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Dorm Essentials from a Study Abroad Student

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Richmond London chapter.

When I came to university this semester, it was my first time living in a dorm. I’ve always lived in an apartment, so I wasn’t totally sure what I needed to bring with me. Since I was coming from the United States, I could only have one checked bag for everything- so my space was limited. I’m going to share some things I figured out I needed while being on campus. Amazon has been my BFF so far.

  1. Bath Robe

I feel like this is super obvious but for some reason, it did not cross my mind at all. I was more worried about bringing my favorite hoodie. I wasn’t expecting how much I wish I had one after literally one day of being here. I want to shout out to my mom to express shipping one to me and saving my life.

  1. Hooks

My towel and bathrobe are currently dangling, barely hanging on, to the side of some furniture. This is still something I need to purchase and every time I go to hang my towel up it just reminds me that I should probably go order one for behind the closet door.

  1. Extra pillow(s)

Every dorm is different but I had only one pillow here, which was fine except I love to lay in bed so my back was killing me. I ordered two more super cheap pillows and now my back is happy again. This is also different for people that aren’t flying to school but pack that extra pillow y’all.

  1. Adapter

This is me being an idiot and not realizing I did not have such a thing. I came from the US and I knew I would need one but I didn’t know the difference between the universal European one and the British one. Especially because of the new type C cord Apple has for their products, the USB plugs don’t work. 

  1. Hangers

Yeah. It took me until a week ago to finally get some hangers, my shirts were crinkly for days. Now I have more room in my drawers (so I can go shopping), and no more crinkly shirts. Again, Amazon is the BFF here.

Those are just a few mistakes I made so no one else has to. I’m sure I’ll find 5 extra things I need later- it’ll be never-ending. Good luck!

Allie Pritts

Richmond London '23

i'm a visiting student from orlando, florida! i am a film production major who is also minoring in gender studies.