DON'T buy a new computer at home and try to bring it with you. By purchasing one here from the Technology Product Center, you'll receive a hefty discount, and you don't have to worry about it getting broken or stolen when you ship it. Use the money you've saved to buy computer games, which are the primary reason for buying a computer, right?

DO bring a sleeping bag for all the overnight guests, random prefrosh, guests of your roommate, visiting friends from other colleges, etc.

DON'T bring a bunch of swimming suits. One is okay, but you'll find that Cambridge is not exactly Tahiti. Resign yourself to the fact that you will never be as tan as your best friend who attends that prestigious university on the West Coast. Ditto for the sunblock and the beach umbrella.

DO bring extensive rain gear. Umbrella, rain coat, duck boots--the whole works. It rains here . A lot. Sometimes an umbrella alone does very little to protect you from Boston's torrential downpours, which are usually accompanied by gusty winds. And the old brick sidewalks of Cambridge have a way of collecting rainwater and ruining shoes. If you don't like getting wet, consider transferring.

DO bring a little iron and ironing board. You will use it, and so will all your roommates. As you'll quickly discover, steam showers don't work all that well. And DON"T bring anything that will require too much ironing--linen shirts will sit in your closet for eternity.

DO bring extensive snow gear. Gloves, hats with ear flaps, duck boots, earmuffs, snow-shoes, scarves, parkas--the whole works. When it stops raining, it snows here. A lot. If you don't know how to walk on ice, you will learn.

DON'T bring notes from high school classes. Language vocab and a few math formulas are really the only things you will ever use while you're here.

DO bring guidebooks and maps of Boston and New England. There's no reason why you should have to stay cooped up in Lamont Library every weekend. During reading periods, you'll appreciate the chance to escape to a place where people think "crimson" is just another color.

DO bring your magazines (change the address on your subscriptions). They don't take long to read and they offer a fun break from all your classes. Your roommates will love you for it.

As corny and parental as it sounds, DO bring an open mind. There are a million-and-one different kinds of people at Harvard, and a million-and-one different things to do. Don't limit yourself to your room. You'll be missing out on a lot. You'll get lonesome. You'll get really, really bored.

DON'T bring too many books to read "just for fun." Two or three may give a break from Kant, but more than that will just take up shelf space and gather dust. You will hardly ever have time to read for fun, and even if you did, there are millions of books in Widener, Lamont, Pusey, etc.

DO bring Band-Aids. You don't want to have to trek a couple of blocks to UHS because you cut your finger. Note: when your international roommate asks if you have a plaster, don't chip off part of the wall and offer it to them--find a Band-Aid.

DON'T bring every worldly possession you have accumulated in your entire life. Harvard housing is nice, but you just don't have that much room. Limit yourself to what will fit in one closet, one bookshelf, a few desk drawers, one dresser and under your bed.

DO bring various other medical supplies: Pepto Bismol, Tylenol, cough syrup, etc. The prices at Harvard Square drug stores are outrageous, and when you come down with a mysterious freshman illness at two in the morning, they're not open.

DON'T bring your eight million certificates of achievement or your trophy collection. Your roommates have a collection equally large, they just weren't obnoxious enough to haul it to their dorm.