As soon as August rolls around, every store becomes overrun with school supplies, and it’s ridiculously hard to resist the urge to buy one more cute pen set. Shopping trips for school supplies become even more difficult when there is no longer a set list that you can check off from elementary school. There are 5 items every college student needs at the start of a school year and 3 that will sit at the bottom of your bag for 9 months.
3 Things You Need:
1. A planner
Getting a planner that you will actually use is one of the most helpful things in life. Make sure that you spend your money on one that is more helpful than harmful ー don’t buy the cutest one just because it has a nice quote on the front, buy the one that will fit in your bag, or has the days listed out as you would like, or that does have a cute quote that will keep you motivated. Just have something that you can write down due dates as soon as you get them, so you no longer will be able to forget them.
(courtesy of topdownplanner.com)
2. Sticky notes
I’ve learned that one of the easiest ways to get all my ideas out for an essay or a project is to write them on sticky notes and place them how I picture it. Index cards can always replace sticky notes if that’s more your style, it just matters that you’re taking your ideas and writing them down as a way to really visualize your essay or project and make it easier to complete. Plus, they always come in fun colors which make it even better.
(courtesy of groovypost.com)
3. A Folder
Professors will hand out random papers and assignments and instead of throwing it into a bag to disappear, just buy a folder to keep all important documents your professor hands out. Having a place already prepared will make the next quarter so much easier when you don’t freak out when an assignment is due that you have no idea about.
2 Things You Don’t:
1. Ten New Notebooks
I learned within my first quarter that taking notes on my laptop is so much easier than trying to handwrite every slide a professor speeds through, leaving me with multiple useless notebooks. If you enjoy handwriting more, then of course go ahead and buy them, but otherwise one notebook can suffice for all your classes.
(courtesy of notebookstories.com)
2. Yet another set of highlighters and pens
While the Target Dollar Spot always has another set of cute highlighters and pens, they are incredibly unnecessary. If you already have three different sets of pens or highlighters, you don’t need anymore, I promise. Instead of spending money on the items that will sit in a corner of your room or at the bottom of your bookbag, make sure to purchase the things that will actually improve your quarter!