Start with a plan before you load one box when packing for college. This will reduce the chance of overpacking. Dorm rooms, sorority and fraternity houses, and even some apartments have very limited space. It is likely your child will be living in one of these locations during college; however, college freshmen are typically required to live in the dorms. Dorm rooms and Greek houses provide the least amount of living and storage space. Therefore, plan and make the tough choices now to determine what is necessary to have at college.

When my daughter was starting college she had to live in the dorm her freshman year. I had never lived in a dorm. As a result, I had little information to help her determine what she needed to pack for college. However, I am a planner at heart, and my planning skills came in very handy in this situation. I knew that we first needed to determine our known information. Once we listed our known information, we would see where our gaps and holes were to determine what questions we needed to ask to finalize her college packing list.

Determine Known Information Before Packing for College

You might be surprised, but you probably already know many things that will lead you to the essentials your child should pack for college. Listing them will help you analyze the information and help you determine what questions still need to be asked. Here are some of the things we knew going into moving our daughter to college that helped with our analysis.

We knew she would be attending a college within two hours of home. This allowed us to determine that she could drive her car to and from college. Therefore, she could pack her car to move her stuff to school. We knew we would be helping her transport her necessities to college and helping her move into her dorm. This would give her another car to pack her items in if needed. We knew she would be required to live in the dorm and which dorm room layout she had selected. This helped us determine what items to be purchased, packed, and moved.

We also knew she would be required to have a meal plan. As a result, she would not need to cook her own meals. She had chosen a roommate and they knew each other. This allowed her to coordinate with her roommate to determine who needed to purchase, pack and move specific shared items. We were familiar with the college town. This allowed us to know what things we should pre-purchase before moving and what items could be purchased upon arrival. The things we knew gave us a lot of information to determine what questions we still needed to ask to determine what items were essential to pack for college.

Ask Questions Before Making a College Packing List

Now that you have determined the things you know, you and your child can begin a list of questions still needing answers. The answers to these questions will help you finalize your child’s college packing list.

For us, we needed to know what size bed would be provided. We also needed to know what other furniture would be provided in the dorm. With this knowledge, we could determine bedding and larger items that would be required. Another thing we needed to know was were there any items that were prohibited to have in the dorm rooms. This information allowed us to know specific items we should not pack.

Since our daughter was living in a dorm, most of these answers could be found online on the university’s residential life website. If your child’s college is smaller and doesn’t have these online resources, call the university and they can provide you more information. If your child is living in an apartment, the leasing office can also provide you this type of information. For sorority/fraternity houses, your child may need to check with their big sorority sisters or fraternity brothers to see what is provided in-house.

Planning Questions Checklist to Determine Your Childs College Necessities

• How far from home is the college your child is attending?
• Will your child drive or fly to college?
• If flying, how will they transport their items to and from college?
• Will anyone help your child move into and out of their college residence?
• Will they visit home during holidays and school breaks?
• What type of housing will your child live in; the dorm, sorority/fraternity house, apartment, or house?
• What is the layout of their residence?
• Will they share a bathroom with a few other residences or an entire floor of residences?
• Will your child have a meal plan?
• If your child does not have a meal plan, will they need to prepare their own meals?
• Does your child’s college residence require them to move between the fall and spring semesters?
• What items are provided in your child’s college housing option?
• What furniture items are still needed?
• Are there items that the residence prohibits?
• Do they have roommates?
• If they have roommates, what shared items are already being provided by others?
• What types of shopping options are there in the city your child will be living in during college?
• Can your child purchase some items upon arrival?

Answering these questions will provide your child the background information they need to prepare a good list of essential items necessary for college living. Now, your child is ready to start packing for college! Let the fun begin!

Hover over one of the images below and click on the Pinterest icon to save this post for later!