Sophia’s All-Time Favorite College Essentials

1. 4" Mattress Topper

Having a mattress pad is essential in college. Actually, it's my number #1 product purchased off my website and I couldn't agree with my readers more. 

I guarantee mattress provided to you in your dorm will be the least comfortable thing you'll sleep on unless you get a really good mattress pad.

This mattress pad is what I used my first two years of college and then passed down to my sister when she went to college. It is amazing and truthfully, made my bed even more comfy than my mattress at home. 

Other mattress pads I recommend:

• If you're against a foam mattress pad, try this Extra Thick Cooling Mattress Pad Cover. I'm moving into my own apartment next month and got this in a queen because the reviews are insanely good for it.
• Get this 2.5" Memory Foam Mattress Pad that's under $50. I personally would spend the extra $20 to get the one I have above that's 4 inches though :).

2. 10' Phone Charger

LIFE-CHANGING. If you don't already own long phone chargers, treat yourself and buy these! It's under $10 and so nice to have even if you're not living in a dorm room.

However, these are extra nice in a dorm room. Dorms have very little outlets so an extra long charger is essential to being able to lay in your bed on your phone when it's dead...which I know you like to do ;).

These are also great for using at the library or coffee shop when chargers aren't right next to you. I've used my 10' charger all four years of college!

3. Towel Wrap

5. Small Clip-On Fan For Your Bed 

You will be praising this little fan when you're trying to sleep at night in your non-air conditioned dorm room. This is the only thing that kept me from not losing my sh*t in a room that was probably 85 degrees.

I love this fan because you can clip it to your railing of your bed. And it's less than $20...win-win.

Unfortunately, it's not rare for a dorm to not have air-conditioning so if you know that yours doesn't, get this clip-on fan. 

If you have a larger dorm room, check out these larger fans:

• I also had this Rotating Fan with Six Different Settings in my dorm room.
• Get this AmazonBasics Standing Fan for less than $40.

6. Extension Cord + Power Strip

This is a no-brainer but something that a lot of people forget about it. We have SO many things in the dorm that need to be plugged in and with most dorm rooms only having two plugs, there is almost never enough spaces.

I really like this Power Strip because it has places to put USB cords.

7. HydroFlask

Hydro Flask's are actually life-changing. I swear I drink 10x as much water using this water bottle vs anything else. 

It also keeps your water cold for hours. I bring this everywhere with me! It's definitely a dorm room essential but also a college essential that will last you forever.

Also, like every college girl on the planet owns one of these haha. 

Here's some of my favorite Hydro Flask accessories:

• This Wide Mouth Straw Lid helps you drink so much more water. And it's on sale for just $12!
• This allows big Hydro Flasks to fit in your car's cup holder. I KNOW...you need if you have a car.

8. Mesh Shower Caddy

I am very passionate about this...get a mesh shower caddy, NOT a plastic one!

I made this mistake my freshman year and got a plastic shower caddy. Here's what happened with that...every time I would shower, water would get stuck in the plastic grooves. I would go back to my dorm room, put the shower caddy on the ground, and five minutes later there would be a huge puddle on the ground. 

So moral of the story, get a mesh shower caddy because water drains out of it way better. This one is my favorite mesh shower caddy (used my sophomore year). Once you move out of dorms you'll probably throw it away but it is an essential for when you do live in a residence hall.