Having the necessary items and information to embark on a new journey can be useful to prepare for what’s to come. Figuring out what to do as time pases by can affect the amount of effort put into every other event that is going on. If people learn as they go, and college is a journey with a simple, undetailed map, do people go to college unprepared if they don’t know all the details of the map?

Living on campus is different than commuting to and from college everyday. Commuting doesn’t require many of the odd living necessities like dorms do. Franklin College Freshman Eddie Drews, is a commuter and believes that organization is very important and helpful, especially for students who are not usually organized. He also says that having the phone number of at least one person in each class is really helpful in case help is needed. Drews says he found he needed stress relievers and that its helps to learn and focus so accommodating to a new setting become easier.

“Keeping a calendar or agenda is also a really useful tool to know what you have to do and keep due dates organized,” Drews said. “Organization is definitely a necessity, it’s something to get down before you start college.”

Bringing too much can also be a problem, there is only so much space available in a dorm. Indiana University of Bloomington Freshman Tori Updike and SHS graduate, says she brought too many things and had to take some back home. Her thoughts on important items to bring are quality items that can last through daily use, such as an umbrella and pillows because while students may be in class often, they also study most of the time. Getting to class even though it might only be a short distance, can be a hassle. Updike recommends having a quality umbrella students can depend on and outdoor gear, especially for winter here in Indiana.

“I pretty much brought everything I needed, although stuff you definitely need that people may not consider are rainboots, a small vacuum is clunky but nice to have, a brita filter and water bottle because bottled water gets expensive even with meal points, scissors, medicine, and shower shoes,” Updike said.

Although being unprepared may give some people a hard time, being too prepared can also be a hassle because things that aren’t needed or don’t fit anywhere because of limited space have to go. Necessities for college may be limited depending on who is going where.