Moving away to college can be one of the greatest experiences of a young adults life. Finally away from mom and dad, they get an opportunity to live life on their own and experience what it’s like to be an adult. That said, sometimes it can be a bit shocking when they look around at their room and realize they need something, only to check their wallet and realize they don’t have the money for it. For parents and relatives looking to get a gift for a student leaving for college, here are some ideas that will be extremely helpful as they begin their new life on their own.

Shower Caddy

Shower caddies allow students to pack all of their essentials (razor, soap, shaving cream, shampoo, conditioner, etc.) into one carrier that is easy to take back and forth to the showers. Those that don’t have a shower caddy will quickly notice how difficult it can be to carry slippery items back and forth from their room to the showers.

Twin Extra Long Sheets

Many universities offer simple, and sometimes uncomfortable, twin extra-long beds in the dorms. These sheets can be difficult to find at times and are extremely useful to have before leaving for college. And since chances are that your college student may or may not have the best routine for doing laundry, a few extra pairs of sheets wont hurt.

Mattress Pad

While sheets are necessary for any dorm bed, a mattress pad can turn a boring bed into a comfortable escape. There is nothing like coming home from a long day of studying (or long night of partying) and being able to lie down on a comfortable bed. When your student falls asleep in library chairs, friends beds or even a few kitchen floors, they will be sure to let you know how much they appreciate the mattress pad you got for them.

Pop-Up Laundry Bag

Most dorms offer a common place that has multiple laundry machines where students can do their laundry. In order to make traveling back and forth from their dorm room to the laundry room, get them a pop up laundry bag. Not only are they great for fitting a lot into, they also collapse when empty and are easy to store.

Bluetooth Speakers

Aside from the necessities listed above, your college student is going to want to have an awesome dorm room that all of their friends hang out at. Having a set of Bluetooth speakers allows the student to put the speakers anywhere in the room and still have great sounding audio no matter where they sit.

Flat Screen TV

What good are speakers, if your student doesn’t have an awesome television setup to watch movies and play video games on? Flat screen TV’s are perfect for dorm rooms because they don’t take up a lot of room (mount them on a wall to save even more space) and they also offer great visual quality for movie nights with friends.

Tablet

Aside from your student having an awesome dorm room where they can retreat to after a long day of classes, they also need to keep in mind why they are at school. Students can take tablets to class and take notes to be the best student they can. Furthermore, they don’t take up much room and are perfect for dorm rooms that are limited on space.

Your college student will not only love any of the items on this list, but they will also quickly realize how much they need them too. Living in the dorms can be quite the experience, especially when you first realize you are truly on your own. But having these few essentials will make the process much easier for your student.