Supplies for Success As a University Bound Student

So, you’ve been accepted into the college or university of your choice and it’s time to get ready. Perhaps you are moving out of your parent’s house. Perhaps you will be commuting. Or perhaps you will be attending an online school. Whatever the case may be, you should be ready to meet the new challenges of college with some needed supplies. A laptop, certain laptop accessories, transportation and something as small as a planner will make your life as a university bound student much easier.

Laptops are an essential item for any type of university bound student. Depending on which program you are in, laptops can be customized to fit that need.

• Laptops should have word processing and internet connection capability. As a college student, you will be writing A LOT. Not only that, you will be expected to conduct at least some research online, read e-books, email and participate in class-related forums or discussions.
• The minimum recommended amount of RAM for a student laptop is 2 GB, with a minimum hard disk capacity of 160 GB.
• A laptop carrying case would be a good investment if you plan on using your laptop to take notes. For online students, this is handy so that you can take your laptop wherever you need to go and still attend your class.
• A portable mouse – nothing is more annoying than a lot of clicking with the touchpad!
• A flashdrive would be a great investment, especially one that can be clipped onto a bag. You will always have your assignments and notes handy if you carry this with you when you need to use computer labs or libraries.

Consider what kind of transportation will be needed for college.

• Car – Not all college students need a car, but if you will be commuting and there is no public transportation, this is the necessary choice. If you get an internship or job that requires commuting far distances, then it is a worthwhile investment as well.
• Bus – Public transportation is pretty accessible to students who live on suburban or city campuses. In fact, many colleges work in conjunction with a city to give students a discounted pass.
• Bike – This is quickly becoming a popular mode of transportation, especially for students who live in a bike-friendly city. However, this is most convenient for people who live close by and do not have a long commute.
• This might be self-explanatory, but you may be surprised at how many students do not use a planner or daily organizer. So stay ahead of the game and buy one.
• Planners are exactly that: planners. When you first receive your syllabus for each class, spend 30 minutes that night and write down important test and assignment due dates for each one. Write reminders for due dates the week before as an additional reminder.
• This is also a great place to write down each course name, the number, the location, professor name and their contact information. You never know when you will need it. Also, those slips of paper so candidly given out the first day in class might get lost in the confusion of the weeks to come. Possible situation you don’t want to be in: Class ends and you have five minutes to get to the next one…but you forgot the classroom number. Just take out your planner, and instead of fumbling through tons of papers, a quick glance will save you.
• Invaluable school information is in the school planners as well. There is usually a map, a list of numbers for places like Student Services or Campus Police. In some cases, they have conversion charts and commonly misspelled words that you can apply to your homework.

Being prepared as a university bound student will spell a greater chance of success for your college career. It can be as big of an investment as a car, a moderate investment in a computer or the small item next to your college bookstore checkout line, a planner, which can make your college transition a smooth one. As a university bound student, you have a myriad of opportunities at your feet; be sure to use all of them on your path to graduation.