What Not to Bring to UMD

Don’t Worry, You Don’t Have to Bring That

When packing and shopping for college, your student may try to bring everything they own claiming that all their belongings are “completely necessary.” This can turn out to be a huge mistake as they will come to find, as most new students do, what they brought was unnecessary and there is not enough room for it all. The University of Maryland provides students with a list of items they recommend to pack and a list of items that you should not bring. It is important to check these lists and make sure you follow them. In addition to the list provided by UMD, I am going to share some items that I personally know there is no need to purchase or bring with you when moving into the dorms this fall.

Do Not Bring…

• Clothes you hardly wear or do not see yourself wearing anytime soon. My daughter made the mistake of bringing every item of clothes she has every bought to school and it did not work out well. First of all, it made unpacking all of her belongings a mess, clothes were all over the room and it made things very unorganized. In addition to the clutter, being in a freshman dorm room means there are limited closet and storage space. Even with all of her under-bed storage, closet space, and drawers, we still had to bring a significant amount of her clothes home after move-in day.
• Extra furniture, other than small dual functioning storage furniture. All of UMD dorms come with a bed, a desk, and a chair, and there will not be much space for extra furniture. If you do want to furnish the room further than what they come with, I would recommend a dual functioning ottoman that can be used for extra seating and has storage space inside.
• Hammer and nails are not permitted to be used to hang anything in the dorm room; neither is a double-sided tape.  We solved that problem by bringing a huge package of command strips to hang all of our students’ decorations and art.
• Kitchen supplies. As a freshman, students will eat most of their meals in the dining hall. There is no need to bring full sets of kitchen utensils or supplies, microwaves, toasters, or any sort of kitchen items. Dorm common rooms have microwaves and places to prepare some quick meals, so the only item I would suggest bringing in this category is a mini-fridge for the dorm room.
• Pets. Pets are not permitted to be kept on university property, but various off-campus housing allows pets if students are interested in having a pet.
• Printers, unless you know you like to print your work and documents. Students either fall into the category of printing every assignment handed to them, or only print if it’s a must. If you know you love to print and are a visual learner, I would suggest bringing a printer. If not, there is no need to bring a printer. There are plenty of printers on campus that are very quick and easy to use and save a lot of money rather than buying your own printer.
• TVs. The dorm rooms at UMD are not big and a TV is a little impractical to have in your freshmen room in my opinion, and there will not be that many times you actually will use it.
• Candles. Candles are on the list of prohibited items for UMD housing and there is a good reason behind it. Being in such a small space means that they are considered a fire hazard. Alternatives to candles that students can bring are air freshening spray or plug-in air fresheners.

One last tip regarding items to bring and not to bring is to have your students talk with their roommate about items they’re going to bring. Certain items like rugs, curtains, minifridges, and vacuums only need to be bought once. It makes it a lot easier to decide who is bringing what and if you guys want certain additional items, rather than showing up with double of everything.

As for what to bring, we’ve got our Shopping Guide for New Students that breaks it down and has some great places to find what your student will need. Pass on these great tips, tell your friends and like us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Find out more about how to use HaveUHeard as a great resource. Sign up for other great tips at haveuheard.com.