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Electronics
You'll need a squid

Dorm Room Electronics
This category is very school specific so you should check with the college to see what is allowed and what isn't.  Why are there so many differences with the schools?  Well, it really depends on the schools' electrical system, the age of their wiring, the number of students, and how they feel they can administer their safety policies.

Televisions, DVD Players, Game Systems
All the above are almost necessary, and the good news is that every school allows these items.  These days no dorm is complete without a TV, DVD & game system.
 

Noteworthy Considerations

Electric Desktop Fans
Who would have thought a fan would have been a noteworthy item here - but believe it or not - it is.  Dorm rooms are small and generally have two to four students in these spaces.  Add to that several televisions and computers giving off heat and inevitably every room gets hot - even in the dead of winter.  A fan is almost a must-have for everyone.  Look for either a stand up model or a desktop model and buy a fan that you can feel the air from about 5 feet away.

Power Squid
The most useful power strip that I found - isn't even a strip, it's a "Power Squid"  The device has several outlets coming out of one box.  The reason that this works best is that when you use a power strip to plug in those large converters, just one of them might take up two spot.  With this type of power strip, if you have 5 plug-ins - you can use all 5 of them.

Power strips are some of the hottest commodities in college dorms.  Why? - because between cell phones re-chargers, PDA's, computers, printers, television, alarm clocks, fans, lamps and game systems, you'll soon run out of places to plug your stuff into. 

Several really good powers strips will solve this problem immediately on move-in day.  Additionally, you might also consider a 10-15 foot heavy duty extension cord just to run around beds and dressers in order to keep the tangle of wires in a safe location.