If you haven't done this yet, NOW is the time. Every school has different rules about what's allowed — from extension cords to mini fridges to command strips. But what to research?
25 questions to answer before you shopYou need to be a Prime member to access Prime Day deals. Amazon offers Prime at a steep discount for young adults, with the first 6 months completely free, followed by ½ price membership.
Prime Young Adult (6 months free)Generic "dorm checklists" will lead you to buy things you don't need or aren't allowed to have and miss some important items, too. Start with your actual space, your actual rules, and your actual student. Then work with your student to establish a budget before the deals create interest or urgency that wasn't there yesterday.
Start with our budgeting guide Then build your shopping listPrime Day is 4 days this year (June 23–26), but many deals launch in the week leading up to it. We only post high-quality, trusted dorm and apartment essentials that are ACTUALLY good deals — not artificially inflated just to be marked down to their usual price.
See the Summer Deal TrackerSelecting the slowest shipping option will extend the time you have to cancel your order AND extend your return date. If you're not in a hurry, this is a good option, and you may earn digital credits, too.
Shopping Prime Day when you're flying across the country takes a little more planning — but it's absolutely doable. Our long-distance guide covers the logistics and the best tips crowdsourced from 150k in our Dorm Shopping Recommendations & Deal Alerts Facebook group.
Read our long-distance dorm guideYou need to spend time digging through all of these sales. We're doing that for you, and reporting on all of the college details from all of the retailers - all in one place — the Summer Deal Tracker. Updated multiple times per day as deals come and go - those Lightning Deals start all day long from 3 a.m.– 3 p.m. ET every day, and we're on it!
See all retailers in the deal trackerDuring Prime Day week, our stories are the fastest way to catch the best deals before they sell out. Short, sweet and with a click link right to each of the best deals - you have to follow us to see our stories!
Follow on InstagramWe just can't rely on the algorithms, but the Deal Alert emails are a sure thing to get straight to you without interference. We only send them during the big deal weeks. After Prime Day, the next big events are early fall and then Black Friday/Cyber Monday — which we cover extensively for dorm and apartment living, along with great gift ideas and deals on the top trends for high school and college students.
Subscribe to deal alertsThe Dorm Room Guide walks you through everything — what to bring, what to skip, how to prep, how to plan, and how to make the most of a small space. Read it before Prime Day, and you'll be unbelievably prepared next week!
Order The Dorm Room GuideWe track about 500 Amazon products every day. These are the items we're truly hoping we see drop to their lowest prices at Prime Day.
We track deals from Amazon, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, and Kohl's — all in one place. Only the deals worth buying for a real dorm room.
