what not to pack for the dorms by Taylor L. '29

I live in North Carolina, which is a casual twelve hour drive away from Boston. As much as I love a long drive, that’s not for the faint of heart, and it made a lot more sense for me to fly in when I was a freshman last year. 

I came with a backpack and two suitcases: one checked, one carry-on. That’s not a lot of space at all, especially if you’re expecting the things you fit in there to sustain you for the entire year. I could barely bring some of my favorite sweatshirts, much less a 20-pack of coat hangers. 

My advice is to pack everything you need for the first two days and have a plan of how you’re going to get the rest once you’re here. It doesn’t have to be neat as long as everything stays intact. If you’re using your capacity to its fullest, it might look jank. I’m pretty sure I had one Croc fastened to the outside of my backpack. This is what I came with:

• Clothes (Boston will be hot for a month-ish once you get here! Bring summer clothes). 
  • I know that some people wait to bring their more effective winter stuff until they go home at Thanksgiving, so keep that in mind if you have a big coat that’s taking up too much room. I personally brought my winter coat by carrying it with me outside of my suitcases. 
  • Bring formal clothes and shoes. Suits, dresses, etc. 
  • Shoes are the killer here. They’re so big. I think sneakers and sandals is the move
  • If you plan on taking the swim test during orientation, bring a swimsuit
• Toiletries, potentially with a collapsible shower caddy. Bath towels. You can use smaller TSA size containers if you’re really pressed for space
• One set of Twin XL sheets (I didn’t have a pillow for a hot minute)
• Laptop/tablet/chargers/other tech
• Irreplaceable/sentimental items and decor or expensive important things that you really don’t want to repurchase
• Important documents – birth certificate/passport/official identification. If you want a paying job on campus, you have to complete an I-9 form, and they have to verify who you are. Preferably in a waterproof envelope
• Anything else you couldn’t live without for two days

This worked fine for me. It felt a little barebones for a few days, but it sort of just works itself out. You can also coordinate with your roommates if they’re driving and have them bring in bulkier stuff for the room. 

As a quick note, I flew into Logan Airport and got to campus using the T (public transport) instead of an Uber as a cost-saving measure. I took the Silver Line and switched to the Red Line, which spits you right out in the middle of Kendall Square. Kendall is a solid fifteen to thirty minute walk from most of the dorms. It was hot and I was pulling two suitcases over bumpy sidewalks, so it wasn’t a particularly pleasant walk. Consider biting the bullet and getting a rideshare from Logan and saving your energy for all the unpacking you’ll have to do. 

Hopefully you’ll have an idea of what you need to get because you’ll have made a list beforehand, based on something like Veronica’s list. Amazon packages will be delivered to the front desk of your dorm, and all you have to do is go up to whoever’s sitting there and ask them to get it from the package room for you. I would recommend making an order ahead of time that will deliver either the day you get there or the next morning, so that all you have to do is go downstairs to get your stuff. If it’s delivered before your move-in date, they will send it back, though. If you don’t have Prime, it’s not a bad idea to sign up with an @mit.edu email for the student discount (very helpful when you’re busy during the year too). 

If you forgot something important, Concord Market in Stud has a small selection of toiletries and medicine, and they will absolutely overcharge you for it. CVS in Kendall will overcharge you, too, but they at least have a bigger selection. There is also a Target in Central Square about a twenty minute walk from campus that has a lot of dorm/home stuff (things might not be in stock with all the demand—I would recommend placing an online order to make sure what you need is there). It lowkey feels like it takes forever to walk there though, and while you’ll have free time during the first week, you might decide you don’t want to spend it walking to Central. 

As for everything else, it will very quickly become obvious what you need when you don’t have it. 

• If you feel like everything is too far away, buy a bike/scooter sooner rather than later. You won’t look back. It’s truly much more convenient, the campus bike infrastructure is good enough with bike racks everywhere, and you don’t have to devote as much time to travel (huge if you have classes across campus at Sloan). I’m a big fan of Facebook Marketplace for that. Bike locks are essential. (MIT offers discounted Bluebikes subscriptions, which is like Boston’s version of Citibike/Lime/Bikeshare, but I think this is less practical for getting to daily classes)
• If your dorm is one of the ones without AC, you will almost certainly realize you can’t tough it out. I ended up buying a small little 10” fan, and it was effective enough. 
• If you have terrible sleep and/or your back hurts, mattress topper. 
• Mini fridge. The worst part of having one is lugging it into your room, but it’s so worth.
• Laundry hamper with a handle. Some rooms are relatively far from the laundry room in their dorm, which is usually in the basement. Laundry day was highkey the bane of my existence. Get a hamper that’s comfortable to carry.

Once you get all your stuff in your dorm, it’s a lot easier to store it nearby over the summer for the next year, or to bring it with you if you stay in town. It never becomes less annoying, but it’s certainly more manageable.