School starts in just a few short weeks and while your stuff is probably already packed into boxes and lined up in the garage, we at CollegeCandy wanted to make sure you didn’t forget anything.

We asked our writers to weigh in on all the things that everyone needs to bring to school. The stuff that maybe you, a new college freshman, may not have thought of. So, print this list and check it twice. You won’t want to be caught in your dormroom without this stuff…

Under bed storage things

Thirty pairs of undies and socks – so you only have to do laundry once a month

Plain white t-shirts – perfect for graffiti parties/any event where a homemade t-shirt is necessary…and those happen a lot

George Forman Grill

Travel mug – for much needed coffee on the go

A planner

“Everyone Participates” board games – It wouldn’t be freshman year if you didn’t waste a few quiet Friday nights with Cranium, Taboo, Apples to Apples, etc. Everyone gets tired of lying around hammered/stoned eventually.

Dust Buster – for crumbs in your bed…or ash on your floor

iPod

Foam mattress thingy – Dorm mattresses blow

High School yearbook

Plastic Baggies - to bring some of that dorm food back to your room

Shower bucket

Snow pants - for inevitable snowball fights/dining tray sledding

Costumes/anything that can be turned into a costume – just trust us on this one

An extra phone charger

Condoms – Saves you the embarassment of asking your RA for one at 3am. Read More »

So you enter your freshman year of college a confident single gal (or guy) ready to take on your new independent lifestyle and hopefully meet some hotties. The first week of college you meet someone who you happen to really hit it off with. A few weeks later, you’re still talking to this special someone and you start to wonder where this is all going.

But is it really a good idea to start dating someone you’ve only known for two weeks into your freshman year?

In my experience, no.

Freshman year is all about new experiences, whether it be living with someone you don’t know or having to do your laundry for the first time. While the idea of meeting a new boyfriend or girlfriend is exciting, the first semester of college might not be the best time to start thinking of a long term relationship.

I met a guy during the summer at one of my school’s orientations and I continued to talk to him once we met up in the fall. We started hooking up almost immediately after classes began and I wondered if he was feeling as strongly as I was about him. I soon realized, as he hooked up with multiple other girls, that there really were no feelings involved on his part. He announced that it was no big deal since he and I weren’t officially anything and he didn’t want anything serious his first year. I was hurt because I had read too much into the situation. Even more, though, I was angry at myself because I could have spent the time getting to know other people (or studying) instead of hanging out with him. Read More »

So you’ve finished your first year of college! You’re relieved, excited, and filled with pride (hopefully) at your academic accomplishment. You say goodbye to your friends at school, and make the journey home.

For me, that journey home was pretty long: 1330.45 miles, if we’re being exact. And after two weeks at home, and that initial joyful reunion with my friends from high school, I am suffering from a major case of reverse homesickness.

During my first semester of school, all I wanted to do was go back to Florida, transfer to a school where academics are often neglected for tanning and water sports, despite the fact that I had come to Boston to get away from such a scenario. Nonetheless, I was ready to throw in the towel and head back home.

Second semester, however, I really began to find my footing at school, and I had a wonderful time. I did well in all my classes, fell into a groove that enabled me to balance my academic goals with some semblance of a social life, and participated in our school’s spring musical. My last night in Boston was the night of our cast party, which was not short on the debauchery or tearful goodbyes.

Suffice it to say, when I arrived home, I was feeling a little morose. I wasn’t going to see anyone from Boston until September! And now, as a couple weeks have passed and it’s getting stiflingly hot here, I miss Boston and my school friends like nobody’s business. I’ve even come to miss the simplicity of my tiny freshman double, the greasy food at our dining hall, even the drunken frat boys screaming outside my window at 3 in the morning on a Thursday night…I could go on, but I’ll spare you.

So, partly for my sanity, and partly for yours, I’m come up with a few ways to avoid, or at least diminish, that reverse homesickness. Read More »