Why It’s Worth It to Spend a Little More on Sheets, Even for a Dorm Room

Published July 19, 2023

Gabriella DePinho

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Most of the sheets that incoming college students use on their twin-size beds at home just aren’t suitable for college dorms—not only because they might be covered in cartoon characters, but also because dorms typically provide longer twin XL mattresses. And the extra 5 inches in length means that a new set of sheets will almost inevitably earn a place on any dorm essentials shopping list.

It’s tempting to just grab the cheapest synthetic sheets on Amazon or try to stretch out what you already own onto the too-long mattress, but our textile, home, and sheets experts have a better approach.

Every expert we spoke to for our guides recommended cotton over other fabrics, because cotton sheets provide the best balance of comfort and value. It might be tempting to shop for microfiber blends and jersey sheets that are often marketed towards college students for their affordability and familiar feel, but spending a little extra on cotton sheets is worth it.

Part of why we like cotton sheets is that they’re breathable; they’ll keep you comfortable at night regardless of what the temperature is in your room. This is especially relevant for living in a dorm, since not every dorm lets you control the air conditioning and heating.

“Synthetic fabrics are usually tightly woven and don’t let as much air pass through, which just means they trap heat and can make you hot,” says Jackie Reeve, senior staff writer and expert on all things sheets. “You might sweat more, need to wash your sheets more, or just be less comfortable on other [non-cotton] materials.”

For these reasons, we like Target’s Threshold 400 Thread Count Performance Sheet Set, our budget-pick cotton sheet set, as a good option for college dorms.

Our favorite affordable cotton sheets are available in a size that will fit a dorm bed, and they come in an assortment of solids and prints. The twin/twin XL size should fit a twin XL dorm bed.

The twin/twin XL size costs about $35 a set, which makes it relatively cheap(ish) compared with other cotton sets we like, such as the L.L.Bean 280-Thread-Count Pima Cotton Percale Sheet Set.

In our testing, these Target sheets got softer with each wash, and they’ve endured all the wear and tear we’ve put them through over the years—meaning they should hold up well to a few years of college use.

Trying to make twin-size sheets work on a twin XL mattress might seem like a good idea, but they likely won’t fit. Twin-size mattresses are typically 75 inches long—five inches shorter than the standard issue dorm twin XL mattress, according to Jackie.

Some sheet sets—including the ones we recommend from Target—come in a twin/twin XL, which means they should fit on both mattress sizes. If you opt for sheets in this size, you can use them on the twin XL mattress in the dorm and on a twin-size bed at home—but Jackie explained that the fitted sheet will still be sized for the longer twin XL mattress (you can confirm this by checking the listed dimensions to see if the fitted sheet is at least 80 inches long). “It really just depends on how deep your mattress is, how taut the elastic on the fitted sheet is, or how much extra fabric you care about on your fitted sheet,” she says. “It will probably also fit on a twin bed, but could be a little loose.”

It may be tempting to only purchase one sheet set to save money, but Jackie recommends that college students have at least two, so you always have an extra fresh set on hand. “Dirty sheets can just live in the hamper until laundry day, no need to wash them as soon as they come off the bed,” she says.

If parents or guardians are really concerned about how often their student will actually do laundry, Jackie says that you can always pack a third set of sheets, just to be safe.

Investing in sturdy sheets means you don’t need to throw them out once you’ve graduated. If you’re okay with having a little extra fabric on your fitted sheets, you can continue to use them on any twin-size mattress you have at home. (My family uses my old college sheets on our twin-sized air mattresses when friends stay over.) If you keep them in good shape, you may be able to donate them to a local thrift store for students shopping secondhand—but you should check the store’s donation policy to make sure they accept used sheets before doing so.

If they’re no longer in good shape, you may want to consider textile recycling or finding a way to repurpose them, such as using the sheets as drop cloths when painting at home.

This article was edited by Alexander Aciman and Annemarie Conte.

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