<p>Aside from the obvious pencil and paper, what else are needed for classes at Columbia? For example, are three-ring binders necessary? Also, should we buy these supplies at home or in NYC?</p>
<p>Come on everyone, let's pitch in and make a list!</p>
<p>Stationary… bikes? </p>
<p>A must for Columbia.</p>
<p>Oh, sorry. I meant stationery.</p>
<p>Ah, to be a bright-eyed pre-frosher again…that would suck.</p>
<p>You actually don’t need all that much. I felt like a ****** carrying a pencil carrier to my first three weeks of class before realizing I didn’t need anything in it (yeah, I was that guy).</p>
<p>Bring your fancy calculator and the usual pen-and-highlighter suspects if you must. The rest you can adjust by your classes. It depends on your notetaking/studying system. There’s a Barnes & Noble right inside the student center not to mention a (slightly-overpriced) stationary shop across the street.</p>
<p>P.S. I really should be allowed to say the word ****** here (female contraceptive/washing device). It’s half my vocabulary!</p>
<p>It’s probably cheaper to buy school supplies at home and bring them here, but depending on what you get, all those supplies could end up taking up a lot of room. The supplies at the CU bookstore are pretty expensive, since a lot of the notebooks, binders, and folders have the Columbia seal on them. I have no idea where the nearest Staples/Office Max is. Ivy League Stationers is always an option, but I think it’s quite expensive. </p>
<p>So, buy your school supplies at home if you want to save money and don’t care about owning a shiny $5 Columbia notebook. If money isn’t an issue, then buy the supplies here so you have less to pack. I usually buy one-subject notebooks at home (you know, the cheapo Staples kind where you get five for $2) and buy binders and folders at the CU bookstore.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, and if you like loose leaf paper, buy that at home too. It’s ridiculously expensive at the bookstore.</p>
<p>Do lots of people take notes on computers? And in what sorts of classes do they do that?</p>
<p>I think a big switch in college is from three ring binders to notebooks… from college classes I’ve taken over the summers, professors don’t really hand out three-hole-punched papers anymore. All you really need is a spiral notebook and folders to get by, I guess. Correct me if I’m wrong, though.</p>
<p>In the classes I’ve been in, laptop note-takers are always in the extreme minority. And yes, most people do just have notebooks and folders. I still buy three-ring binders to organize all my papers. Professors don’t do the whole three whole punch thing, but I bring my own.</p>