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Post by mcscrapper on Oct 28, 2017 21:54:07 GMT
I know it is 8 months away but with all of the Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales coming up I thought I'd ask. Did your dorm-dwelling college student use his/her TV much while in school? I am considering getting a small TV to give my dd for Christmas but not 100% sure yet. I almost hate to get her something she can't even use for 8 months but she doesn't really ask for much.
What other bigger ticket items should I consider buying? Most of the rooms where she will be going come with a small microwave and a small but full-sized fridge in the dorm room.
While we are on the subject, what were your student's must have items for his/her dorm room? Each room at my dd's possible dorm room comes with a desk, small dresser and has a closet and a private bathroom with shower, sink and toilet. They are WAY nicer than any dorm room when I was in school.
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Post by cindosha on Oct 28, 2017 22:12:08 GMT
My son took his tv because he took his xbox. His dorm room came with a full kitchen with it full-size refrigerator a stove and microwave and a dishwasher. The only thing I brought for him were kitchen utensils pots and pans bowls cups. He also brought towels for bathing hangers for his clothes and a couple of Storage pieces for his dorm room like one of those wooden things with the squares that you can put the canvas baskets in. Everything else came with his dorm room a desk dresser and bed. When we knew where he was going, I went onto the college website and was able to get a schematic of his dorm room, which included four bedrooms upstairs with the bathroom and downstairs bathroom a full kitchen and a big living room. It was like a townhouse. They were really nice.
Go on Pinterest to see what you need to bring to college. They have a lot of really good ideas.
Cindy
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melissa
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,912
Jun 25, 2014 20:45:00 GMT
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Post by melissa on Oct 28, 2017 22:19:14 GMT
Dd has lived on her own for the last two years (18 to 20, typical college years). She has not had a TV. She streams anything that she watches anyway. When she has stayed in dorms, there have been TVs in the lounges. She 6 or has been staying in college dorms during the summer for about the last 6 or 7 years. A TV in a lounge has been a standard.
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Post by Basket1lady on Oct 28, 2017 22:46:38 GMT
Neither of my kids have TVs in their dorms. To start with, they don't have time to watch TV. Secondly, they both have gaming laptops with large screens, so they can stream and watch on their laptops.
If her laptop is old, you could upgrade that. We gave both kids laptops for their HS graduation, but both waited to upgrade their laptops until they were settled on their major. DS is an engineering major and needed some specific requirements for Matlab, but still prefers to do most of his work in the engineering computer lab, as there are TAs and often even the professor there to help, as well as each other. DD is still waiting on her upgrade, as her previous laptop is running just fine and the longer she waits, the newer the technology will be.
Other big ticket items? Hah. Pretty much everything! Really, most was pretty inexpensive, but it all adds up. Huggable hangers, long 10ft phone charging cords, desk supplies, a stand for the fridge (DD has a unit from Ikea with room for baskets for storage underneath), a cart for make up, a comforter, sheets, a good memory foam mattress for on top of her dorm bed... The van was FULL! One thing could be a chair. Both kids have chairs in their rooms and they are under their lofted beds. It gives them another place to sit and I know DD often naps in hers.
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Post by idahopea on Oct 28, 2017 22:52:29 GMT
My kids often used their tv as a second computer monitor hooked up to their laptops so they would have a bigger screen to see their work or to watch netflicks.
The rooms are really small once you get the basics in there so resist the urge to buy anything that's not a necessity.
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Post by wrongwayfeldman on Oct 28, 2017 23:11:43 GMT
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Deleted
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May 17, 2024 23:36:18 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 28, 2017 23:46:03 GMT
None of my three brought or used TVs in their dorms/apts. They just streamed from their laptops. I'd put that money towards a better laptop.
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CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,827
Jun 26, 2014 12:56:40 GMT
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Post by CeeScraps on Oct 28, 2017 23:48:43 GMT
No tv here either....she streams!
Keurig, bed risers with USB connection, locking/rolling trunk from the Container Store, multiple surge supressor strips (old dorms don't have that many outlets), toaster. Oh, we got our dd a cart to put her refrigerator on top of. This way she has draws beneath her fridge.
Look at Bed, Bath and Beyond. They have a lot of things for a dorm room.
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Post by underwatermama on Oct 28, 2017 23:54:27 GMT
No tv for my freshman either. He watches on his pc or maybe in the lounge (he's not big on giving me details so who knows, really). There are three of them together in their room and they barely have room to turn around. The room is so small that they have to have their beds up and their desks are underneath them. Between the three of them they brought a mini-fridge, microwave and a printer. Since I haven't heard anything else, I'm assuming he doesn't want/need anything else so far.
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Post by scrapmaven on Oct 29, 2017 0:02:24 GMT
My freshman streams stuff on his laptop. We bought him a fridge and that's been a great help. He and his roommate sleep too late for breakfast, so they always have milk and cereal. Another essential item was a fan. The dorms don't have air conditioning and his room gets hot and stuffy.
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ellen
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,507
Jun 30, 2014 12:52:45 GMT
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Post by ellen on Oct 29, 2017 0:16:48 GMT
My daughter and her roommate had a tv and they did use it. Her roommate had Apple TV and they watched several seasons of Grey's Anatomy their freshman year.
They brought a fridge and microwave and ended up purchasing a rug and a comfy chair. Their dorm rooms were really small. They lofted one of the beds and kept their dressers, fridge and microwave under it. They had two desks that were built-ins. A fan was a must have item.
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Post by littlemama on Oct 29, 2017 0:52:26 GMT
My son took his tv because he took his xbox. His dorm room came with a full kitchen with it full-size refrigerator a stove and microwave and a dishwasher. The only thing I brought for him were kitchen utensils pots and pans bowls cups. He also brought towels for bathing hangers for his clothes and a couple of Storage pieces for his dorm room like one of those wooden things with the squares that you can put the canvas baskets in. Everything else came with his dorm room a desk dresser and bed. When we knew where he was going, I went onto the college website and was able to get a schematic of his dorm room, which included four bedrooms upstairs with the bathroom and downstairs bathroom a full kitchen and a big living room. It was like a townhouse. They were really nice. Go on Pinterest to see what you need to bring to college. They have a lot of really good ideas. Cindy SVSU?
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Post by littlemama on Oct 29, 2017 0:53:53 GMT
Yes, a smart tv that will let her stream Netflix or Amazon Prime.
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Post by padresfan619 on Oct 29, 2017 1:03:28 GMT
I would do a bundle of a tv, an Amazon firestick and pay for an Amazon prime membership. Wait until she gets a .edu email address and she can get a student account at a discount. I stream everything too, on my tv with a firestick.
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Post by littlemama on Oct 29, 2017 1:06:40 GMT
I would do a bundle of a tv, an Amazon firestick and pay for an Amazon prime membership. Wait until she gets a .edu email address and she can get a student account at a discount. I stream everything too, on my tv with a firestick. If you have a smart tv, the fire stick is redundant, so depending on what tv you get, you may not need the fire stick.
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Post by utmr on Oct 29, 2017 1:14:04 GMT
A lockbox that attaches to the bed frame. DD has one with a cable similar to a laptop cable. She keeps her Rx meds, extra cash, SS card, etc in it.
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melissa
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,912
Jun 25, 2014 20:45:00 GMT
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Post by melissa on Oct 29, 2017 1:19:02 GMT
I remembered something that might be good if she's a coffee drinker! A Keurig. I had originally bought dd a cheap off-brand one on sale at Target. It was something like $15 and lasted about 6 months. We replaced it with an actual Keurig.
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Post by padresfan619 on Oct 29, 2017 1:45:48 GMT
I would do a bundle of a tv, an Amazon firestick and pay for an Amazon prime membership. Wait until she gets a .edu email address and she can get a student account at a discount. I stream everything too, on my tv with a firestick. If you have a smart tv, the fire stick is redundant, so depending on what tv you get, you may not need the fire stick. I personally prefer the interface of a fire stick over that of a smart tv. I've used smart tvs in the past when babysitting for family and I find their navigation to be clunky and not intuitive.
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MerryMom
Pearl Clutcher
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Jul 24, 2014 19:51:57 GMT
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Post by MerryMom on Oct 29, 2017 3:47:01 GMT
My son uses his TV mostly for video games or to watch DVDs. Surprisingly the most useful item for his dorm room has been an old CD DVD storage unit that was just sitting down in our basement. One of those Sauder type things you put together like a little bookshelf. Anyways it slides perfectly along the side or back of the closet. The depth is perfect to store food and also toiletry bottles. The shelf height is adjustable.
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Post by 950nancy on Oct 29, 2017 4:05:05 GMT
Neither of my kids have TVs in their dorms. To start with, they don't have time to watch TV. Secondly, they both have gaming laptops with large screens, so they can stream and watch on their laptops. If her laptop is old, you could upgrade that. We gave both kids laptops for their HS graduation, but both waited to upgrade their laptops until they were settled on their major. DS is an engineering major and needed some specific requirements for Matlab, but still prefers to do most of his work in the engineering computer lab, as there are TAs and often even the professor there to help, as well as each other. DD is still waiting on her upgrade, as her previous laptop is running just fine and the longer she waits, the newer the technology will be. Other big ticket items? Hah. Pretty much everything! Really, most was pretty inexpensive, but it all adds up. Huggable hangers, long 10ft phone charging cords, desk supplies, a stand for the fridge (DD has a unit from Ikea with room for baskets for storage underneath), a cart for make up, a comforter, sheets, a good memory foam mattress for on top of her dorm bed... The van was FULL! One thing could be a chair. Both kids have chairs in their rooms and they are under their lofted beds. It gives them another place to sit and I know DD often naps in hers. My kid said (says) he had more time in college to goof off than in high school. Mine much prefers to game than watch television though.
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Post by mcscrapper on Oct 29, 2017 5:16:24 GMT
When y'all talk about "lofting" the bed, how do you do that? I've seen pictures of this but have no idea how it is done.
Her roommate's mother and I agree that these girls don't need the total dorm room makeover that seems to be the trend right now. Definitely going to reconsider the TV thing. Maybe that's something she can get for another gift after she starts school next year. She has a fairly new MacBook so we should be good with that for a while at least. I'm thinking my money might be better spent on a better mattress topper and possibly a chair or something for her to sit on besides her bed. The dorms on campus are mostly newer and are quite a bit larger than the "old" dorm rooms. That comes with a price tag but it is probably worth it.
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Post by Clair on Oct 29, 2017 5:24:48 GMT
I wouldn’t get anything for the dorm. Much too early - a lot can change before then.
Also, I would wait until you know exactly what they can and cannot have.
My kids could not have used most of the stuff mentioned above - either no room or not allowed.
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Post by cindosha on Oct 29, 2017 8:50:35 GMT
Yes it is SVSU
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Post by pretzels on Oct 29, 2017 12:01:27 GMT
I know it is 8 months away but with all of the Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales coming up I thought I'd ask. Did your dorm-dwelling college student use his/her TV much while in school? I am considering getting a small TV to give my dd for Christmas but not 100% sure yet. I almost hate to get her something she can't even use for 8 months but she doesn't really ask for much. What other bigger ticket items should I consider buying? Most of the rooms where she will be going come with a small microwave and a small but full-sized fridge in the dorm room. While we are on the subject, what were your student's must have items for his/her dorm room? Each room at my dd's possible dorm room comes with a desk, small dresser and has a closet and a private bathroom with shower, sink and toilet. They are WAY nicer than any dorm room when I was in school. Kyle and his suitemate have a TV (it's his suitemate's), but I'm not sure he watches it much. He has his laptop for school and an extra monitor. I think he probably watches Netflix and Hulu the most (when he has time -- don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's not spending 100% of his time on homework, but he does seem to be doing lots). They also have a fridge and a microwave. Kyle's dorm is really nice. It came with a nightstand and bed, desk and a cubby thing that serves as a closet. There are four to a dorm room, and two to a bedroom. They have a good-sized room and two bathrooms. The only complaint he has is that the way the windows are, it hits them in the face every morning, and they can't put anything in the wall to cover them. ETA that Kyle's must-haves were his records and record player. And as far as decor, he has three album covers in frames on his wall, two posters and an A&M flag over his bed.
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CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,827
Jun 26, 2014 12:56:40 GMT
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Post by CeeScraps on Oct 29, 2017 15:46:50 GMT
When y'all talk about "lofting" the bed, how do you do that? I've seen pictures of this but have no idea how it is done. Her roommate's mother and I agree that these girls don't need the total dorm room makeover that seems to be the trend right now. Definitely going to reconsider the TV thing. Maybe that's something she can get for another gift after she starts school next year. She has a fairly new MacBook so we should be good with that for a while at least. I'm thinking my money might be better spent on a better mattress topper and possibly a chair or something for her to sit on besides her bed. The dorms on campus are mostly newer and are quite a bit larger than the "old" dorm rooms. That comes with a price tag but it is probably worth it. Lofting....at our dd's school they sell kits for this. They will also, for a charge have the engineering team put them up for the kids. We paid! It was well worth the cost. The money went toward their club and things that they need. At the end of the year my husband went up and took it down. They too would of taken it down but our dd was done with finals early. If they took it down she'd have to stay around until they took it down. Rug, chair and oh, a microwave too. You could start accumulating money on the side for a Bed, Bath and Beyond gift card.
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Post by Basket1lady on Oct 29, 2017 16:59:03 GMT
When y'all talk about "lofting" the bed, how do you do that? I've seen pictures of this but have no idea how it is done. Her roommate's mother and I agree that these girls don't need the total dorm room makeover that seems to be the trend right now. Definitely going to reconsider the TV thing. Maybe that's something she can get for another gift after she starts school next year. She has a fairly new MacBook so we should be good with that for a while at least. I'm thinking my money might be better spent on a better mattress topper and possibly a chair or something for her to sit on besides her bed. The dorms on campus are mostly newer and are quite a bit larger than the "old" dorm rooms. That comes with a price tag but it is probably worth it. I really depends on the school. For DD, they have to rent them from a company. They can't make or buy them. I don't like that--I would have preferred to buy. DS's rooms have had the beds already lofted for all three years and they come with the room. If a student doesn't want a loft, they can get other sides of the bed and just have it like a normal bed. Or they can be half up--some kids do this and there's room for plastic drawer units under the bed. Above, someone mentioned that the engineering department at the school offers it. If your DD already knows her school, you can start digging on the student living/campus life/dorm pages to see if you can find a list of what to bring and what not to bring. That's where I found the details for both my kids. My kids are 1,300 miles from home and need all the space they can get, so that's why they loft. They can't bring boots and coats or camping gear home (DD went on an orientation trip to the Boundary Waters) to store it there, so they have to store it in their room. And they wanted something more than their beds to sit on, especially when they have opposite sex friends in the room (DD thought it would be weird to have some guy sitting on her bed). We did a lot of measuring and planning to make sure what they have will fit into a room--don't just plan to bring some of the bigger things and hope it fits! One thing to note is that things may be tight for just this year, or things could be tight next year. Dorms vary widely from one to another, even at the same school. DD's school requires all students to live on campus and the seniors have condos that they can live in. DS has had the same room the past 2 years (junior now) and he has a walk in closet that offers a ton of storage. So stay flexible!
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Post by littlemama on Oct 29, 2017 17:08:31 GMT
When y'all talk about "lofting" the bed, how do you do that? I've seen pictures of this but have no idea how it is done. Her roommate's mother and I agree that these girls don't need the total dorm room makeover that seems to be the trend right now. Definitely going to reconsider the TV thing. Maybe that's something she can get for another gift after she starts school next year. She has a fairly new MacBook so we should be good with that for a while at least. I'm thinking my money might be better spent on a better mattress topper and possibly a chair or something for her to sit on besides her bed. The dorms on campus are mostly newer and are quite a bit larger than the "old" dorm rooms. That comes with a price tag but it is probably worth it. For the loft, you'll want to check with the college- many have a required loft kit. And yes, seating will be good- either a futon or a bowl chair. Target has the chairs.
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Post by supersoda on Oct 29, 2017 17:26:09 GMT
My DD took a tv solely for her x-box. She streams on her phone. (She has a fire stick; I don't know why she doesn't use it.)
The beds in every school we looked at were loftable--basically, you could adjust the height to whatever you want. Almost everyone has them high to fit storage underneath.
We bought a lot of storage devices, but we did most of that shopping after she got into her room and we saw the layout. Lucky for us, there is an Ikea 10 minutes from her school. We did a lot of furniture assembly in our hotel the weekend we moved her in freshman year!
I can't think of any big ticket items besides her laptop. We did eventually buy her an electric tea kettle and a Brita pitcher.
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Post by pretzels on Oct 29, 2017 17:52:08 GMT
Kyle's room had the legs to loft the bed already in it when he moved in. His bed sits up quite a bit, and that's where he put his record player and stores things. He could have lofted it all the way up, but chose not to.
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Post by Flowergirl on Oct 29, 2017 23:09:45 GMT
We didn't get DS or DD a tv for their dorm rooms. We gave DS a smart TV for his bday the year he moved off campus. DD has a large monitor she uses along with her laptop and if she wants to watch something, she can stream to the extra monitor.
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