This page is your go-to guide for figuring out what to bring to college in 2020.

Whether you’ll be living in a dorm, an apartment, or in the steam tunnels that run underneath campus, this list will provide you with all the college essentials, plus a few fun extras that can improve your life or help you make new friends (Pro-tip: be the person who has a tool kit). We’ve put a ton of work into this packing list; we hope you’ll find it helpful.

To make it easy to navigate, everything is broken down into categories. We’ve also marked certain items as “essential” to help you prioritize.

Most links here go to Amazon. Full disclosure: College Info Geek participates in the Amazon Associates program, and we’ll earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through the links on this page (at no extra cost to you). We’ve worked hard to recommend items that are both high-quality and inexpensive.

Do note that you also can also buy many of these things locally, and we’ve put together a printable checklist that you can take to the store if you like. Click the picture to download it!

P.S. – Having a properly set-up calendar, task manager, and file system before I started classes saved me a ton of stress. If you want to make sure you’re really prepared for college, consider taking my 1-hour productivity systems course:

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Bedding

Computer

Desk

General

Kitchen

Laundry

Personal

Decorations

Fun

Bedding/Bed Stuff

Bedding Set Sheets, pillowcases, and a comforter. Boom. Pillows I actually rest my head on a pile of bricks every night, but that's a level you'll need to work up to. Start with these. Throw Blanket Dorm HVAC systems sometimes like to test your will to live. So you'll need a blanket. Mattress Cover I'm marking this as essential because you don't know what happened on your dorm mattress before you moved in. And you don't want to know. Microplush Mattress Topper Dorm mattresses aren't always very soft, so you have two options: either #dealwithit, or get this. (Honestly it's really comfortable) BedShelfie Bedside Shelf If you'll be sleeping in a loft bed or on the top of a bunk bed, get this (or build your own if you're into DIY). It's a great place to put your iPad so you can fall asleep to old episodes of The Bachelorette. Reading Lamp For when your roommate needs sleep but you have 5,000 more pages of calculus homework. I recommend a clamp light like this one, especially if you have a loft bed.

Computer Gear

Acer Aspire 5 Laptop Laptop needs vary based on what you'll be doing. This is our main budget pick, though - it's less than $500 and will work well for any major (unless you're doing lots of video or other graphics-heavy work). Dell XPS 13 This is our laptop upgrade pick (unless you're a Mac user). Similar specs to the Acer, but it's much thinner/lighter and will have better build quality. External Monitor Having a second display to work with is monstrously helpful for many, many different majors. Just avoid the temptation to throw up Netflix on it while you're working. Wireless Gaming Mouse You don't know what you're missing until you actually use a gaming mouse. This one performs incredibly well and can be had at a great price. Mouse Pad This is the BEST mouse pad. That's the only reason I'm listing it. You can probably find a regular cloth mouse pad under your couch cushions, but this one is just amazing. I keep one in my backpack all the time. Portable Hard Drive One Drive to store them all, one Drive to save them....If you need a lot of storage space, it's often cheaper to use a portable hard drive than to buy a laptop with a bigger internal drive. Printer If you live on campus, you might not actually need a printer, as there's probably a computer lab nearby. But if you live OFF campus, owning a printer can be really handy. This one works well and doesn't cost too much.

Desk and School Supplies

General Stuff

Cooking/Kitchen Supplies

Laundry Supplies

Personal Items and Toiletries

Decorations

Posters The wall is just a blank canvas...or something like that. Pair with Command strips for best results. Command Strips Some of the best evidence that aliens have visited Earth, these can attach anything to the wall. One of the great marvels of our time. Mirror How else will you know if you have spinach in your teeth? Note: many dorms come with one of these, so check before buying. Curtains They add a touch of home, and they're great for keeping out the literal eye of Sauron that is the streetlight outside your window. Some dorms include curtain rods, but it really depends. Plants If you don't want the responsibility of a pet but still enjoy caring for a living thing, plants are a perfect choice. Just make sure to water them or they'll get sad. Salt Lamp For your daily dose of soothing, salty illumination. LED String Lights Not just for holidays, these lights provide a pleasant ambient alternative to the industrial fluorescents that most dorms have.

Fun Stuff

The individual items in this category are totally, completely optional. We just thought it’d be cool to suggest some of the games and other things that work really well for bringing friends together or for relaxing after a huge study session.

More Back-to-School Guides:

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Original feature photo: Macbook on desk