Organization, productivity, and access to the right tools will ensure success with academics as well as social events. With that in mind I have compiled a list, both from personal experience and a little bit of research, on a list of gadgets which will make your college experience smoother and more enjoyable. Bear in mind that not all of the gadgets listed here will be necessary for everyone, but they were all worth listing, in my opinion.
Flash drive – This is in my opinion one of the greatest technological inventions a student could ever invest in. Buy the largest size your budget can afford, no matter what kind of student you are. You never know when you will need to save a quick document, get some mp3s from your friend, get a copy of the pictures from last nights party, backup your “My Documents” folder (just in case), share your videos, save your presentation, and keep a backup of the document you are about to turn in, just in case you spill coffee on your paper copy. =)
Laptop – People may argue that you don’t need a laptop, with computer labs and all, but I will tell you that they are very convenient. Not just for school related things, but lets not underestimate the torture of a boring, monotonous professor. Having your laptop while sitting in class not only benefits you more than skipping, but also distracts you from how horrible some of your teachers could be. Plus, chances are, though you try not to listen, some of the lecture will actually get through to your brain.
Digital ‘Point and shoot’ Camera – A picture speaks a thousand words. If college is to be a great experience, who wouldn’t want to capture a few memories for nostalgic sake. Plus, if you take pictures in lab classes, it makes for better studying.
Printer – with ink-jet printers as cheap as they are, we should all have one. I know you can print in most computer labs, and you should, since most universities add those fees into your tuition anyways, but sometimes you will be in a hurry, or will need to print something and won’t want to go to school just to get it. For those times, that $40ish printer will come in very handy.
Ipod Alarm Clock (or mp3 equivalent) – One of the worst parts of school is waking up early. The most annoying sound I can think of is my old alarm clock buzzer. It is absolutely excruciating. The best way I have found to cure the buzzer blues is with an Ipod alarm clock. When you find the perfect song to wake up to, the one that starts off soft and then gets just loud enough to wake you up, well it doesn’t get much better than that.
External Hard Drive – With USB hard drives becoming cheaper and cheaper, you’d be hard pressed to convince me that you shouldn’t have one. We’ve all experienced the time when our hard drive failed, or our computer crashed and we lost that really important document we were working on, or worse, all of our documents. Backing up all of your important data on an external hard drive is a great way to ensure computer crashes and hard drive failures don’t get the best of you.
Webcam – Now this isn’t exactly necessary, but since you can get them for 20 bucks or so I went ahead and added it. For all of you who left home for a university far away from mom and dad, and maybe even left a boy/girlfriend behind, video conferencing is a great way to keep in touch. It makes instant messaging that much more fun.
Voice recorder (or iTalk) – Now I don’t have one personally, but for those who have an audible memory, listening to your lecturer over and over will be far superior to studying those hand written notes. Plus its fun to record your friends when they don’t know, like a secret agent! The iTalk is an add-on for iPods that allow them to record sound.
Graphing Calculator – Now I don’t advocate cheating, but I know of people who have programmed every function they ever needed into Texas Instruments calculators and made it through college algebra and even calculus without ever needing to memorize anything. Besides that, you will almost definitely need it for any upper level math course.
USB TV Tuner – If you have a decent desktop computer or laptop, and live in a dorm (where free space is more valuable than gold) this little piece of magic could save you a lot of space. It plugs into your computer just like a flash drive, can connect to an antenna or digital cable signal, and displays the video on your computer monitor. Also, you can used the bundled software and record video, like a DVR or TIVO. Plus they usually come with a remote, so you still don’t have to get off your butt to change the channel. =)
Radar Detector – College kids can’t afford tickets. Case and point…
Pocket PC – If you are the technically savvy type, this could very well become your best friend. I have a PocketPC phone, and I use it for just about everything. Microsoft word and powerpoint, making lists, browsing the internet, google maps, playing poker and tetris, listening to music and watching video, dictionaries, medical dictionaries, drawing on paint when I get bored, syncing appointments with my computer, and so much more.
MP3 Player – My MP3 player is one of my favorite possessions. It motivates me during workouts, wakes me up to great music, and has changed the way I learn. Since I got my mp3 player I have listened to more than 10 audiobooks (less than 4 weeks ago). Also podcasts make it easy to learn just about any subject you are interested in for free. Can’t argue with that…
Surge Protectors – Want a broken computer? Me neither. Invest in them.
Blank CDs/DVDs – Honestly since the spread of high capacity flash drives, I rarely burn cds and dvds, but I still think they are good to have. I backup music on dvds, burn videos for friends, and as soon as I am finished recording my own music, I will burn it to cds also. Plus they are crazy cheap now.
Smartphone – Very useful. See PocketPC above.
for more great college life information check out
Zen College Life
College Confidential is dedicated to providing the best free college admissions information available on the Web, through our many articles and this discussion forum.
And yes, I'm a biochem major, not a math major. I take Calc III because its a pre-req for p-chem.
