Thousands of dollars of headphone gear + college campus = ?

IMO, I would leave the expensive gear at home.

No. Take it with you, and determine how to secure it. 

There's always insurance. Your gear can be on a home insurance policy even if you're not living there.

You may want to consider limited space, though.

Place it next to a really heavy pot of gold. No one's gonna notice the headphones. 

I'd agree not to bring it. I don't trust college students, once sort of being one at a time myself in a dream. 

I've been through the same thing luckily my roommates were all really great guys so I didn't have to worry. I'll probably just take a couple of things with me to start with (maybe an amp/dac, a dap, some IEMS, and probably a headphone) and scope out your roommates. If all goes well I'll get my other stuff from home a bit later. I'm not too worried about anyone taking them but you never know.

I wouldn't do it. I would never trust a freshman college kid with anything. If you had your own apt thats a diff story then you can just get a lock on your door. 

Do you know your roomate? How far away do you (your parents) live from campus?

It's a hit or miss. I never had any roommate I couldn't trust in my college  years so I didn't have any of those roommate horror stories. I think that's a good idea however. Start with the cheaper gear that you have until you go home for a break. You can find out if your roommate can be trusted not to damage them or anything. Then you can decide if you want to leave your more expensive stuff at home or bring them to school.

I'd strongly suggest holding off on bringing anything valuable or fragile at all until you get a chance to meet your roommates. They may well be great and it might be fine, but best not to take the chance until you know for sure. I'm just entering my sophomore year, and my Freshman suitemates were absolutely atrocious. In short, if something can be easily broken, would not do well with being coated in various bodily fluids and secretions, or you'd miss it if it was stolen, it's probably a good idea to keep it out of a Freshman dorm until you know who you're living with. I'd also probably avoid bringing anything open if you can avoid it as well. As I'm writing this, one of my college apartmentmates is playing music so loudly in the next room over that the inflated bass is rattling the IEMs in my ears. And compared to my Freshman suite, this is a significant improvement. Again, it may well be fine and you could well be moving in with a great bunch of people, but better safe than sorry.

Otherthan my my roommate and his friends gawking at my audio gear, it's usually safe.  Just make sure you befriend your roommate or at least make sure he respects you and there should be no problem.  Make sure your respect him too.  My roommate was probably also just content with his SkullCrushers XD.

Another way to avoid issues is to not tell others the value of your equipment.

Yea, agree with others and think you shouldn't bring your most expensive great. Before you bring your favorite stuff you need to get a feel for your roomate. Not only about his character, but also on how secure he likes to keep your room. Some ppl will keep their dorm rooms wide open half the time - thats the last thing you would want.

You should also wait for an opportunity to see the guy drunk a few times. His dismeanor may change dramatically when he is drunk and he may not respect your things or the security of your room as much.