in the US. like everything imaginable is done slightly different over there, i dunno.

don't bother bringing real silverware or plates or cups. gets to be a bitch to wash them, and i didn't have a sink or anything in my room so i'd have to take care of it all in the kitchen lobby. so much easier to just use a paper plate and plastic fork and throw them away.

but i would bring a pitcher. i had one that had a built in thing to stir it with, so no spoon needed. twas great.

bring a case of bottled water. beer and coke are nice and all but they get old fast and sometimes you would just like to quench your thirst. it was always nice to have some bottled water around.

i also like the single koolaid packs that you just dump into a bottle of water and shake up for convenience.

some kind of air freshener and/or fabric freshener like febreeze. that came in handy.

and maybe one of those tide stain pens too. used that a few times last year.

don't forget nail clippers, ha.

a stapler.

a calendar for the wall.

hangers.

a shot glass.

plenty of socks and underwear. they'll be the first things you'll run out of and be forced to do laundry.

oh and a cheap laundry bag to carry said laundry in. i got one from target for like $3.

i bet none of this shit exists in england or it all has different names or something and you'll be like "lol wut?" fuck it.

lol srysly? I went to check out bangor's chemistry department and IMO it all looked fucking awful , I mean really bad.

the little gig room thing was cool, but well thats all it had going for it.

thank fuck I got into sheffield this year.

GLHF any way

Never saw any of the Chemistry stuff, I was in the School of Computer Science and it was great :D

As for the post above me, I have American family, I understood all of it, and I have about 50 packs of Kool Aid ready.

As for the post above me, I have American family, I understood all of it, and I have about 50 packs of Kool Aid ready.

i was sort of kidding about not being able to understand it. ;)

though i did stop to think about whether or not kool aid exists in england.

Kool Aid exists in Britain?!?!?!?! I did not know that......i've never even tried it.....i just like the big jug.

Rabb are you staying in uni halls or private accommodation? Because in private accommodation....it's pretty much just like living at home.......but you're with people your age. It's really nothing like living at home...........but my point still stands........bring a cheese grater.

Nah, like I said, I have American family...This means I get Kool Aid and Reeses Pieces shipped over to me :D

And I'm staying in halls...I'd rather do that to get to know people.

Clothes, bathroom goods, pens, paper, bedding, alarm clock, and various forms of entertainment.

That's the easy stuff. The hard thing is figuring out what random things you'll want but won't think of. Clothes hangers are a good one. People bring all of their clothes in bags, and then begin to hang them up...only to realize they left all the hangers at home! Here's a PROTIP: Instead of un-hanging, folding, and packing your clothes, and bringing the hangers along, bunch your clothes (still on hangers) together on the rail thing at your house, and put a garbage bag over them, drawing it tight right under the hanger hooks. Then, you can just bring it to college and put it on the clothes hanger rail, and remove the garbage bag.

Nail clippers are good too. Nobody remembers them and it's gross. Bring extra deoderant and soap, too. And more than one towel.

Here's a PROTIP: Instead of un-hanging, folding, and packing your clothes, and bringing the hangers along, bunch your clothes (still on hangers) together on the rail thing at your house, and put a garbage bag over them, drawing it tight right under the hanger hooks. Then, you can just bring it to college and put it on the clothes hanger rail, and remove the garbage bag.

interesting idea...

this also reminds me that if you're like me, and you've got to pack all your shit in a tiny car and have your parents drive down to your dorm to move you, it's better to try and pack shit like clothes in bags rather than boxes to save valuable car space. my dad had a midsize sedan, a ford taurus, last year to move me down and for some reason i thought everything had to be packed in big boxes from the grocery store, so it all just barely fit. most of the stuff i have that has any real volume is clothes anyway, so that was dumb.

Good call with the clothes on their hangers thing, I'll be doing that.

As for space my dad drives a Nissan Qashqai, so there's plenty.

I have all the toiletries etc put aside already, enough razor heads to shave down a rainforest and enough deoderant to mask the smell of weed on Snoop Dogg.

Hole punch
Fancy dress clothes (you dress up a shitload at social occassions)
Washing powder etc
Clothes in general, lots of everything
Doorstop
Posters and photographs unless you want your room to look boring.

A bloke from my House at School is doing law at Bangor, he said it was absolutely shite, in respect to the university facilities and surrounding area. However a resourceful bloke will have his own fun.

condoms, seriously.

apart from that looks like its covered apart from some extra cash for freshers week.

plenty of briefs/underwear as this is the single most important thing on most days, get a good soap that can be used as a body wash and shampoo, I've used Dr. Bronner's peppermint magic soap the past two years at school, smells great isn't pricey and can be used as toothpaste too:

http://www.herbalremedies.com/peppermint-castile-liquid-soap.html

whoever said nail clippers was right, also an incense burner is a nice thing to have so your dorm doesn't smell like shit when you haven't done your laundry in months, shot glasses, a decent throw to go over your blanket is nice so bitches don't see you haven't washed your sheets all year, a big ass beer mug for drank (can be plastic if you think you'll break a glass one) that's all I've got for the moment... good luck man

Don't buy a lot of fancy gizmos in preparation for college... you won't use half of them, and shit will be stolen. Don't bring anything you care about unless you have somewhere to lock it up. Hidden things will be found because college kids get bored as hell and search rooms when nobody else is around. Door locks are usually shit in dorms and can be credit carded easily... just a warning from my experience. Steal shit if you can get away with it, especially at the end of the year. :)

Besides that, just think of things that aren't "yours" but you use them everyday. Toilet paper, food, stuff in the bathroom medicine cabinet, stuff in your garage/basement, electronics... etc. You don't own these things and don't think about them because they've always been available to you. Bring and buy canned food... it's cheap, doesn't go bad, and easy to prepare. In college, you will most likely be poor, forgetful, and lazy. So canned foods are great. I ate lots of beans and chili in college, kept me healthy without getting fat like the people who eat shit everyday (Freshman 15lbs exists because kids don't know how to buy food and feed themselves).

i have found a single zip-up binder that holds all your notes and shit to be really handy. i still live at home, so i dont know about what you should bring to dorms, maybe stuff that you dont want to share with other people

I just renew my lease the month beforehand. Then it's business as usual.

(I don't bother going back home to stay for the holidays.)

Refrigerator
Microwave
Doorstop
A white board and markers
Calendar
TV/Radio/Stereo/DVD/gaming system (just some for of entertainment)
Batteries
Posters and other things to put on walls
Different shoes, like shoes you wear every day, boots, running shoes..etc.
Bring a rug, the floor gets cold in the winter (depends on climate)
SHOWER SANDLES
SHOWER SANDLES
SHOWER SANDLES seriously, the floors are fucking disgusting
Bring extra toliet paper for the weekends, the rolls are filled up every weekday and that's it. Come sunday morning you'll be walking up and down floors to find a bathroom.
Condoms
Vaporizer if you smoke weed

Just bring pretty much everything you use in your bedroom, closet, and bathroom. When you're moving up the first weekend and don't have a alcohol hookup, try to bring alcohol.

There's a lot of other obvious stuff to bring. I start my second year on Sept. 1st, I can't wait to get back because I'm fucking bored.

various forms of entertainment.
just wank it whenever you're not partying or in class

...or I guess you could also do it during those, if you felt like it

Ha ha ha. You're living on campus. Bring a pistol to shoot yourself with when you realise what a mistake you've made.

Ha ha ha. You're living on campus. Bring a pistol to shoot yourself with when you realise what a mistake you've made.

Living on campus really isn't that bad. There are pros and cons to either living on campus or living of campus. I go to a big school so there are a lot of people on campus so it's not to bad.

People that never leave campus should be drawn and quartered. They're living in a god forsaken bubble.

I've got a lot of the basic stuff, I'm sorting out bathroom shit now...Kitchen stuff is totally done.

Ha ha ha. You're living on campus. Bring a pistol to shoot yourself with when you realise what a mistake you've made.

Only losers or people who go to shitty universities (or worse COLLEGE!) don't live on campus the first year.

Only losers or people who go to shitty universities (or worse COLLEGE!) don't live on campus the first year.

Ha ha ha. No no no, it is quite the opposite, at least over here. Perhaps in your lame little insulated womb world losers are the ones having house parties and doing what the hell they want. For the people that are capable and (mostly) independent and yearn, na, need to be out in the real world then living off-campus is the way to go.

Ha ha ha. No no no, it is quite the opposite, at least over here. Perhaps in your lame little insulated womb world losers are the ones having house parties and doing what the hell they want. For the people that are capable and (mostly) independent and yearn, na, need to be out in the real world then living off-campus is the way to go.

The US prefers to keep their students in protective bubbles, surrounded by other students and school employees.

The US prefers to keep their students in protective bubbles, surrounded by other students and school employees.

actually the US colleges prefer to collect more money for overpriced on campus housing. my school wants to make it so first AND second year students must live on campus. it's all about da benjaminz, babi.

Please don't fucking kid yourselves. If you don't get an apartment freshmen year then where do you live? I don't know where you're from but an apartment in the city is ridiculous.

It was always the plan to be in halls the first year to get to know people, then I'll get a flat/house next year.

Tool.

Anyway, 2 weeks today :D

Yeh, it's a bit under 2 weeks now, until I start. Quite excited, also slightly weirded out; perused facebook n found some of my flatmates, n there's this kinda "wow, this is real!" kinda feeling. Scary, in a good way.... :cool:

I'm just gona get bedding, decorative shit, toiletries, stationary stuff and things in the next few weeks, perhaps some basic culinary things (a frying pan, plate, mug n stuff). Then i'll just buy what else I/we need, when i've arrived. I don't mind paying back my "debt" of using everyone else's shit through cooking a fair bit, actually.... :cool:

Peanut butter, a screwdriver, sticky tape, books, blutac, passport/photos and essential info, sticky notes, blank CDs, USB stick, my bike, hash, my railcard and... multivitamins shall probably be my essentials.