Make sure you bring enough clothing and that it's appropriate for the weather where you'll be attending college. Unless you plan to visit home often and do your laundry there, you also will need cash to do laundry; stock up on quarters so you will have readily available funds to wash your clothes.
In addition to quarters, you'll need sufficient detergent and dryer sheets to do your laundry. Also, bring a laundry bag, pop-up hamper or laundry basket to carry clothes to and from the laundry room.
Bring plenty of hangers and a dryer rack for clothes. If you know how to iron and sew, bring a portable iron, small ironing board and a sewing kit.
For your bed, bring pillows, a couple sets of twin sheets (dorm beds often require extra-long sheets), a mattress pad and a blanket.
Bring a bathrobe, several towels and a shower caddy to carry all of your shower essentials like soap, shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream and a razor (unless you live in a suite). To keep your feet fungi-free, bring a pair of shower shoes (flip-flops or sandals) to wear into the bathroom. If you don't want to hang your bathrobe or towel over the shower door, bring suction hooks for the wall.
Bring a case for your toothbrush, to keep the brush clean and separate from all of your other bathroom essentials. Do the same for your soap.
For entertainment purposes, bring your computer, stereo, CDs, TV, VCR/DVD player and videos/DVDs. Find out if you can bring power strips/surge protectors to school. If you plan on having many cords running throughout your room, bring a cord organizer to wrap the cords around. Bring along a cord cover for cords running across the floor.
Most college students use their cell phones, but if your college does not supply a phone in the room and you want to bring one, make sure it's cordless so neither you nor your roommate will disturb the other during sleep or study time. Most schools also have a voice-mail system, but if you're bringing an answering machine, make sure it has two accounts so you and your roommate can manage your own messages. If you don't have a cell phone, avoid costly phone bills by purchasing a prepaid calling card.
To combat lighting deficiencies that often come with a dorm room, bring a tree-style floor lamp that lets you distribute light to different areas. Bring a desk lamp if one is not provided and a clip-on lamp for those times you need more direct lighting when you're studying and your roommate's sleeping.
Residence halls usually provide a microwave in the lounge, but if you bring your own, find out if the school has voltage restrictions. Rather than bring a compact refrigerator, bring a MicroFridge to your dorm (if allowed). Make sure you have cups, plates, utensils and a container in which you can cook or heat food, whether in your MicroFridge or the stove in the lounge.
To get rid of some of the stuffiness in residence hall rooms, bring a small box fan or stand fan.
Some other items to bring to your dorm include: a book bag and school supplies; a cordless hand vacuum; a footlocker/steamer trunk; a roommate-sensitive alarm clock; a throw rug to put in the middle of your room; a seat pad for your desk chair; storage containers; and mounting tape, poster tape or putty.
Even though the school may provide one, bring along a small first-aid kit that includes items like Ace and adhesive bandages, antibiotic ointment and aspirin.