College Students Buying Lots of Back-to-School Items

Packing for college for the first time is difficult. It’s not easy to know what you’ll actually need as opposed to what just looks really cool.

But dorm rooms do not allow for a lot of "stuff," and living in a dorm is a balancing act between having everything you need and having almost nowhere to put it all. So with that challenge ahead of you, what are college students buying to bring back to school?

Target is a popular stop for back-to-school, as the store carries items from clothing to bedding to school supplies. The top five best sellers when searching “back to college” on the store's website are a laptop messenger bag, bedding, a dish chair, an iPad sleeve and wall decorations.

Backpacks are also helpful for making the trips from the dorm to those late-night library study sessions.

Target carries many different styles of bedding, so it’s easy to make your bed yours. Bedding is one of the easiest ways to personalize a dorm room.

A dish chair is a foldable chair that is saucer-shaped. The desk chairs that the school provides are far from comfortable, so investing in another chair is a good idea.

Students who shop at Target are apparently also buying iPad sleeves. Protecting electronics while at school is important, as they’ll most likely be carried around and used most of the time.

Last but not least are the wall decorations. Dorm rooms are bland and boring on first glance. But buying wall decorations allows for the opportunity to decorate it for yourself.

Bed, Bath and Beyond provides a college checklist covering everything college students could possibly need, from sleeping to relaxing to eating. The problem with these checklists is that not everyone will need, or be allowed to bring, coffee makers or a mini grill, but they are included on every list.

When using these lists for shopping, it’s best to read them with a grain of salt. Think about what is practical, and if you find you do need something else in the end, you can always go back and buy it later.

Some Bridgewater residents returning to college this fall said the most important item they make sure they had to bring back to school is Easy Mac microwaveable macaroni and cheese. Dining halls will inevitably close before you’re done studying for the night, so keeping a stash of easy-to-make or ready-to-eat food in the dorm is ideal.

Keeping food in the dorm will also help you stretch your meal plan at the end of the semester when most students are trying to figure out how to keep eating in those last weeks.

Going back to college can be stressful. But by buying these essential items, moving back in to school can be more relaxing than expected.