The Dorm Necessity You’re Probably Forgetting but Definitely Need (It’s “Super Convenient!”)

See all the dorm must-haves — from mattress toppers to storage — that real college students swear by for making your space cozy and functional. Check out the full list of Dorm Therapy Awards 2025 winners!

If you’re one of the lucky ones who has air-conditioning in your dorm room, congratulations! But if you’re like a lot of college students, you’ll likely need a fan to make your stuffy dorm a little cooler when open windows aren’t cutting it. You might be wondering what’s the best dorm fan to keep you cool, while also keeping your budget intact — and college students who have been right where you are have answers.

Choosing a fan is overwhelming, as there are so many different types, colors, shapes, and sizes. You also want to make sure that the fan will last longer than just this year, since it is an investment. It you’re looking for some recommendations to get you started, these highly-rated fans are for you.

Dorm Therapy is dedicated to helping students at every point of their college experience, and that includes shopping for their dorms! We’re a website powered by real college student contributors (who have recently experienced dorm living) and experienced editors, creating service-first content about navigating life at school and sharing vetted product recommendations for dorms and college apartments.

We went straight to the source to determine our winners for the Dorm Therapy Awards 2025, surveying more than 360 college students and recent grads to learn about their absolute favorite products they used in their dorms. 

For the winning fan, we first looked at how many students recommended specific products, and we chose the most popular picks. We then took into account the average ratings of the respective fans; students rated their recommendations on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a product they loved and would “definitely recommend.” The winning fan was recommended by the highest number of students, and was also rated the highest. 

This fan truly checks all of the boxes: durable, multiple speed settings, and the ability to rotate on its own and hit every corner of a space. It’s a table fan, so you can easily move it around in your space until you find the perfect spot. You can also change the settings and turn it on or off with a remote, which means you don’t even need to leave your bed or your desk when you want to adjust it. Students gave this fan an average rating of 9.6. 

• “Super convenient and VERY portable! I loved how it gets every angle with the oscillation, and it is very strong. Only drawback is that it’s hard to clean.” —Paige W., Boise State University, Class of 2028
• “Pricey, but literally amazing. Makes warm air cool in a stuffy dorm. It’s on year three and holding well. Could not function without it!” —Allison T., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Class of 2026

If you’re looking for a slightly smaller, less expensive fan, this similar option also came highly recommended by students. Students rated it an average of 8.5. Just like the winning product, this fan has a remote to control the settings from any place in the room. The main difference between the two fans is that this one has three speeds to choose from, while the winner has five. 

• “Best fan ever multiple speeds and oscillating settings. Have had for two years and no complaints can leave it on all day and night not super loud and gives a strong breeze depending on setting. Also adorable and worth it since it will last a long time.” —Brianna F., Roger Williams University, Class of 2027
• “Super power[ful] yet space efficient. Affordable and has many different options for settings.” —Reagan O., Boise State University, Class of 2028