There will always be mixed feelings when your child finally moves away to college. On one hand, they're not really a child anymore. On the other hand, they're making their first steps into a larger world. This moment is made all the more impactful if they're moving out of the house altogether into dorms in a distant college.

While it is time to let go, you can also take this moment to give them some advantages and pointers during their first years where they will be living. Freshmen students are known for plenty of things and responsibility isn't one of those things. That's okay, of course - this is the time where they can learn!

However, it still can be hugely discouraging for freshmen students if their studies are interrupted by lost items or valuables. Dorm life takes adjustment on its own, without considering the very common issue of theft. Think about all the new people coming in and out of a college dorm and the sheer value in a single room - books, laptops, personal identification cards, cash and jewelry. And if your child is studying abroad, who really wants to deal with the issue of lost or damaged passports?

This is why if you get the chance to make some dorm purchases or installations, you should really consider getting one of the best small home safes possible for installation. A small biometric safe or other make can help a new student secure their belongings, so they can focus on acing their next paper.

CONSIDERATIONS

In order to get the best safe for a new college student, there are a few considerations you'll have to cover first - considerations that might be quite different from buying a safe for your own apartment or home!

SIZE

In a dorm, space can be at a premium. It's probably a good idea that you start looking into small home safes as an option, rather than large and bulky ones. You'll want something that can neatly fit on a desk, shelf, or even in a drawer. In our own lineup, the Mycube Mini and Biocube In-Drawer are both great options.

SECURITY

When it comes to a dorm room, you have a good deal of leeway when it comes to picking a security measure for your safe. Thefts in dorms are more moments of opportunity, than the work of a real and dedicated safecracker. Your choice of security system then comes down more to preference than anything else. If you don't want to always remember and punch in a code, a small biometric safe could be a perfect "first safe". However, if you're looking for a contemporary kind of safe for contemporary campuses, you can always go for the sleek wireless options. This is a great choice for students on the go - as long as they have their phone, they'll have safe access.

INSTALLATION

College life involves a lot of moving from year to year, or even from semester to semester. This means that there's often a hesitation to make any sort of permanent installations into these spaces. When installing a small home safe into a dorm room, it is good to consider the fact that it might need to move. The best way to do this would be to install it into something you intend to take down and move with you, such as a shelf that you own. Drawer safes are also great for this. They're easily hidden and can be taken out and transported with relative ease.

STYLE

There's no reason just because it's a dorm room that it can't lack for some style! There's a bit more to making a dorm room work than just adding some posters. Adding a Mycube home safe to a dorm room will add that little bit of panache to make a dorm room feel a little bit less like cheap college housing - and a little bit more like a new home.