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You might think you’ve already figured out everything you may need for college, but you could be in for a surprise when you actually get there. College life can be full of surprises and unexpected twists, and you don’t want to be left unprepared for them. Each day you spend in this new place might make you realize something else you need to be comfortable there, and it might take some time to figure things out and collect everything you truly need. We’d like to give you a bit of a short cut and help you figure some important things out now!

Don’t want to arrive on campus unprepared? Keep reading to find out about valuable items you should bring with you. With all the preparation you’re doing and stress you’re dealing with at the moment, it can be easy to look past certain things, but that’s why we’ve taken care of it for you. Here are the 15 unexpected things that you must bring with you to college!

1. Shower Caddy

Something that will go really differently once you start living in a dorm room is your bath time. You might be lucky enough to share a shower with just one or two roommates, or might be sharing one with your whole floor. Either way, you should be prepared for whatever shower situation you’ll be moving into. And that’s why you should bring a shower caddy. 

With a shower caddy, you can carry multiple things into your shared bathroom at once without having to run back and forth to grab individual things. Sharing a shower with people you have only just met will be an adjustment, but a shower caddy can make that adjustment much easier. 

Pink Shower Caddy

Gray Mesh Tote

2. First Aid Kit

When you’re on campus, you will need a first aid kit in case of emergencies. You may not need it often, but it’s something that is definitely good to have. You can find small first aid kits that you can store in your bathroom cabinet to reach at any time you need. In a first aid kit, you should have band-aids, gauze pads, eye drops, aspirin, tweezers, alcohol swabs, and burn gel. Having these items will give you peace of mind and let you know that you’re ready for anything. 

3. Mattress Pad

A good night’s sleep each night is definitely necessary for having good days and doing well in your classes. A generic dorm mattress isn’t normally known for being the most comfortable mattress around, but you can fix that with a simple mattress pad. A mattress pad will make an originally rough surface so much softer. A softer bed will lead to more comfortable nights and an improvement in your quality of life. 

4. Extension Cord

Dorms can have outlets in odd places, or they might just not have enough outlets available for all your appliances. That’s why you will need an extension cord. With an extension cord, you can plug in a large number of appliances and also plug in appliances that may not have been able to reach the outlet without an extension cord. 

5. Back Rest Pillow

It’s not always the case that you’ll be getting work done while sitting up at your desk. Sometimes you will want to get some work done in bed. Or maybe you just want to sit up in bed more comfortably while you’re sitting and relaxing. A backrest pillow will maximize your comfort in bed. It will enhance your posture, reduce back pain, and even feel more productive. 

6. Fan

The temperature in your dorm room in the summer is something that can definitely hit you by surprise. Your dorm might not have AC, or maybe you do have it, but it turns out not to be powerful enough to feel satisfying. A fan could definitely help in those situations. You can place a fan in any place in the room. Bring it over to your bedside before you go to sleep, by your desk when you get work done, or keep it in front of the window so that it can blow in as much outside air as possible. 

7. Dry Shampoo

College life can get busy, so you can’t always take your time getting ready. In this situation dry shampoo can be a lifesaver. Even if it's not a short cut you’ve ever taken before, when you have several assignments due, exams coming up, and maybe some extracurriculars to go to, you may need to rush out of your place from time to time. Dry shampoo will keep your hair looking, feeling, and smelling fresh through your rushed mornings. 

8. Water Bottle

Staying hydrated can be a struggle for anyone, and that can be especially true for a busy college student. When you’re running around campus all day, going from class to appointment, you’re going to need to stay hydrated, and buying a water bottle every time you get thirsty can get expensive. That’s why you need to bring a portable water bottle. You can fill it up at home each day and carry it wherever you go. 

9. Water Filter 

Getting hydrated is a great thing, but you have to make sure that your water is clean. One of the best ways you can do that is to buy a water filter. Whenever you need to, you can just fill it up with some tap water and it will get rid of everything in your water that you wouldn’t want to ingest. Getting a filter is way more cost effective than buying cases of water bottles on a regular basis. 

10. Portable Charger

On a college campus, you might spend a whole lot of your time outside of your dorm room, and that is where a portable charger would come in handy. There is nothing worse than being out all day long and having your phone die before you can manage to get home. That can cause you a whole lot of issues. You won’t be able to call someone if you need to, you can’t order a Lyft, and you can’t even enjoy some music on the way home. If you bring a portable charger with you, you can avoid all of those problems by having a charger with you all the time. 

11. Laundry Hamper

When packing to go away to college, you might mostly care to focus on the fun stuff like decorations when shopping for your room, but you need to make sure you take practical things like a laundry hamper. You don’t want to get to school and realize that you have to carry your loads of laundry in your arms until you get the chance to finally buy a hamper. Make sure that you have everything you need on your first laundry day on campus. 

Laundry Backpack

Wheeled Laundry Bag

12. Command Strips

When you live in a dorm room you most likely aren’t allowed to damage the walls. Take some command strips to campus with you, and you will be able to hang up plenty of decorations without causing any damage when it's time to take them down. 

13. Lap Desk

Sometimes you want to get some work done while sitting in bed, and when you do that you will be so much more comfortable using a lap desk. A lap desk is something that wouldn’t come to most people’s minds, but you’ll see how great it is to use one when you take one with you to campus. 

14. Mini Fridge

Sure you’ll have access to a dining hall on campus, but sometimes you’ll need a snack or a cold drink at odd hours of the night, and that is when you could use a mini fridge. With a mini fridge, you can keep a few bottles of water, cans of soda, or even leftovers in your dorm room and enjoy them at any time you want. 

15. Mirror

There is a good chance you might need to bring your own mirror to your dorm room. There is definitely a chance that you will find one in there, but you simply can’t be sure. The only mirror you have available very well could be one in the floor’s communal bathroom, and that doesn’t bode well for getting ready in the mornings. So bring a mirror along with you just in case. 

It’s easy to go off to college thinking you have everything you need only to find out that you are actually missing some important things. If you follow this list, several things you may have forgotten about on your own will be right there for you when you need them!