When it comes to moving into an RIT residence hall, there are tons of things to pack! Just Google “what to bring to college” and you will find hundreds of lists for college essentials, but in this blog, I wanted to talk about a few other things to pack which have really saved the day this year. Here is my list of the top five things to bring which you may not have thought of.
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Sewing Kit: You may have thought about packing this already but this is something that I didn’t think to bring with me when I moved to RIT in September. You are limited in the amount of clothes that you can bring with you as you move into RIT, so making sure they stay hole-free is critical! Not only can a sewing kit help keep your clothes in one piece but having the string on hand really helps when it comes to tying loose wires from your computer up to keep everything nice and tidy.
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Extra Chair: RIT provides all of the students who move into the residence halls with a desk and chair but, if you want to have friends hang out in your room, an extra chair will be a huge help. In my room, I have a beanbag chair which all of my friends love to chill out on. In other rooms, I have seen lawn chairs and fold out stools just to name a few but they really go a long way in making sure everyone who is hanging out stays comfortable.
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Extra Lights: Some of the rooms in RIT’s residence halls rely on natural lighting to keep the room well lit. As the sun sets some of the rooms can get pretty dark, so having an extra light is really important if you want to read, do homework, or anything else really once it gets late. My roommate and I both have desk lamps that we can aim at the ceiling to light up the room and we bought an LED light strip on Amazon that adds some cool colored lights to our walls. Just make sure the lights comply with all the safety regulations that RIT has!
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First Aid Kit: You would be surprised how many times we get little cuts or scrapes during the year and having a band-aid nearby can really be helpful. RIT’s student health center has all sorts of wraps and bandages, but, for a little cut, saving the time it would take to walk there is really nice. A bonus tip is to bring medicine for headaches, allergies, and colds with you in case you find yourself needing some!
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Tape and Command Strips: During your time in the residence halls I can guarantee that you or your roommate will find yourselves needing tape to fix a tear on a sheet of paper, hang something on the wall, or just to hold something in place. Try and bring a few types of tape with you when you move in. My roommate and I use clear tape to hang things on our walls and we use duct tape for just about everything else.
If you come to RIT with the things on this list and make use of RIT’s Packing list (Link Below) you will get to RIT feeling ready to take on any challenge that you may encounter in the residence halls and you will be a hero to everyone on your floor. https://www.rit.edu/fa/housing/sites/rit.edu.fa.housing/files/docs/publications/whattobring-residencehalls.pdf