Moving from home to a college campus can be

overwhelming for incoming students. Shopping for college must-haves

and packing up belongings for the move can be intimidating. Current

students offered up suggestions and advice for incoming students.

Some of the suggestions by current ISU students ranged from typical

to out of the ordinary.

In the dorms there are several things that can

be done to take advantage of the limited space.

“Storage items are a good idea,” said Leah

Olfelt, a sophomore in food science.

Krista Johnson, a junior in English, suggested

Command Strips to put up hooks for hanging storage.

The Department of Residence website suggests

crates or stackable containers and under-the-bed storage containers

as helpful storage items.

Another way that helps create more space is by

lofting the beds provided in the dorms.

Shelby Marsden, freshman in dietetics,

suggested pool noodles to wrap around the hard edges of the bed

frame.

“It was a really good idea,” Marsden said.

“It’s nice so you don’t hit your head.”

Marsden also suggested bringing along some zip

ties. They worked well to hold the pool noodles to the frame of her

loft and she used them to attach her cable cord to the ceiling to

keep the cord out of the way. Zip ties have many different uses, as

does another suggestion made by a student.

“Duct tape is good to have,” Olfelt said.

Personalizing a dorm room was another concern

for students as they moved into their first dorm rooms.

Nicole Haywood, freshman in kinesiology and

health, said she thought carpet or rugs are good items to

bring.

Allyson Crotty, freshman in Spanish at

Wartburg College, suggested using an exercise ball instead of a

desk chair. She originally replaced her chair with an exercise ball

in order to get some strengthening exercise worked into her day

without having to go to the recreation center.

“The exercise ball also encourages you to

spend less time at your desk on time wasting sites because you get

tired of keeping upright after a while,” Crotty said.

Johnson also suggested a tray to attach to the

side of a loft.

“It’s good to have somewhere to put things

while you are in your loft, like your phone,” said Johnson.

Elana Zien, freshman in biology, agreed with

Johnson that bathrobes were a good idea.

On the Department of Residence web page, a

bathrobe is also listed as a suggestion.

“Since most students need to walk down the

hall to use the bathroom, a bathrobe can spare you, and your

roommates or housemates, from embarrassing ‘coverage’ situations,”

according to the web page.

When it comes time to pack for college, being

prepared for unexpected needs is helpful. The Department of

Residence also has a list of suggested items to bring to college.

And if there are things that have been overlooked or forgotten,

gift cards to stores such as Walmart or Target are welcomed by many

soon-to-be college students.