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12 Essential School Supplies for College Students

Ashmeet Bagga Mar 7, 2024
According to the National Retail Foundation's (NRF) 2019 Back-to-School and College Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, total spending by young adults and their families on school supplies and electronics to get ready for college is expected to reach around USD 26.2 billion.
Did You Know?
Excited about returning to your campus or eager to start college life in a new surrounding? You must have already made a list about things that you require, that are important, and some stuff which is mandatory. Often, we fret about big things so much that we forget the small essential items.

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Instead of wasting money again on buying stationery or other items, why don't you check your cupboard to see if you have any school supplies left from your school year? Well if you don't, let me help you with 12 essential items that are really important for any student who will be starting college.
In College, a backpack is as crucial as it was in college. Avoid appearing disorganized—carry your essentials with ease.
Backpack
A backpack is ideally suited to store all your books, folders, notebooks, lunch, water, makeup (for girls), and other items that are required. You can invest in a plain bag that would last the entire semester. You can even buy a stylish sling bag, but opt for one that can accommodate all your stuff and is convenient to carry.
For class or self-study, taking notes is essential for excelling in tests. Consider a notebook with binders for convenient organization into sections.
Notebook
For instance, a six-subject notebook is convenient and inexpensive. You don't have to carry many notebooks around, you can write down your notes in 1 notebook for different subjects or classes.
From class tests to meetings to extracurricular activities, college life is bustling. You might miss an event simply because you forgot amidst the chaos of activities.
Calendar Planner
During exams, finding specific pages in notebooks or reference books can be frustrating. Adhesive page markers save time and effort by helping you quickly locate important sections.
Adhesive page marker
There are variety of colors available, and it comes with an easy glue application. You can even write small notes on them, which makes it easy to refer pages.
Color your textbooks with highlighters to make important points stand out during tests. It's an easy way to ensure your notes are easily visible.
Highlighters
Even if you don't plan to take up a course requiring number crunching, a basic calculator is essential for math or science subjects.
Calculator
Your field will decide if you need to invest in a basic, graphing, or scientific calculator. But make sure to consult your professor before buying one, as graphing calculators are pretty expensive.
Some Colleges require students to bring their own laptops, especially in business schools. Otherwise, students can use computers provided by the college.
Laptop
The major benefit of a personal laptop is the convenience of access to course material and information it provides. Not to mention the fact that it can also double up as your entertainment and recreation tool.
Flash drives are somewhat outdated with the rise of cloud storage like Google Drive. However, they're still useful for keeping important documents safe outside of your laptop.
Flash Drive
While going for a presentation, you can simply insert them in the drive and present your topic. You don't require an Internet connection to recover your files.
Loose sheets are common for class assignments or note-taking preferences. Organize them with a folder or binder for each course.
Binders and folders
A binder is useful to store all your curriculum documents, like your forms, certificates, reports, etc.
I love fresh pencils, different pens, and scented erasers. Even if you prefer digital notes, these essentials come in handy all the time.
Pens/Pencils/Erasers
An eraser is useful for any student who chooses science as his major field, or any arts or fashion designing student. Wherever drawings or sketching by hand is involved, you definitely need an eraser.
A stapler is handy for pinning pages together, especially for assignments or papers. A mini stapler fits easily in your backpack for convenience.
Stapler
Index cards are invaluable for self-study. I recommend purchasing some; they're perfect for jotting down important points or notes. The standard size is 3x5 inches.
Index cards
They are easy to carry and helpful to revise or retain information on the go. Take a quick peek at these colorful cards, and you will remember all the points during your presentation.
There are other supplies too like an external hard drive, a notes pouch, printer papers, etc., whose requirement is an individual preference. One easy way to buy supplies is to go through your course subjects, and then accordingly, buy stuff which will be useful to you.