As the summer days breeze by, blustery fall leaps into full gear–bringing not just colorful leaves in its path but the familiar back to school season. With classes just around the corner, there are some back to school essentials that will make college life a lot easier to handle. Whether you are an incoming freshman or a soon-to-be-graduating senior, these supplies will come in handy. Besides your basic pens, pencils, and paper, here are some supplies that will help you along the way through your college career.
1. Laptop, or iPad
There are multiple variations of laptops and iPads available–you can even find one in your favorite color nowadays! These are definitely the number one must-have for any semester of college. Even with the computer labs and the library, at times it can be challenging to find a free computer. Plus, it is always nice to work at your own pace and not around school hours. Sometimes, you just need a quiet space to work and get things accomplished.
They are nice to have in the classroom, too. Instead of just relying on your desktop, you can type up notes in class and do some research, as well–just make sure your professor doesn’t mind using laptops in class because it could create some problems. Most professors are understanding because they know that not everyone has the best handwriting in the world, and some people would just rather type. It all depends on what type of learner you are. You have to utilize what works best for you.
2. External Hard Drive or USB Drive
These are handy little devices that can save so much time. Most schools do have a school network to save files on, but it can be hard to access off campus if you don’t have the drive mapped on your computer. Also, both of these devices can be put in any computer. Obviously, the external hard drive can hold more files than a USB drive, but both are a good investment. You just have to see how many gigabytes you will need for storage, something you will find out as you go along. Usually a 2-gigabyte flash drive is sufficient because you can transfer your files to your computer and erase them from your flash drive. It just depends how much information you want to store on them over time.
3. Smartphone
Cell phones are always a good way of staying in contact, but smartphones really make life simple. There is even a recording feature on most phones, so instead of going out and buying a tape recorder, you can just do your interviews or record your lecture notes on your phone.
Again, make sure it’s okay with your professor before you record them. Smartphones have great apps also–you can easily have a translator or a dictionary at your fingertips in seconds.
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4. Nook, eReader
Have you ever had to search for a page or a paragraph to answer a question in class? Well, these nifty gadgets can help out with this problem. Like a computer, you can type a keyword or phrase, and it will pull up the information you were looking for. No more long-endless searches, and it will come in handy for studying for tests as well.
Nooks and eReaders are well worth their cost because you can get multiple textbooks at reasonable rates as opposed to buying all your books from the local book store. It makes it nice to have everything in one handy location, and it is definitely less to carry around.
5. iPod
An iPod is a nice device to have for the gym or just for relaxation. You can even pull up movies for your classes straight from iTunes.
Sometimes you just need a break from your school workload, and music could be your great escape. Sometimes just listening to your favorite song can be a stress reliever in itself.
6. Info Scanner Pen
Have you ever had to do some research for a class? Well the majority of the time, professors wants to see where you got all this information from. Normally it can be a never-ending process of scanning or copying pages out of a book, but with this device it can be done in a few minutes. This neat pen can actually hold approximately 1,000 pages of information which can be transferred to any computer. Plus, most of these pens have built in translators as well, just in case you are going back and forth between different languages.
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7. Laptop Cooler
Laptops can be quite expensive, so it is a good idea to invest in a cooling pad. I know first-hand from owning a Dell; they can get pretty warm after a while.
You don’t want your laptop to overheat from constant use. It is bad enough that there are so many viruses out there; you don’t want another problem on your hands.
8. Surge Protector
It never hurts to have an extra surge protector handy in case of power outages, and it can offer you extra outlets to plug in other electronical devices. This is a great feature to have for any dorm room or apartment.
9. Planner
For some people, a planner can be your new best friend. Instead of grabbing a pen out of your bag and writing on your hand or a slip of paper you are bound to lose, try writing everything down in a planner.
It comes in handy after a while, not just with homework but for clubs, sports, and overall time management. You will never have to worry about missing an event again.
10. Door Organizer
I may have put this on the bottom of the list, but it is still a cool feature. This little organizer could save you an extra hour of sleep or so.
There are slots for all your electronics needed for the day, and you can even slip your school papers in one of the pockets. It is easy to forget things in the morning when you are rushing around, so this could truly be a lifesaver for everyone.
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Sources:
Picture one: http://www.igreenspot.com/polyfuel-t40-green-laptop-prototype-in-partner…
Picture two: http://www.lawpracticematters.com/home/2012/07/24/avoiding-lost-usb-driv…
Picture three: http://www.pcworld.com/product/116744/apple_32gb_iphone_3gs.html
Picture four: http://pocketnow.com/android/barnes-and-nobles-future-nook-plans-revealed
Picture five: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1353
Picture six: http://www.eurocosm.com/Application/Products/Wizcom/infoscan-GB.asp
Picture seven: http://trinifieds.com/classifieds/laptop-cooling-pad-for-sale/
Picture eight: http://reviewsurgeprotector.com/surge-protectors-how-they-work.html
Picture nine: http://www.attainmentcompany.com/day-planner
Picture ten: http://www.china-telecommunications.com/products-search/do_not_forget_th…