Keryl,
If you a a girl, the ladies’ dorms are next to the main campus entrance -and heavily guarded by a trained army of doggis who only let girls pass, really.
If you are a boy, sorry, but a long trek up the mountain and down again is in order -they meant to keep the sexes separate and they did try- as the gentlemen’s dorm is close to the back entrance -next to the bridge leading to Dong Shan High School. They do have a shuttle bus, though hiking promotes a healthy body and strong legs.
Back in the day, well the dorms were worse. Now they have air conditioning in the rooms -but not in the corridors. I was talking to some foreign students last week, and they are content, no luxuries but no big complaints.
I am not sure about the mattress and pillows, but they are quite cheap. There is a cheapie supermarket (Zhuen Lien Fu Ri Zhong Xin) across the main entrance, and there is WELLCOME a few minutes away from the back entrance. GEANT, another supermarket, close to Jinmei Nigght Market, is a 10-15 minutes bus ride away. Pillows are cheap, from 200 to 400 nts tops.
I got my cheapie mattress from IKEA -also a bus ride away, you might want to take the MRT back, though, as I did- 1200 nts at that time, for a decent, cotton filled, soft yet firm new mattress. I just rolled it and carried it on the metro. Later on me and a friend carried a nomal mattess, but that was years ago. Dunno if you can pull that one now -MRT is much more crowded now.
The rest -hangers, boxes for knicknacks, plastic or DIY clothes rods and mini closets, etc… can be bought, as Ironlady said, at one of those little ubiquitous stores that sell everything and anything under the sun, from hammers to alarm clocks, from stuff to declog your toilet to perfumes.
Life in the dorm means living in a mixed community of locals and international students and sharing homework and people to talk to at 3 am. It is a test in endurance, negotiation and communication skills. It will certainly enliven your stay.
Just down overwhelm the local net dowloading stuff.