I don't care how awesome your college is, odds are you're going to need to staple something and you don't have time to run to the library. Get a stapler! They can be found at Wal-Mart for about $3.00. I haven't had to print a lot of papers (yet) but I suspect I will in the future--which is also why I brought a printer with me. Paperclips are also a nifty thing to have on hand if you run out of staples.
At my school, you have a printing "budget" that you get. If you don't exceed that budget the printing is basically free. However, you do still have to pay for scans and photocopies. I just bit the bullet and bought a printer/scanner combo. It, like all printers, has a tendency to throw bitch fits, but man has it been nice to be able to print something three minutes before class and not have to fight with the library printing system. And don't think that the cost of ink and paper are going to drain your (sometimes meager) funds: I talked with my roommate before school started and asked if she was bringing a printer. Since she wasn't, she agreed to help pay for paper and ink.
Therein lies another point: talk to your roommate(s) (if you have one) and see who is bringing what. My roommate brought the fridge, I brought the printer, and we share them equally. It certainly saved both of us money in one way or another.
Medical supplies!
I came to college armed only with a box of band aids and small packets of Neosporin. My friend proved I should have brought more, and on the first day no less: she managed to fall in the middle of the street, sprain her ankle, and abrade her knee. I had one large band aid left, so that went to her knee, but I soon ran out of Neosporin. I wish I had brought a whole tube. And gauze! Gauze would have been nice when that same friend managed to split her toenail in three different places two days after spraining her ankle. A few weeks later I cut myself bad enough that I needed gauze. But I had no medical tape, so i had to hold it on with band aids. Luckily, a friend of mine was in possession of not one, but two first aid kits.
Buy a first aid kit. If you never use anything from it, the odds are good one or more of your friends will at some point or another.
Bed/bath supplies!
BUY AN EXTRA SET OF SHEETS. DON'T ASK QUESTIONS, JUST DO IT. You will be happy you did when you have clean sheets, and can wash your dirty ones, AT THE SAME TIME. I've had to pick between stuffing my sheets in with my laundry or going without washing them for another week because I would have nothing to sleep on.
Oh, and how colleges say only a specific brand of extra long sheets will fit on their mattresses? THEY'RE LYING. I got to my dorm and went "huh, that looks like a normal sized mattress to me..." Only if you have ordered an extra long mattress because of your height should you worry about getting properly fitted sheets. My roommate got extra-long twin sheets from Target, and they fit fine on her bed--and she even has a Tempurpedic mattress pad that is probably four inches thick on top of her mattress.
Towels: bring more than one. Bring face towels. Bring a bathrobe. I regret not buying a bathrobe, especially since you have to pay almost $20 to get an "oversized" bath towel (which, for some reason, are only available as "luxurious oversized bath towels"). It's nice to have a clean towel, instead of using the same one for six weeks because you a) forgot to wash it or b) couldn't wash it with your laundry and still take a shower in the same day.
And remember to bring your favorite books and DVDs! Even the busiest college student need to do something to relax from a long day of cramming, running about, and eating.
-Doc Badass
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