Although I was a Freshman over seven years ago now, I remember feeling so overwhelmed as I packed my first few boxes. What am I gong to need? What is everyone else bringing? What am I forgetting? Everyone knows to bring the big stuff, bedding, pillows, your toothbrush, a computer, but I forgot three things, and they were three things I’ll add to my list of

The 5 Things You Actually Need At College

1. A Calendar
Like I mentioned before, bringing and then using a calendar is one absolute needs at college. Whether you use it to write all your assignment due dates and your test times, or just the frat parties and sorority events that you’re attending, it will come in hand either way. I recommend getting a white board calendar so that you can change it every month, add to it and erase from it when you need to.

2. Flip Flops
Unless you want to end up with strange foot fungus, add flip flops to your list of must-haves! I had a pair I would wear specifically (and only) for showering. I also had a pair that I would wear down to the laundry room, a pair that lived in a plastic bag in my gym bag (for the gym showers) and a pair that I would wear around randomly for comfort and ease. Flip flops are $2 a pair and you can get them in color; these things are a necessity! $10 will save your feet!

The next three things were things I forgot, but bought within weeks because they were that important and useful!

3. Duct Tape
Window won’t stay open? Duct tape it! Window won’t stay closed? Duct tape it! Notebooks falling apart from being dragged around everywhere? Duct tape it! I am telling you, duct tape will fix anything! You can buy it in multiple colors (although I am partial to the original grey) and it’s not expensive. Invest in duct tape!

4. A Cushion
You’re going to be spending a lot of time on your rear-end in college, and unless you spend a huge chunk of change on a specific chair for your room, studying is going to make you hurt. Get a $4 chair cushion at Target or Bed Bath & Beyond and use it. If you’re really feeling adventurous, buy a waterproof cushion and take it with you to the football games. I even saw a woman once pull a cushion out of her messenger bag in class and use it in a lecture hall! There is no wrong time for a cushion.

5. Ear Plugs
Even if your roommate doesn’t snore, it’s helpful to have a pair of ear plugs. Maybe you need to study in silence and your neighbors are being loud, maybe you’re headed to a bar and you know the band is going to be incredibly loud, maybe you really don’t want to hear the professor’s lecture; a pair of ear plugs can help out in many situations. Other things my friends told me that they would have been better off having included: a minimal first aid kit, your own caffeine source, a strong book bag, multi-colored pens, work ethic (not something you can drop $3.49 on, by the way), a good dictionary and a laptop instead of a desktop computer. Your list may differ, but I assure you, that with the five things on my list (along with your own essentials) you can start off the year (or the term) in a great position!

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Please thank That College Kid for this guest post. If anyone else would like to contribute a guest post to The Student Help Forum, please contact me.

My university has a first year program that is designed to help freshmen become accustomed to the college experience. We have a triad of classes that are intertwined. There’s a large political science or psychology class, a smaller composition class and a small seminar class. The science/psych class is a normal large lecture, with about 150+ students, but the others have 25. The coursework is similar and the seminar class is designed to help students with any questions they have and to help prepare for a successful academic career.

My school believes their award-winning first year program helps students and it’s been in use for almost ten years. Texas State University, Ohio State University and the University of Georgia are among schools that have similar programs. While I haven’t researched in great detail the programs of other colleges, I can give you first hand knowledge of the one at my school (name protected for my privacy).

It is designed for students who will not otherwise succeed in college. All classes and instructors in the first year program do not grade or teach on a college level. The classes are on an upper (think Advanced Placement) high school level. For students that do not need to be babied, this program is a waste of time and money. Yes, it’s nice to get easy A’s (assuming you do the work), but it gets you used to easy coursework. Upper classes in college are not easy. Sometimes you will find easier, smaller classes, but for the most part, once you get into your major, you will have to work much harder.

It decreases freshmen dropout rates…

But it increases sophomore dropout rates. These programs get freshmen think college is easy and they can skate by without doing any real work like in high school. Students that otherwise would have dropped out to find a job will stay longer and spend more money only to find out they were misinformed and end up leaving the next semester, when classes get tougher.

These programs do not prepare students for the real world. When you get a job, unless you are the luckiest person alive, your boss is not going to give you a grace period to mess up. He’ll give you the real work on day one. You’re lucky if you get an hour to figure out your way around the office.

High school was the transition into college. Junior and senior year of high school are supposed to get students prepared to enter the workplace or attend a university. Students take advanced placement and honors courses to get used to the type of classes they will encounter in college. AP classes at most public schools are not hard enough, but they’re much better than regular curriculum. Why have another year of that? And why pay an incredible amount of money for it?

Currently, my university does not allow freshmen to opt-out of the first year program, but I wish they did. If you have to participate in the first year program at your university, enjoy the easy work while you can because you’re in for an awakening your sophomore year.

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