I tried a lot of different supplies during my time at college. Some worked well while others I hardly touched. For this blog post, I want to share which supplies I used the most. There are, however, a few supplies included in this list that I would not necessarily recommend, and would have switched with something different. With each supply, I will explain my reasoning for either liking or disliking it!
Additionally, I would like to say that all you really need is pen and paper – that’s pretty much all I used during class and to study. You don’t need to spend much and you don’t need to get anything fancy.
Pilot G-2 pens
These pens are so good. I primarily used them for note-taking because of how smooth they write and how long they last. Buy one pack and you will be set for much longer than you think. I stuck to the black ink, although there are several color options. The black ink was very dark, which made re-reading my notes much easier. It dries relatively quickly so smudging wasn’t a big issue – I am also right-handed so I think that helped with that, though. And finally, the dried ink didn’t transfer to other pages or notes as graphite does.
Sticky Notes
It wasn’t until my senior year really that I became a sticky note fiend. I kept them at my desk and would use them to brainstorm project ideas, paper topics and much more. I would then stick them on the wall in front of my desk so I could look at them every day. I liked spending a lot of time with all my ideas before picking one that feels right, and the convenience of sticky notes is hard to beat.
Five Star Notebooks
When I needed a new notebook, I would get one of these. College-ruled, as always. I really liked the idea of having separate notebooks for each class and I liked picking specific colors for specific topics (we’ve all done it). However, would I recommend them? Looking back on it, no, I would not recommend you get a bunch of Five Star notebooks. There isn’t anything necessarily wrong with them, though! But once I got to senior year, I found it so much easier to go smaller and nix the spiral-bound. I cannot tell you how many times that metal wire snagged on other things in my backpack or got stuck in there, and when you’re a tired and stressed student that it literally the last thing you want to deal with. they’re also overpriced for what they are. I only got them because they were easily accessible at the college bookstore, and I got a discount because I worked there. I ended up using and loving this. With these notebooks, you can get several and put them all in your backpack no problem because they are so compact and travel-friendly, which is incredibly helpful when you are in college.
Flashcards
I love learning new languages and enjoyed my language courses so much and I used a bunch of flashcards. I will say that I used them much less in higher-level language courses because we’ve moved on from vocab and numbers to cultural studies and grammar concepts. But in lower-level language classes, I loved using the flashcards that you could put on a ring. If the flashcards weren’t together on a ring, I would lose them for sure. However, I also got lazier later in college and would use Quizlet, typing is a lot easier than writing, but Quizlet was awesome nonetheless. I highly recommend it if you feel you do not have enough time to write everything by hand.
Mechanical Pencil
If I wasn’t using the Pilot pen, I was taking notes with a mechanical pencil. I used pencils when I wanted my handwriting to be neater — whenever I used a pen my handwriting would get really sloppy. My current favorites are ones I got my senior year, this Kurutoga Roulette Pencil and this Zebra DelGuard Pencil. These are the exact ones I have and I love them. They are very sturdy and write very nicely. The Zebra is very lightweight and the Kurutoga is heavier, which makes it really nice to write with.
Backpack
You need a good backpack that will last. On some days, I had no choice but to bring all my textbooks with me, and it would get extremely heavy. You need to have a backpack that can handle the weight and distribute it well on your shoulders and back. Go for a bag that is light by itself as well as easy to get into – I didn’t want to deal with drawstrings or buckles when I needed to get to something. I used something like this and really enjoyed it, the straps in particular were really nice.
Printer
I’m sure most campuses have a printing system, where you get an allowance each semester for using the printer. So because of this, having a printer in your room is not a necessity, but for me, it was a game-changer. It only printed in black and white, but that is all you need. This made printing essays or handouts so much easier and stress-free, and I was able to help out my friends and roommates/suite mates a lot too. Again, this is not a necessity at all, but it did make things a lot easier and was one of the things I used the most in college.
Pen Planet 