Get in touch with your college roommate(s). Early communication is a great icebreaker and a fun way to learn about each other's interests, pet peeves, and habits. A note to shy people: not knowing how to get in touch is no excuse. Most schools send college roommate contact 411 weeks before college begins.
Stock up on the following items: Quarters (for laundry), ear plugs (to block out the snoring of noisy sleepers), and duct tape. Yes you can use the sticky, silver-coated adhesive for everything from hanging posters and tacking up other objects that you may want to stick together.
Memorize your Social Security number. That nine-digit number Uncle Sam uses to keep track of your earnings. Once you set foot in the collegiate world, it practically becomes your lifeline. Checking grades. Registering for classes. Dealing with the financial aid office. Practically everywhere you go, you're asked for it. So be smart and commit this to memory. It'll be the smartest 10 minutes you'll spend before college.
Spend quality time with your family and high school friends. You take it for granted and don't realize how much you're going to miss them before you leave for school. Suddenly, you're gone and you can't get them back.
Verify your health coverage. It may sounds boring. But do you realize that without health insurance, a "simple" broken leg could cost upward of $5,000 in surgery? That's more than an entire year's tuition at some schools. "The problem is that so many people today are covered by HMOs, which either jack up the cost or refuse to pay for treatment altogether if you go anywhere besides your primary care physician," virtually every college offers an affordable student health insurance plan.
Start a regular exercise plan. In college, you're doing about 10 or 15 things a day, and if you have that one hour to yourself where you don't have to think about anything, but you're still helping your body, it can be a big stress relief. So kept active in school by playing sports and (or) working out. Added bonus: It'll help you feel good about your self.
Have your dad or mom teach you how to do laundry. That way, you can avoid the fate of washed an entire load of clothing in the wrong temperature water, and ended up having to restretch your shrunken cloth by hand or having your cloth come out one color running madness. Know enough to separate your whites from colors. Other good skills to brush up on before college. Cooking, car maintenance, and computer operation.
Break up with your high school sweetheart. Now, before you start panicking, take a deep breath and repeat the following: There are exceptions to every rule. Generally speaking, however, most high school relationships don't survive the college transition. And many been-there, burned-by-that romance veterans say don't even try. It limits your experience. You'll either end up cheating and feeling guilty, growing apart and breaking up anyway, or not being as social because you're afraid to go out and meet new people. I suggestion you two agree to see other people during the school year, then reunite over the summer and reevaluate your feelings.
Hook up with your high school crush. You know that super-hot girl or guy you were always secretly dying to ask to homecoming, but never did? Now's the time to act, before college permanently separates you. Chances are good that they've always had a crush on you, too, so why not go for it. A great opportunity to say good-bye and bring closure to a situation where there was a lot of tension. You will not regret it at all. "P.S. do use a condo."
Take a walking tour around campus. And no, the sole purpose of said excursion is not to scan for hotties (although, stopping to ask a super-cute senior for the time doesn't hurt). The point is to familiarize yourself with where all the major campus landmarks are located, including the student union, the library, the bookstore, before college begins. Extra credit for the super-motivated: Buy your textbooks a few days early and skim through them to get a jump-start on acing each class!
How to Do Your Laundry in a Dorm
Have your laundry carrying device, laundry soap, stain remover and softner sheets.
Have your college charge card.
Bring your room key, even if your roommate says he or she isn't leaving your room--you definitely do NOT want to be stuck in your dorm hall with a pile of now clean laundry and no way to get into your room.
Pre-Treat Laundry Stains. If you haven't already, do it now. If you don't have a stain remover, put a dollop of laundry soap on the stain and rub in. Only use a bleach pen on white clothing!
Empty all of your pockets in your clothes. A pen or lipstick tube can easily ruin all of your clothes. You also don't want your cell phone to go through the wash.
Remember to check the washer's soap and bleach dispensers. If someone else put bleach in the machine and didn't wash anything, your clothes could be ruined.
Locate washers next to each other. If you can't, that's OK, but it's harder to keep track of which machines are "yours". It may help to put a laundry basket or some other locator on your machine.
Separate your "Whites" from your "Darks" and "Fine Washables".
"Whites" usually refers to cottons, cotton blends, light colors, or anything that can be washed without damage in high temperature. This will also include your towels and sheets (unless sheets are dark colored)."Darks" usually include dark colors that will fade in repeated washings, or fabrics that should not (or do not have to) be washed in hot water. If in doubt, (like a red and white striped shirt) always choose the colder, more gentle cycle! Blue jeans should be washed with the darks.Red and purple fabrics in particular have a nasty habit of releasing dye into the wash and turning white items pink. Put the reds, pinks, oranges, etc. in a separate load, or, if you only have reds, wash them in with the darks.Bright green and lime-green fabrics sometimes turn yellow in the washing machine...Wash all your clothes of this color by hand.
Turn tops --especially delicate clothing, screen printed tops, and sweatshirts inside out and secure the drawsrings on items like hoodies, track pants.
Choose your settings on your washer (warm or cold water), (size of load), etc.
Start the machine as directed. Put a capful of detergent in the machine for a large load.
Put clothes in machine. Do not stuff too full! Your clothes will not get clean and the machine might break! Allow room for clothes to agitate during the wash cycle. DO NOT LEAVE CLOTHES UNATTENDED
Wait. You will have between 35-45 minutes to just hang out and make sure no one takes your laundry out of the machine. Don't leave your laundry defenseless--thieves steal from the dorm routinely. Do your homework.
Find dryers when your clothes are completely done that will fit all of your laundry. One load will usually equal one dryer load. Do not overfill, or the drying will take forever, or you may even break the dryer.
Whites will usually take a normal/high setting, such as cotton T-shirts, sheets and towels.Darks will usually be on a medium setting. You can use a higher setting if you're washing lots of dark cottons.Fine washables should be either air-dried, line-dried, or dried on the lowest setting available. If in doubt, dry at a lower setting, as shrinking of clothes usually happens in the dryer.
Check the lint trap if your dryer has one (many commercial ones do not), scoop out any lint present, and put the lint trap back in place.
Throw a drying sheet in the dryer before starting. If you so choose.
Choose your settings for the dryer (heavy, normal, light) and use your U-Card to start machine.
Wait Again. You may have between 30-60 minutes to chill and wait for your clothes. Do more homework.
When Dryer cycle is complete, Don't Wrinkle. Deal with wrinkle-prone articles immediately, so they don't get wrinkled. This may mean either putting on a hanger or folding appropriately. Folding will reduce the bulk you will have to carry back up. Fold or hang jeans and slacks the way you would want them pressed (flat or with a crease down the front of the leg) directly out of the dryer and the will be virtually wrinkle free.
Double-Check the Dryer. Make sure you didn't forget any socks, loose change, or other small items in the machine.
Deliver your items back up to your dorm room. Bask in the glory of fresh clean laundry.
