By Kadie Cathcart (CAS’23)
There is no understating the uniquely luxurious Kilachand Honors College exclusive experience that is having a personal bathroom within your dorm freshman year. Sharing this information with anyone in Towers, Warren, or West is the easiest way to spark jealousy amongst your peers.
However, aside from the aforementioned bathroom, the dorm rooms within KHC are not highly atypical of any of those found throughout the rest of BU’s campus. Any good dorm room has its personal touches and unique decor, but there are undoubtedly a number of important practical items every college dorm room should have.
As someone who lived in Kilachand freshman year and has lived in on-campus apartments for the last two years, I think I have accumulated a good list of the most important and often overlooked college dorm essentials.
1. Bed Sheet Fasteners – To avoid the issue of waking up in the middle of the night with your fitted sheet off the corner on your bed and on your foot, these fasteners ensure your fitted sheet will stay in place and offer a much more pleasant and less restrictive sleeping experience.
2. Boyfriend Bed Pillow Rest – Perfect for the times when you simply don’t want to sit at a desk to do work or want to relax and watch a show to decompress.
3. Dorm Slippers – Far more comfortable than a pair of outdoor shoes and extremely convenient for running down to get laundry or hang out with friends on your floor!
4. Brita Water Filter – Though Boston tap water has a reputation for being some of the best in the country, there’s nothing quite like having cold, crisp, filtered water at your fingertips.
5. Stick-On Phone Wallet – Though maybe not a “dorm room essential,” this may be the college essential. Especially when living in a dorm you have to swipe in and out of, like Kilachand, having your Terrier card readily accessible is truly an essential thing.
6. Command Hooks – Can be used for more practical purposes like hanging up bags or coats as well as for help hanging fun wall decorations or photos!
7. Extra Utensil Set – Perfect for the times where you want to have a dorm dinner or afternoon snack. Always handy to have when the late-night microwavable mac-and-cheese craving kicks in.
8. Bed Skirt – A bed skirt can mask all evil. Especially when you want to store things under your bed, a bed skirt can help to keep your room looking polished and cleaner than it may actually be.
9. Extra Seating – If you are someone who likes to have friends over in your room, consider getting an extra foldable chair for any visitors who may not fit on your bed or desk chair.
10. Mini Vacuum – It’s always surprising to see how much hair can accumulate in a college dorm room (especially one with carpet). Having a mini vacuum on hand to clean up crumbs or other messes will make your room feel that much cleaner and more put together. (KHC has standing vacuums you can rent, but its always nice to have one immediately accessible should you need it!).
Making your college dorm feel like home is one of the most important tasks any new college student has; this is where you spend time working, studying, snacking, building relationships, and most importantly sleeping. However, the practical side of dorm room living is an unavoidable thing and should be taken into consideration when preparing for your move to Boston. While these items just scratch the surface of the essentials that could be mentioned, I can guarantee having one or more of them will make your freshman year dorm experience a much more enjoyable and functional thing!
Please note that the links above are included to provide visual aids for the items listed and do not represent an endorsement of a particular product or seller. Check out BU Housing’s What to Bring list for more tips!