As summer starts to wind down and the start of school approaches, the number one thing on my mind is always what to pack. Before freshman year, packing was extremely stressful because I wasn’t 100% sure about what I needed. With that in mind, I’ve compiled a short list of the ND essentials.
The Shirt
The Shirt is released every year by The Shirt Committee (yes, it’s so important that it has its own committee), and designed to be worn at all home football games. You need The Shirt. It’s not even an option – if you don’t get it you will literally be the only girl in the stands on game day without one. The Shirt is always some derivation of green, blue, or gold. The past two years were blue, and this year is green, which means that yellow/gold is on the horizon (unfortunately…does yellow look good on anyone? Nope, check season 2009 for reference). It’s common for ND students to wear old versions of The Shirt to class or to work out, but it’s a total freshman move to wear this year’s The Shirt in a non-football related capacity until a few months after football season is over. Some advice regarding The Shirt: although it claims to be unisex, it really isn’t made to fit a girl. It might actually be the least flattering design ever. Unless you have the body of a male swimmer, I would recommend buying the children’s size large or extra large, as it will look so much better.
North Face (or something similar)
Even though the beginning of the year will be hot, South Bend is renowned for its bipolar weather. You never know when a jacket will come in handy. Don’t wait until October break to bring this back with you. Once temperatures drop below 50, it’s a safe bet that every other girl you walk by will be wearing yoga pants, Uggs, and a North Face (probably black).
Rain boots and rain jacket
Aside from having very unpredictable weather, South Bend also gets a lot of rain. I don’t think we had one week last year that it didn’t rain or snow at least once. Trust me; you want to have these with you. The typical ND girl favors Hunter rain boots, which can also be paired with socks to become snow boots in the winter.
Fracket
A phrase adopted from our good friends in the SEC, a fracket is a cheap jacket that will keep you warm/dry on the trip to frat houses but will probably get lost or destroyed once you get there. (Get it? Frat + jacket=fracket). Although ND doesn’t have frats, you will have to leave the warmth of your dorm to go to parties, and these places don’t have a coat check. Once you get there, most jackets will end up stuffed under couch pillows or hidden in a corner to try to keep them from being stolen or covered in beer. Despite these efforts, jackets do get lost at parties all the time (the ND Class of 2016 Facebook group pretty much became a lost and found on Saturday mornings). You’ll save yourself a lot of stress by bringing a jacket you won’t be too upset to lose or have damaged.
Inexpensive shoes
Also along the lines of a fracket, it’s a good idea to bring some cheap shoes to wear to parties. It’s pretty amazing how gross the floors of some houses and dorms can get (I’m looking at you, lax house) and you will not want to be wading through the combo of beer and soda on the ground in any shoes that you’ll be sad to see trashed. I wore the same pair of Converse sneakers to pretty much every party my freshman year and promptly dumped them in the trash at the end of second semester.
Business Attire
Something that’s really awesome about Notre Dame is that the administration gives you lots of opportunities to get real world experience through interviews, presentations, and job fairs. Most of these events will also have a little asterisk that advises you that the dress code is “business casual” (you will hear this phrase a lot). Some professors will even ask that if you’re giving a presentation you dress “business casual.” Business attire typically entails a button-up with a pencil skirt or slacks, or a dress and a blazer with nice flats or low heels. Bring these items. You do not want to be the girl that gets stuck wearing her super tight and super short going-out skirt to a presentation because it was the only black skirt in the closet.
Some other useful items:
- Sperrys (greatest, most versatile shoe ever)
- Norts (Nike shorts)/yoga pants/leggings (this is college, after all)
- A wrislet for ID, money and keys (much cuter than a lanyard)
- Lots of ND apparel (it’s ok to wear head to toe ND gear)
- Reusable water bottle (for long trips to the library…but let’s be honest it will be filled with coffee)
- Comfy shoes for football games (you stand the whole time)
Get excited, collegiettes! Only a few more weeks until football, Frosh-O, and returning to our home under the Dome!